 The Cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry, presents George Tobias in Schoolhouse at the Front. Before our show begins, here's a piece of interesting news behind the headlines. Recently, a loaded glider was towed across the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. The tow cable was a hundred-yard length of rope made of nylon. Nylon, tough and resilient, can stand the strain of raising a heavily laden transport into the air and towing it thousands of miles across the ocean. Tonight with George Tobias as our star, we offer a new radio play, Schoolhouse at the Front, written for Cavalcade by Frank Gabrielson. Later in the program, we will introduce a special guest, Lieutenant Colonel Morton A. Seidenfeld of the Army's Special Training Branch. And now DuPont presents George Tobias as George Annas in Schoolhouse at the Front. My name is Corporal Alfred James Deming. In civilian life, I was principal of a grammar school in Pennsylvania. Now I'm in the Army and I'm still teaching school. And I'm still teaching the alphabet, the multiplication table and where the equator is, the same as before. But there's one difference. I'm not teaching children anymore. I'm teaching soldiers. Soldiers found to be illiterate. You see, our modern Army is a complicated thing and men can't be taught to fight until they can read and write. Here comes my class now. Ten men. When they arrived at camp, eight of them couldn't read. Five of them couldn't sign their names and one couldn't even tell time. Now they know... Well, perhaps the best way to tell you about my class is to tell you about George Annas. He's that big soldier marching second. Before he joined the Army, Annas was a professional wrestler, self-described as Hercules the Greek. Your papa is always good, Mary. All he does is make face, no wrestle. That's a ceiling blacksmith, no fight. Just make loud noise. Like that, like pitch, like Mussolini. No, no, you are better. Your papa is always better, Mary. Oh, hello, Mr. Goldie. Hey, that was an OK match tonight. Yes, here's your dough. She counted for me. You're a god, Heik. Want a match in Bridgeport next week? No, Godmatch next week. Hitler and Mussolini and hero... Hero Hito, papa. Hero Hito. I go in Army. Well, Heik, well, you should ought to make some soldier. Best soldier in Army I make? When do you go? Tomorrow. Next day we're going to be over. There's $45 here, all right, papa? Well, come on, Mary. What kind of splits for that? What's the matter, Mary? You don't like your ice cream? It's swell, papa. Maybe you want some more, huh? No. Well, what do you want? I take you to Army? What kind of Army this country going to have all soldiers bring the little kids? Nobody fights, just eat bananas, please. Going to lose the war. Handkerchief, papa. No. I need handkerchief myself. You sleep. This is my sister. Two banana splits, here's your check. How much this say, Mary? It's 50 cents, mister. Nobody ask you how much, Mary. It's 50 cents, papa. When I want you to tell me how much the check, I ask you. Here, take money. It takes two quarters to make 50 cents, mister. That's right, papa. Okay, okay, take two quarters. Gee, thanks. Papa, will you send me a picture in uniform? When I just plain soldier, or you want to wait till I get the officer? Are you going to be an officer, papa? How many times I have to tell you, George Annas, Hercules the Greek, your papa is going to be best darned soldier in whole U.S. States Army. Upon his arrival at the induction center, George Annas, like all selectees, was given the general classification test, a test which determines to a large extent the type of advance training the soldiers receive. Please, what is this paper for? Read it and fill it out, soldier. Please, I don't understand still this paper. Look, soldier, read it, write the answers. For instance, here it says, what is your name? George Annas. But don't tell me, write it in. Oh, the paper say I write my name? Sure, right there. That paper nuts, I know can write. That paper's nuts. It's me, Mary, papa. Yeah, listen, Mary, I told you I'm going to be best soldier in army. What's happened, papa? They're going to give me special training. I'm functional illiterate. Annas. Here. Annas, that's me, George Annas. Just answer here, please. Barbeury. I'm here, Corp. Who? Private James Wong Foo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pay attention, please. I pay, I pay. I think only you mean some other James Wong Foo. I see. Listen. Yeah. What's the matter, Comyshevsky? Just say here. Don't repeat your name, please. Comyshevsky. I said not to repeat your name. Comyshevsky. What's the matter, Comyshevsky? Don't you understand English? Comyshevsky. You speak Polish? Polish. Ah, Polish, Polish, Polish. Yes, yes, I'm from Poland. I'm from Warsaw. I live in the end of Poland. I live in the end of Poland. Does anyone else here speak Polish? Aye, aye, Popov. Can you explain to this man in Polish that there's been a mistake? He should be next door with Corporal Tekka, who teaches the foreign language group. Comyshevsky got to go next place, huh? Yes, that's right. And tell him to hand this note to Corporal Tekka. Corporal