 The Cavalcade of America starring Don Amici. Like the DuPont company brings you peanut vendors starring Don Amici on the Cavalcade of America. First here is Gain Whitman. Good evening. Here's a rainy day tip for wise shoppers. The next time you buy rainwear for any member of the family, be sure you look for the Zeeland tag. This is the tag that means the fabric in the garment you buy has been treated with DuPont Zeeland durable water repellent. Unlike the protection you get with ordinary water repellents, Zeeland protection lasts through many washings or cleanings. Zeeland is another of the DuPont company's better things for better living through chemistry. Peanut vendors starring Don Amici as Amadeo Obisi on the Cavalcade of America. Yes, ma'am. What can I do for you? Not for me. Say, there's a little boy in the waiting room. I think he's lost or something because his crown is though his heart's broken. Oh, thank you, ma'am. I'll see you. Well, well now, and what have we here? Mute foreigner. Tell me what's your name, lad. Oh, that don't sound like a name to me. DuVermute, see you. Eh, now, and what's this tag tied on to your button here? Put this boy off at Scranton. His name is Amadeo Obisi. Si, si. Obisi? Oh, sounds like Italian. Eh, short that little tailor over on me and said he was expecting a nephew from Italy. Well, well now, come on, I'll take you right over. What's the matter, Sonny? Don't you feel well? O tanto fame io. Oh, likely is not you haven't had a bite to eat all day. Here, here, look what I've got, some peanuts right here in my pocket. Go on, lad, go on, take some. Che sono? Oh, sono baggigi. Sure, sure, go ahead, eat them. They're peanuts. Go on, take a handful of them. Grazie. Tante grazie. Mmm, buoni. Hey, you like them here? You're hardly bigger than a peanut yourself. We'll come along, Mr. Peanut. I'd better take you up to your uncle. That was Amadeo Obisi's introduction to America in 1889. Later, as a young man in Wilkes-Barre, young Obisi's Americanization really began. Good afternoon, Billy. Usual, please. Yes, sir. I see you've got a new cleanup boy. Yeah, hard worker. He's a young Italian. Want to talk to him? He's a nice kid. Yeah, call him over. Hey, Obisi, come over here, will you? Yes, yes, please. You want to do something? Mr. Hans here wants to talk to you. I was just wondering what makes you work so hard, young man. Well, please, I work harder to make money to give it back to my uncle. Oh, your uncle lent you some money? So I come to America, yes. I see. And after you've paid him back, will you go on working hard? Oh, yes, please. So I bring my family to America, too. That's fine. What's your name again? Obisi. Amadeo Obisi. My name's John Hans. I own a grocery store on East Market Street. If you ever need any advice or help, come and see me. You will give me help? If I can, sure. I'd like to see you get ahead. Oh, but how kind of you, is it? Is the soul everywhere in America to help one or the other? Nothing to get excited about, son, just being neighborly. Oh, thank you, Mr. Hans. Thank you very much for these words. Someday maybe I too can do something so nice for someone. Are you serious about this Obisi? You're really going to leave me? I'm sorry, Mr. Billy. You're always so good to me. But here's the time I go into business for myself. What's it going to be? I'm going to sell a peanuts. I'm going to buy a little roaster to put on a little stand. It will be nice, you know? Sure, I guess. Where are you going to set up shop? Well, Mr. Hans will let me stay in front of his store. And at night I'm going to push my stand in front of the opera house, in front of the prize fight, and any place that people go. Well, kid, I certainly wish you all a luck in the world. And if there's ever anything I can do to help you, just say the word. Please, Mr. Billy, there is something maybe you can tell me. Sure. What is it? How I learn to speak good English like you. Well, I was born to what you might say. But I'll tell you this. If you want to speak really good English, study Shakespeare. Shakespeare? Yep. The works of William Shakespeare, The Immortal Bard. What's this mean, Bard? You'll find out when you read them. Thank you, Mr. Billy. I go into business and I read the Shakespeare. Early tonight, ain't you? Hello, Mr. Doman. Hey, what are they playing tonight on the opera house? The Romeo and Juliet the game? No, not tonight. No, prize fights tonight. I can't let you slip through tonight, Amadeo. They're stricter with fights than they are with that Shakespeare stuff. Yeah, well, I don't care. I don't like fights anyhow. Shakespeare is much better. Nobody get hurt. And they do the way you read it. Hey. What's that across the street? You got some competition tonight. Competition? What means this, please? That girl over there, she's got a peanut stand, too. What do you say? How do you like that? This is my place. She's not going to do this. Pete, you watch my stand, yes? I'm sorry, lady. You cannot stay here with your peanut stand. And a wine nut is a free country. This is my place. Everybody in the works of bear knows I sell my peanuts here. Good. Soon everyone will know I sell peanuts here, too. No, no. No, I will not let you. You take your stand and go someplace else, but they're not here. Girl, sell peanuts under the street. That's no good. Back home, they're not there, so they would have said that... Oh, they're there? So you are from there, too? Yes, I am. I am, too. You? You're from