 The thing for better living through chemistry is that's the Cavalcade of America, starring Edward Arnold. Good evening. This is Edward Arnold. And our story under the font Cavalcade is set in the year 1835. And I play the part of a man named Elephora Terry, who lived in Hartford, Connecticut. Now the year 1835 brought many decisions, and among them my daughter Sarah's decision that young Edward Carrington would make a perfect husband. Let me take a look at you. Hello. Oh, Sarah, really. Oh, Jesus. Oh, dear. What? Your boots are dusty. Naturally, I've been walking. But I want you to make a perfect impression on Father. Father is very particular about his appearance, and you'll expect the same from his son-in-law. Well, I think I should see him at home this evening. No, I should say not. Father is in town today. I'm kind of a meeting at Cousin Nathaniel's insurance office. We'll go right down there now. Sarah, you just don't walk in on a man during a business conference and ask him to marry his daughter. It's... Well, just isn't done. Edward Carrington, you're a procrastinator. If you put it off until this evening, then this evening you'll find another excuse to wait until tomorrow and then tomorrow after that. Now you know what Hamlet said. If it went down, when it is down, then to where it would end quickly. That wasn't Hamlet, it was Macbeth. Oh. I was just talking of doing something simple, a mere assassination. This is a lot more difficult. This takes finesse. Morning, Miss Sharon. And how are you today? Oh, terribly well. Oh, uh, this is Mr. Edward Carrington. How do you do? Like I just said, terribly well. Mr. Bradley, is my father in with Cousin Nathaniel? Yes. Do you think he'll be long? Uh, maybe yes, maybe no. It's hard to say. Board of directors meet and go and out in the other office. Very important. Oh, then of course we wouldn't dream of disturbing him. You're just trying to screw me way out of this Edward Carrington. I am not. You are too. Isn't he, Mr. Bradley? It appears like he's squirming, all right? You see. But, Sarah Ann, I was only going to... Goose liver. I'm not a goose liver. Well, you're acting like a goose liver. Isn't he, Mr. Bradley? Can't say. Never see the goose liver act. That's the right comical statement, Mr. Carrington. Ain't you gonna laugh? Ha-ha. Ain't much up on his appreciation of humorous witticism. Yes, he missed, Sarah Ann. Oh, it seems like the meeting is breaking up now. Oh, good. Father should be coming out. Sarah Ann. Good morning, Cousin Nathaniel. Is father here? Yes, he is. Bradley, pack up my papers and other personal belongings. I'll have Johnson pick them up tomorrow. Yes. Yes, but, Sarah Ann, please be good enough to remember me to your mother. Good morning. Oh, good morning, Cousin Nathaniel. Goodbye, eh, Bradley? Well, I'll be home tomorrow. Hmm. Oh, father. Is that you, Sarah Ann? Come on in. Come on in. Yes, father. Come on in. All right. Aren't coming. Sarah Ann, what a nice surprise. Father, what are you doing at Cousin Nathaniel's desk? Well, this is my desk now. Oh, hello, Edward, my boy. Your desk? That's right. Congratulations, father, my dear. The directors have just elected me president of the Heartford Fire Insurance Company. Oh, father, how wonderful. Congratulations, Sarah. Thank you. I'd like to speak. Oh, that's me. That's why Cousin Nathaniel walked out growling like a bear. Did he growl? He did. Well, he'll get over it. After all, there wasn't anything personal in it. The directors felt that Cousin Nathaniel was too busy with politics and other affairs, and so they decided to relieve him of the responsibility of running our fire insurance company. Father, Edward here. This company has been running to the ground. It's been neglected. It's lost money for the past six years running. Mr. Terry, I'm here today. Someone had to bring them out of the meeting, and I felt it was my responsibility. Of course, Cousin Nathaniel didn't like it a bit coming from me. Especially, you know, the poor relation, the owner of a grocery store. But the directors felt that change was necessary. They asked me what ought to be done, and I told them. I thought we'd never get anywhere unless we set up some method of investigating a property before we insured it. Until we had some standard scale of rate. Until we had reliable representatives in other cities. What did Cousin Nathaniel say to that? His face turned the color of your mother's gooseberry preserves. But he couldn't deny what I said, not a word. Then we had a vote, and, well, oh, tell me, how do I look behind this desk? Wonderful. Yes, sir, fine. I do, huh? Yes, sir. That's good. Oh, what is it you wanted to say, my boy? I want to marry your daughter. Well... Well? Young man. My congratulations. Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you. Jesus, we're both starting on a new career today, sir. I'm so happy. Edward, my boy, have you decided on the wedding day? Oh, well, sir, we hadn't... Yes, in December, the middle of December. A wedding in the snow with sleigh bells and church bells and a whole world tinkering. Oh, won't it be wonderful, father? I plan to put up a little house on some property I own just outside Hartford. Oh, a frame dwelling? I think so. How many rooms? Four, I think. A kitchen, dining room, parlor, and sleeping quarters. I see. Do you have the plans yet, Edward? I'd like to see them. Oh, father, how wonderful of you. You're going to furnish the house for us as a wedding present? Furnish the house? The devil, I will. Why do you want to know all the details? Well, it's the fire insurance policy. Here, Edward, my boy, sign this form right here, will you? And I'll fill the details in later. You're my first client. Sara, please. Oh, hot. Uh-uh, father? Yes, sir. Father, here is cousin Nathaniel. Oh, Nathaniel? Elephorette? Don't stand there glaring at each other. I won't have it. This is my wedding. Shake hands, both of you. Go on. Oh, go on. I'm glad you came, Nathaniel. Yes, sir. Father, here is cousin Nathaniel. Oh, Nathaniel? Elephorette? Don't stand there glaring at each other. I won't have it. This is my wedding. Shake hands, both of you. Go on. You came, Nathaniel. Yes, sir. It's a very nice party, cousin Elephorette. My felicitations. Oh, good. Now, don't start barking at each other the minute I turn my back. I've got to see after the rest of my guests. You go ahead, sir. Nathaniel, I promise to behave. All right. But I'll be watching. Well, Nathaniel? Well, Elephorette? I hope you plan to attend our next directors meeting. I hardly think my presence is necessary. Well, we're planning to announce a dividend. Oh, nothing very large. Just a dollar or so, share. But it'll be the first in six years. Yes. You know, we've been pretty lucky these last six months. Business has gone up a bit and our losses have been relatively small. But you know, I've learned something, cousin Nathaniel. I've presumed you would. Yes. I've discovered that an old grocery store adage fits the insurance business to a T. We always used to say that it wasn't smart to put all your eggs in one basket. That goes double for insurance. Nathaniel, insurance underwriting won't add up to a hill of beans until companies learn to spread their risk. Diversify, spread out across the country so that policyholders aren't concentrated in one city. And how do you propose to spread our company so neatly? By getting the best agents I can find, paying good commissions. You won't find it easy, cousin Liffelette. Local businessmen like to place their insurance with local funds. Not necessarily. Look at us. A large percentage of our coverage is in New York City. A very large percentage. Too large sometimes, I think. Oh, will you pardon me, cousin Nathaniel? A late guest. I must do the honors. You don't have to. Oh, thank you. Oh, excuse me, please. How are you, Mr. Trumbull? I'm glad to see you. Thank you. It's nice of you to come. I'm sure. I'm sorry to disturb you like this, Mr. Terry. Ellsworth, come inside. Come in. Come in, sir. Good Lord. You look half frozen. I'm all right, sir. Oh, if you rest yourselves with our New York agent. I've been riding two days, sir. No stopping. What happened? Fire. Fire. Nothing like it before. Terrible. The whole downtown of New York City, a mass of flames, not a building standing. The place is in a panic. The local fire insurance companies have given up the ghost. They can't pay off. No. But our policyholders came down on me. They were begging, pleading, wanting to know if Hartford was going under two. I didn't know what to tell them, so I came. I came as fast as I could. Well, have you any idea of the extent of