Tekka, synch. Corporal, you speak Polish, don't you? You speak English, don't you? You should be next door with Corporal Tekka. Please, be so kind to that man in Poland and go to Corporal Tekka. That's the class I speak in English. I don't know if he's very fluent. Please, if Corporal Tekka speaks Polish, I don't speak Polish. I'll go to Corporal Tekka and he'll be more fluent in Polish. Comyshevsky wants to say that he speaks English. He says he works very hard to learn. Fine. Good luck, Comyshevsky. Hey, Comyshevsky. And now, then, Popov's here. Ruga? Here. Smith? Here. Toliver? Here. And Zizbek? Here. That's eleven. Ten without Comyshevsky. My name, by the way, is Deming. Corporal Alfred Deming. Now, before we begin our work, I want to make sure that we all know exactly why we're here. Would any one of you men tell me? Are you sure? You're Anas? That's right, George Anas. All right. Why are we here, Anas? I know. Sergeant, tell me. We are functional illiterates. And do you know what that means? Sure. It means army like us so much, they want to give us special training. Yes, that's right. This is a special training unit. You know what kind of training you're going to get here? Excuse me, that's a crazy question. Why? There's only one thing anybody need to show soldiers how to fight. How to fight with fists, the knife, the gun, the tank, the airplane. That's all soldiers need to know. A soldier has to know more than that, Anas. What's more? Before a man can be part of this army, he's got to have the equivalent of a fourth grade grammar school education. That means that he has to know how to read and write simple English and how to do some arithmetic. For instance, if a man can't write his name, he can't sign for his pay. I make it cross. A cross can be anybody, Papo. But if you write your name like this, A-N-D-R-E-W-P-O-P, P-O-V. See how easy this is to write it? Is that Andrew Papo? Yeah. He spelled me. He spelled me. And you can do it, Papo, easily. And when you write your name like that, you're not just a little mark. You're Andrew Papo, and everybody knows it. Boy, that'd be darn fine-looking name. All right, let's get to work, shall we? Now, here on this chart is what we call the alphabet. It's made up of 26 letters. All these things are letters. And all words are made up of some combination of these letters. Now, this first letter is A. You say it after me, please? A-N-D-R-E-W-P-O-P. Hey, please, a minute. Can I ask a question? What is it, Anas? This leather business is sound like go to school. It is a school. A school is for kids. A school is also for anybody that has to learn. It's for kids. I know. I got the other in school. Little like that she is. She learned the same thing you want to show me. To read, to write, to count, to watch the back of the neck. I suppose you show us that too, huh? You bet we do, soldier. I'm a big, tall man. I can't go to school. What my friends say? You kill German's herk? I shake my head. You kill Jap's herk? I shake my head. You kill Italian's jerk? I shake my head. What do you do in war, herk? I learn the letter A. Get this in your head, soldier. The army won't let you fight until you can read and write and figure. It's going to be a long time than before George Anna's fight. We'll see, soldier. This is a largely way to treat first-class functionality later. Let's get on with the lesson. What letter am I pointing at, man? A. This is B. Say it. B. C. C. At the end of a few weeks, most of my class was making progress. They could read simple things. They could do easy sums. Well, that was eight of them. The other two had learned nothing. One of these was Ruga, who tried hard, but whose mind was poor. The other was Annas, whose mind was good, but it just wouldn't work. I just about decided to report him as hopelessly maladjusted and unfit for service. When one day in class, as we were reading aloud from the soldier's reader... I live in camp. I am in the army. I have an army number. What is your army number, television? Four million four hundred and forty-six thousand and four. Annas? Yes, corporal. How many times do I have to tell you to stop looking out of the window? There's a plain way up there, and I'm watching it. Never mind that. You pay attention here, please. I pay all attention I got, corporal. Then why don't you learn something? Maybe I dumb. No, you're not dumb. Your sergeant tells me that you have the makings of a good soldier, Annas. Soldier? Sure. That got nothing to do with school. Any man who can learn the manual of arms can learn to sign his name if he wants to. Everybody else in this class can do it now. Not Ruga. Never mind Ruga. Don't you feel funny still making those crosses? I don't feel half so funny as feel like going to school like little kids. We won't go into that again, Annas. But from now on, you work, or you'll find yourself in trouble. All right, let's get on with the reading, please. May I ask it first question, please? What is it, Papa? I find it two words in letter. I cannot understand it. You want to show me the letter? Sure, it's right here. These two words, see? Banana split. Your daughter says she's thanking you for the money you sent her