there, too? Yes. Where do you live there? Well, I... How long go you there? Maybe you know my mother and my sisters, huh? Come on, we'll put our stands together so we can make a talk. Where do you live in the works of bear? North of Franklin Street with my sister. Oh, it's a good word. Nice, Amadeo. That's because you listen so nice. With you, I could do everything nice. Ah, Amadeo. Louisa, I wanted you to marry with me. Louisa, why you don't answer? Because I do not know if you do this to gain a wife or to lose a business rival. Oh, Louisa. Well, you have not spoken to me of love. Louisa, this evening, and before I leave my room, I read in the Shakespeare all the beautiful words about the love, so I can tell them to you. Now, when I'm with you, I forget everything. All I can say is, Louisa, I love you. That is enough, Amadeo. Wait a minute, quick. I got a surprise. A surprise? Maybe another wedding present, huh? Where is it? You're coming with me down to the street. Come on. There, there. How do you like it, huh? Like a what? It's a horse. The horse is standing right in the front. He's ours. Of course, Amadeo. Oh, he's a wonderful horse. They were going to send him to the glue factory, but I may never give him to me. His name is Old Dick. Amadeo, what do we need with a horse? Listen, Louisa, we sell a lot of peanuts on the two stands. Yes. All of we can roast. So, so if we can roast them all, we sell them all, yes? But how can we roast them all? Are the roasters on this stand for it to live? Then we've got to get a bigger roaster. We've got no room for a bigger roaster. Louisa, there's a second floor and the inner building on another end of the street. We put the roaster there, we do all our work in there. But, Amadeo, where could we sell so much of peanuts? We're going to sell it to the storekeepers. Three, four dozen of bags at one time. Already John Hansen has promised. You see, I will buy a fine wagon from the younger man. And Old Dick and me will deliver our peanuts every place. And under the wagon, I'm going to pay the sign that they say the peanut is the specialist. Sounds pretty good. That kind of deal. Amadeo, all this will cost a much of money, no? Yes, yes. All of the money we ever save. Then we cannot move into two rooms, huh? No, not yet. All the ways, I know it's not nice how we live in one of the small room, chair made from an old box. Everything is so poor. But see, if we wait a little longer, if we put all our money into this business, then one day we're really going to live in nice. Maybe we're going to even have three rooms. But, Amadeo, we work so hard to save up. But this money, and if your idea should not go well... You think it's too risky, huh? You're afraid? Louisa, I will not do it if you're afraid. Who is afraid? If you think it's a good, I think it's a good. How many today? Better make it 20 pounds of the roasted and six dozen bags of the salted. All the sales gone up, eh? Woo, woo, Dick. How will it get shorted together right away, Mr. Hansen? Yeah, you kept your plan of bringing your whole family over here. That's right, Doctor. Everyone over here now. And now they're all helping me roast the salted peanuts. By the way, Amadeo, those salted peanuts are yours. Yes. How do you blanch the red skins off them without breaking the peanuts in half? Oh, that's the new way I find a roast of them, Mr. Hansen. I notice folks like having peanuts all ready to eat without the bother of breaking the shells and skinning them. Oh, sure. I think you've got a valuable process there. Why aren't you sleeping? I'm a thinkin', Louisa. I'm a thinkin' of big things. Big things about the little peanuts, huh? Ah, there's a big future in our peanuts, Louisa. People are like that. We could make the peanut, the candy bars, we could dip the peanut in the chocolate. Ah, as much as we could do. Then why don't we do it? Take some more money than we got. I should have formed a company, but I need someone else to work with me. Ah, what about your friend, Amadeo Peruzzi? Yeah, I was a thinkin' of him, too. He's a very good man. Besides, I think he and your sister, at least, are better like each other. Oh, yeah? Well, that's fine. That's very fine. I ask him if we'll suffer tomorrow. Sure, I want to go into business with you, Amadeo. I have no money. Mario, your credit is good. Someone will lend you some money, no? Friend or relative? Maybe. Sure. Maybe my old boss would make me a loan. That's right. Then if we could sell us some stock to a few friends here in Wilkes-Barre. You ought to be able to do that, Amadeo. You're so well-liked. Mario, maybe we are in a business, huh? Give me your hand. He's a lot to us and to... Amadeo, what are we going to call our company? Eh, yeah, we gotta have a... Wait, I ask you, Luisa. She's very good at make-up her names. Hey, Luisa! Luisa, come here. What are we going to call our company, huh? That makes so much difference. What do you call it? You sound like my friend Shakespeare. What's in the name? A rose? By any other name or with the smell is a sweet. Now, but in this case, Luisa, it makes a difference. We should have a name that's solid, that's important, and a name that's American. Oh, the peanut planters in Virginia call themselves all kinds of... Wait, wait! You said it! I... I said the what? The name of our company! Plant Peanut Company! You are listening to Peanut Bender, starring Don Amici as Amadeo Obisi. On the cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Amadeo Obisi and his