our liability? No, sir. Most of the records are here in Hartford. But it's big. Very big, sir. I'd say we're 100,000 down at least. No. Trumbull. Yes, sir. How does Hartford Bank stand on this matter? Well, I can't just say offhand. I've got to speak to my director. There's no time for that. I want an unlimited letter of credit. Unlimited? That's what I said. Don't look so shocked. I'll stake all I have as collateral. Is it good enough? Well, I've known you all my life, a little bit. That's good enough for me. Sarah Dowling, you will forgive me. Won't you? Are you going to New York City? Yes, of course. I'll leave the...with balls as soon as possible. And we'll take our records with us. I don't know if we can. But if we can, every policyholder will be paid off to the last penny and in cash. You are listening to the DuPont Cavalcade starring Edward Arnold as the Liffelope Terry, sponsored by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Among the DuPont Company's better things for better living through chemistry are coated fabrics. Made into finished articles by other manufacturers, they serve you in hundreds of ways. Some of the better known uses are for upholstery, washable window shades, and luggage. Another use is in bookbindings. For many years, DuPont has manufactured two bookbinding materials. DuPont Fabricoid peroxilin coated fabrics and PX peroxilin impregnated cloth. Some of the books in your own library are probably bound in one of these coated fabrics. Attractive appearance, bright, durable, cleanable colors, ability to stand years of rough handling and economy. These are some of the benefits many publishers pass on to you by using Fabricoid and PX cloth. Two of the DuPont Company's better things for better living through chemistry. Now we continue our DuPont play starring Edward Arnold as the Liffelope Terry. His firm on the verge of bankruptcy as a result of the great New York City fire of 1835, a Liffelope Terry, president of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, and James G. Bowles, his secretary, rides through a blizzard to reach the scene of the tragedy. Are you sure we're on the right road, Bowles? Doesn't look right to me. Yes, the right road. All right, Mr. Terry, what there is of it. You know, the snow seems to be letting up a bit. Yes, it does. There's a slay coming up this way. Oh, well, oh, yes, I see it. Well, let's stop him just to make sure. All right, whatever you say. Whoa. Whoa, boys. Easy. Easy there. Whoa. Hey, uh, Holland, will you stop him, or will you please stop it? Whoa, whoa. Tell me, is this the right road to New York City? Yeah, about two miles down, take the left fork at the graveyard. That'll take you to the ferry. Thank you. Set the taint running. What's the matter? Oh, rivers froze over. I got across last night just before it happened, but she froze now. You come from New York? Yeah. Left two nights ago. You hear about the fire? Yes, how bad is it? Oh, I don't expect to see anything like it again until I pay my respects to Lucifer in person. Some says the damage will be nigh on 17 million. Great. All cities ruined. Business just ain't. There's looting and robbing of what's left, and precious little is left. You can take my word. Thank you. You going to New York? Yes, we're from the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. Fire Insurance? Mm-hmm. Listen to me, stranger. You hightail it back where you come from. One thing that ain't popular in New York right now is fire insurance companies. Because they all went bust. You put your face in New York, and they'll have you hanging from a tree within the hour. That's for sure. Thanks. You going anyway? Going anyway. Get up, horse. You're just wasting a good sense on plain darn fools. Get up. Now there's the ferry. There it is. Oh, boy. Oh. Look at it too cheerful. Oh, James, what do you think? That ice looks mighty thin to me. You want a chance at it? There's no other way of getting across. No. Let's try. All right. Come on. Get up. Get up, boy. Come on. Move. Come on. Easy now. Easy there. All right. All right. All right. We'll walk the zedging out. Now then, lay on yourself fast. Fast it is. All right. Come on. Get up there. Come on, boy. Come on. Get going. It's holding. It's holding. So far it is. So far. Up. Come on. Come on. Well, it's been ice we're on, but we'll make it. We'll get across. Come on. Get up there. The road's closed. You can't go any further. Well, we've got to get the low-broadway, sergeant. What's your business? We're from the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. Oh, all right then. But you better go down by the way of the west side. It's the only way through. Well, thank you. Come on. Get up. Get going. Come on. It's impossible to believe. Just look at this devastation. It's frightful. 