new partner, Mario, have chosen a name for their company, the Planters Peanut Company. With high hopes, they plan great things, and it seems as though those hopes are justified. Mario, look at these orders. Peanut candy bars, salted peanuts, chocolate-covered peanuts. They admire how we ever grown in the three years, eh? But Amadeo, we still lose in the morning. We're gonna make it up, don't you worry. Now we must talk to a builder about adding on to this place here. Mario, we are in trouble. All our money has gone into the building up at the plant. We have no capital left to carry on the business. We can't pay the workers, we can't pay for new stock. Maybe I could raise $5,000 on this building. Amadeo, already you have a $39,000 more gave, John. How can you expect to raise a $5,000 more? No, but I will try. And I will get it. Louisa, Louisa, for the first time we will show a profit of $4,000 a month. Oh, Amadeo, I can't believe it. Isn't it true, Louisa? From now on everything is gonna be fine, you see? Well, Amadeo, what's the matter? I thought your company was out of the red. Well, we have other troubles now, John. Bad troubles. You know the peanuts we use, the extra-large of the genius that come already? Yeah. Well, the people who buy them from the planters and sell to us have made the prices so high that we cannot afford them. And our stock is almost gone. Hmm, sounds serious. But there must be some way out. If we could only have our own peanut cleaning plant in Virginia, we would get the raw peanuts direct from the growers and shell and clean them ourselves. Then we'd never have to worry. Well, why don't you get your own plant in Virginia? I thought of going down to Suffolk and asking the banks to lend me the money to build one. But John, will they even listen to me? Try it. Go on down to Suffolk on Medell. And look, I've got about $500 saved up. Why don't you... Oh, thank you, John. But no, no. You've done so much for me already. I can never pay you back. No, I will not take you money, my friend. Just the hand and your prayers. I will need them. Let me get this straight, Mr. Obeseem. You want this bank to advance your $25,000 to build a peanut cleaning plant. That's right, sir. Well, but isn't there a rather complicated way of coping with the problem of high prices? Wouldn't it be simpler for you to raise your own prices or buy a cheaper grade of peanuts? No, sir. That I will not do. Our company has built a final reputation on a fine five-cent product. I will never raise the prices or lower the quality. Well, that's fine. But with regard to the loan, I'm afraid I don't see it. Look, when we start this plan, right away we will give jobs to lots of people in Suffolk. They will have money to spend and money to save. That'll be good for all the other businessmen in Suffolk. That'll be good for your bank, yes? Of course, but then... At first it'll be only a shelling and a cleaning plan, but gradually we'll handle all the production details. And each step will mean more jobs for the people, more income for the city, bigger business for your bank. Mr. Obeseem. Our business right now is only four years old, you know. But someday we're going to have branches all over the country. We'll do business with the whole world. I have such good ideas for advertising. Everyone will know about our peanuts. Everyone will eat them. We can even have a chain of our own nut stores. And we will also sell wholesale to makers of peanut butter and other manufacturers. Mr. Obeseem, are you finished? No, but if you wish to say something, I will listen. All right. I can't understand how you think you can build a plant for only $25,000. Oh, I don't. I need $100,000. But I thought I would ask each of the four banks down here to advance me a fourth of the money. Oh, I see. Well, Mr. Obeseem, if I were you, I wouldn't waste my time going to the other three banks. Oh, you don't think they will be interested, huh? Oh, they might. But why bother? This bank will end you the entire amount. To live for the train on my tail. Yes, I just have to say goodbye to Louisa. You know, Mario, opening that San Francisco plant will be our biggest step forward since we built the factory here in Suffolk. Now we can reach the people in the far west. Now we will have customers from coast to coast. Amadeo, Amadeo. Oh, Louisa, I was just going to look for you. Hey, what's this? Are you unhappy to see me go? I'll be back in two weeks, darling. There's no reason to be upset. No, no, no, Amadeo. It's John Hanson. John, what's happened to him? We received a letter. He lost his business. And then he got so ill, he went to the hospital as a charity patient. Mario, you go to San Francisco without me. But, Amadeo... You can't close the deal. But so many important things may come off. You can handle him. I'm going to work spare. I've got to see John Hanson. Amadeo. My friend, huh? Oh, I'm... All right. What do you mean by getting sick behind my back, huh? Just for that, you're coming down to Suffolk to recuperate. Oh, no, Amadeo, I... Doctor said you should not talk. Louise has fixed up a nice big sunny room for you overlooking the river. And if you don't like that one, let's say a dozen others you can choose from. Amadeo, I can't let you do so much for me. So much? You mean so little, huh? Compared to the help you have given me all of these years, it's nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that I am able to do anything at all for you makes me happier and prouder than all of my peanut plants put together. Amadeo. I don't know how to... No talking, no talking. Just save your breath and get strong enough to go home to Suffolk. Home? Of course. That's the way you're going to live it from now on. Where are Louise? What do you think of the plant as Peanut's new electric sign, huh? It's magnificent. Look how bright it is. Yes, one of the biggest electric signs on Broadway. You can see that for yourself. Oh, Amadeo, I can't... Well, what is it, Cara? Oh, now you're not crying. I was just remembering that first sign of yours, the peanut specialist. An old dick. You remember how many peanuts we sold in those days? If business was good, 20 bags a day. And now 100 million pounds a year. Yes. You're no longer the peanut specialist, Amadeo. You're the peanut king. Cara, in America, every man is a king. Look, you see that young boy over there looking up at our sign? Yes. He's poor now. You can tell from his clothes. But in 20 years, he may be a very successful man. It's up to him. If he's willing to work hard and sacrifice and learn... Amadeo, he has to be smart, too, the way you were. Yeah, he is smart. How do you know? Well, look at him. He's eating a bag of our peanuts. The story of Amadeo Obisy, a true one, is representative of the many success stories that fill the pages of American industry's history, from nothing to a great business. It has happened many times and can happen many times more to anyone, whether born in Manhattan, Odezzo, Kansas City, a tiny village in Canada, or a great metropolis in Europe. For the freedom of opportunity is America's gift to her people. Here is Gain Whitman speaking for Dupont. 20 years or so ago, a sparkling, transparent wrapping material was introduced to the American public. You saw it on Deluxe Gift Boxes of Candy, on bottles of expensive perfume. Not one person in three could even call it by name. Cellophane. The Dupont Company, however, envisioned great possibilities for cellophane as a protective packaging material for a host of products. Its structure, its properties were studied to find ways to improve it and to give it qualities that would make it more and more useful. One of Dupont's first developments was a moisture-proof film that would keep moisture in or out of a product as desired, protecting original freshness and flavor. The film used so widely today on food and tobacco products. Next, a film was developed that could be sealed by heat, adapting it to the wrapping machines which today package so many things from razor blades to loaves of bread. Dupont Laboratories tailor-made new films to meet specific requirements. For instance, there is a special cellophane for frozen foods that stands up under subzero temperatures. There is another variety for packaging salted nuts. Still another kind keeps donuts fresh without letting them become soggy. And there is a special cellophane for products containing a high percentage of moisture. It is suggested to hear that today there are more than 50 different varieties of cellophane. They may all look alike to you, but you can be assured that Dupont is working closely with the manufacturer of each product on which cellophane is used to make certain that the right kind of cellophane is employed. Not only has chemical science produced cellophane in these many different varieties, but it has also made it possible to produce it more economically. And today, as you walk down the aisles of your favorite grocery, drugstore, or 5- and 10-cent store, you see transparent cellophane all about you. Showing what it protects. Protecting what it shows. There, in a nutshell, is a story of the American way of business. This little cavalcade, as you might call it, of cellophane. One of the Dupont Company's better things for better living through chemistry. Today, at Atlantic City, New Jersey, the American Chemical Society opened its 111th national meeting. The society has over 52,000 members. Men and women connected with the 10,000 manufacturers of chemicals and related products in the United States. Those working at universities and colleges, or those otherwise associated with the science of chemistry. Here, the chemists read papers and exchange the ideas and experiences which contribute so vitally to the modern world in which we live. In the middle of the 19th century, a courageous doctor, backed by President Jefferson, began his fight against smallpox by deciding to risk the life of his only son in order to prove that vaccination would ensure immunity from the dread disease. Be sure and listen next Monday to The Doctor and the President, the story of Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Sullivan on The Cavalcade of America. The music for The DuPont Cavalcade is composed and conducted by Robert Armbrister. Our Cavalcade story was written by Priscilla Kent. Don Amici can also be heard on his own radio program for Dream and can soon be seen in That's My Man, a Frank Morzegi production for Republic Pictures. In the cast with Don Amici were Norma Kentle, as Louise, Bobby Sampton, as Young Amadeo, Jane O'Bello as Mario, Herb Butterfield as John Hance, and Milt Herman as Billy. This is John Easton, inviting you to listen next week to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Sullivan in The Doctor and the President on The Cavalcade of America brought to you by The DuPont Company, a Wellington Delaware. Cavalcade of America came to you from Hollywood. This is M.D.C., the National Broadcasting Company.