17 million is a concern for the vestiment. Not a building standing. As if someone had taken a scythe and cut the buildings to the foundation. You think they can ever rebuild it? They have to rebuild. They've got to. This thing can mark up like a snowball. If New York City goes under, it will pull down the rest of the country with it. This is the testing point, James, right here. This can either break the country or make it. What are the other, James? Make it or break it right now. How does the side look, James? Straight? Up just a bit more on the left. Is that better? Yeah. Yeah, hold it there. That's better. Oh, Hartford Fire Insurance Company. Temporary headquarters. Well, I guess that ought to bring us some visitors. All right, gentlemen. Now, wait a moment. You'll have to stay here. Like, we can't do anything if you crowd this desk like that. Gentlemen, be patient. Please. I've been waiting all night. I'm first. All right. Do you have your policy? I haven't got a thing. Nothing. Everything went up in the fire. What's your name? Morrison. Elma Morrison. The address of the property insured. 26th Water Street. And I swear, I had a policy. It was a grocery store. James, check your records. Elma Morrison, 26th Water Street. Yes. A grocery store. You're saying? That's right. Well, I was in that business myself in Hartford. You don't say. Maybe I should have stayed in the grocery business. Might be better off. Yes, here's the record, Mr. Terry. Building and stock insured for $1,300. That's right. $1,300. All I had in the world. Your tense is wrong, Mr. Morrison. I've been waiting all night. All I had in the world. Your tense is wrong, Mr. Morrison. All you have in the world. Now here's the draft for the full amount. $1,300. The whole thing? All of it? To the penny, on the barrelhead. They're paying. They're paying off to the penny. Let's see it. Everybody. They're paying off to the penny. I guess that does it for the night. Tell me, James, how much have we paid out? Well, my figure shows $17,364. They will have twice that much to pay tomorrow. Once word gets around. No, it's all right. We're giving these people what they need most of all. And that's faith. It's worth it. Every penny. No, no, it's shut down. Come around tomorrow. Oh, let him in. Another one more or less won't matter. Very well, sir. This here, the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. Do you have your policy? No, I don't have a policy. What's your name? David Collins. Henry Patrick Collins. And rest of the property? 114 Front Street. What's the amount of the claim? I've got no claim. What? Nope. Gotta earn lucky. The warehouse wasn't damaged. One of the few that wasn't. Well, you are lucky. So are we. Maybe you don't get what I've come for. Get why you've come? That's right. I want to buy insurance. Would you please say that again? I want to buy insurance. You selling? James, did you hear what I just heard? Yeah, I did. I think I... Oh, come on. Come on. Are you two paralyzed? Or are you selling a man insurance when he asks for it? James, do we have any applications? By some rare chance did you bring a name? Applications, I think. Go ahead and get them. All right, get them out of the bag. Come on. All right, get them, James. Get them out and give Mr. Collins a chance. So nice of you to pay us a visit, cousin of Daniel. I came in the hope that you might have had some news from your father, Sarah Anne. Oh, no, we haven't. We had a word since he left. He must be terribly busy. Busy? Well, there's no doubt of that. He's busy sending us all to the poor house. Well, I warned the directors. I told them what to expect when they put a grocer into the insurance business. Your father has only himself to blame, Sarah Anne, and marked my words. Oh, excuse me, cousin of Daniel. Edward, darling, see who it is. Yes, my dear. Oh, for the way, my dear, how are you and Edward getting out? Oh, wonderfully well. He does everything I tell him to do. Oh, hello, Edward. Hello. Oh, that sounds like Father Father. Sarah, darling, how are you? Oh, thank you. Oh, why didn't you write? We were so worried. Well, I had my hands full of say it's cold. Well, there's a fire in the parlor. Well, you need me, George. You know it's good to be home. I can't tell you how good. I... Oh, hello, Nathaniel. Eliphalete. Well, this is a surprise finding you here. I came to inquire as to news of your New York adventure. Well, it was got a hectic. Very hectic. Well, now, perhaps you're satisfied, Eliphalete. I hope you'll go back to your grocery store and be content measuring out beans and barley. This should teach you a lesson, Eliphalete. Don't meddle in affairs you don't understand. I'm told you insisted, insisted, mind you, in paying off all claims one hundred percent. We owed the money and I paid it. Very gallant. Also, extremely foolish. Oh. I presume the loss was great. Yes, quite high. Something in excess of $65,000. $65,000? You drew drafts for that amount? I did. Who do you think will understand that loss if you think you're going to get the directors to say it? Now, just a moment. Just a moment. Sit down. Sit down. Have some tea. I don't want any tea. I only want to know just how you expect to cover the $65,000 in drafts. Well, for one thing, I've brought back some cash with me. Cash? Yes, hard cash. Where did you get hard cash? From our customers. Yes. New customers, cousin. New clients for the Heart of Fire Insurance Company. All right. Well, that's right. Sit down, Nathan. Sit down. I've brought back $40,000 in premiums for new insurance and much more coming. You see, these people have faith in us. Our agent in New York is up to his ears in applications for new policies. You know, faith is a great salesman. It pays dividends, Nathan. Do you have some tea, cousin Nathan? And we're not stopping with New York. We're spreading wide, clean across the country. As the country goes, so we go. And so will all other insurance companies. Selling insurance in every town, every village, making sure that the eggs are in a lot of baskets, diversified, spread the rich. Now, would you have some tea? I know. I say I've forgotten. I have another engagement by Joel. Excuse me. I must leave. Oh, well, let's do soon, Nathaniel. What a pity, sir. Good day, sir. Cousin Nathaniel is leaving. Show him to the door. Yes. This way, cousin Nathaniel. I know the way, young man. Good day. Good day, cousin Nathaniel. Oh, yes. Good day, cousin Elizabeth. He's gone. Poor cousin Nathaniel. What a bitter disappointment for him. He came to crow. And instead, he had to eat crow. Thank you very much. This is Edward Arnold again. I think tonight's DuPont Cable Cave has something for all of us to remember at this time. The principles that Alifala Terry laid down as a result of the Great New York Fire of 1835 are the maxims of our many independent and reliable fire insurance companies today. Time and again, adversely, has given rise to progress. This has happened because men have had faith in the future, faith in the soundness of business, built on freedom of enterprise. Next week, Lincoln's birthday week, the DuPont Cable Cave will present a special tribute to Abraham Lincoln. Starring Raymond Massey in the role of the great emancipator and with Beatrice Pearson as Anne Rutledge, we will dramatize passages from the works of Robert E. Sherwood, Carl Sandberg, Stephen Vincent Benet, John Drinkwater, Walt Whitman, and other great writers who have set down in plays in biographies and in poetry the immortal Lincoln story. We invite you to listen next week to this unusual and what promises to be outstanding DuPont broadcast. This is Ted Pearson speaking. Tonight's original DuPont Cable Cave was written by Irv Tunick and Michael Sklar. Edward Arnold may currently be seen in the Paramount production, Dear Wife. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Voorhees. The program was directed by John Zoller. The DuPont Cable Cave of America comes to you from the stage of the Belasco Theater in New York and is sponsored by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living through chemistry. Next, baby Snooks. Then stay tuned for Hope and Godfrey on NBC.