for a banana split, Papa. Banana split? What does that mean, teacher? Class? Ice cream on banana. Ice cream on banana. Right. And now, how come that you send your girl money for it when you don't know what it was, Papa? Oh, not my kid. This is not my letter. Who is it then? The Greeks. Oh, what are you doing with it? Well, he's poor ignorant as fellow, so I read his mail to him. Why do you do that? Well, dumb Greek cannot read. He comes and says, I wonder how a kid is home. I read letter because I feel sorry. You read letter because I pay you two packs of cigarettes. Uh, Papa, let me get this straight. You read Annas' mail to him because he gives you cigarettes? I'm sorry for him, too. Papa, I hate to see a man lose a good thing. But after this, you let Annas read his own mail. If Annas wants to know what a letter says, let him learn to read it the way the rest of us have. You are listening to George Tobias as George Annas in Schoolhouse at the Front, a new radio play on the cavalcade of America sponsored by DuPont. As our play continues, George Annas, a Greek wrestler played by Mr. Tobias, is getting into difficulties because he refuses to apply himself in the Army's training course for men who cannot read or write English. Mail call, mail to Kenzie, Babcock, Jester. Hey, you got leather for Annas? Keep your shirt on, buddy. Toliver. Here you are. Wilson. Wilson, give me. Not got for Annas? My kid, my kid, no writing week now. There's one for you, you'll get it, buddy. Epstein, Jones, Charlie, Brown, Annas. Me, that's me. George Annas. That's me. A little later that day as I got the story, Poppov and Smith and some of the men were sitting around quarters shooting the breeze. You hear Corporal tell me today I do good schoolwork? Quite a little teacher's pet, ain't you, Poppov? Who is teacher pet? You buttered a corporal like he was a waffle. Yeah. Who else work as hard as me, huh? Who else knows already the general orders? Listen, my general orders are, one, to take charge of this post and all government property in view. Two, to work my post, keeping always on the alert and observing everything that takes place inside our area. Hey, I'm trying to read this here. Three, to report all violations of orders I'm instructed. Four, to repeat all calls from posts more distant from the guardhouse than my own. Five, to quit my post, don't even crop me at least. Six, to receive obey and pass on to the central authority. It is me all orders. Seven, to talk to no one except the line of duty. Eight, to give the alarm in case of fire or disorder. Nine, to call the corporal of the guard in any case not covered by instructions. Ten, to salute all officers in all colors and stand a smart case. Five, and three, to fight for challenging, to challenge all persons out on me by post and to allow no one to pass without proper authority. And I suppose that is teacher's bed. Hey, shut up. Here comes a Greek. Hey, Papa, what's the matter? Papa, have you lost his voice? Yeah, about two minutes too late. What? What do you want? Got letter from Keith. Read for me, huh? No. What do you mean, no? I pay you two packages, cigarettes, like all time. Cannot read letter. Never mind, Peter, I pay four pack cigarettes. No. I pay eight. I don't care you pay eight hundred. Why not read letter? Why not? I'm not sorry for you no more. Look, I gotta know what the kids say. Maybe she need money or something, huh? Who's gonna read me letter? What's matter, you guys? All afraid of pizza, huh? Well, it ain't that, brother Greek. We're just getting fed up working our butt ends off while you sit there and look out the window. And do what you're all under-eating. But I gotta know what kids say. It's whole week since I don't hear. Ask the teacher. Teacher, I quit the army first. Don't get mad. What I need teacher for. Go ahead, one you guys, read letter. I ask, please, read letter. Well, as long as you say please, give it here. You read letter? No, no. I'll shut up you. What'd she say, Smitty? Hey, hey, this is serious. Yeah, look, fellas. Yeah? What's the matter? What's the matter, is kids sick? Oh, we ain't got the heart to tell you, Herc. Tell, tell. You promised you'd read letter. Well, I just read it, didn't I? Read? Read to who? To myself. You didn't think I was going to read it out loud, did you? Ha! You don't read it! You don't read it! What with the kid? I gotta know. All you gotta do is read your own letter, Greek. Well, just soon I find out how his kid... I come and break your neck, Mr. Private Smitty. Please, you get the house of Dimitrios Constantino. Sorry, they do not answer. What you tell me? My sister home all time. Ring phone. See answer? Sorry, they do not answer. Oh, look, operator. You must make mistake. Ring phone. I gotta find out about my kid. I think she's sick. I gotta find out. Ring phone. Sorry, they do not answer. Ring louder, then. I gotta find my kid. Around five o'clock, I was working with Ruga, who came every day for extra lessons. Two times two is four. Two times three is six. Yes, that's right. Two times five. Five is ten. Please, Corporal. Corporal Deming, I got to see you. You'll have to wait on us. I'm busy right now. But look, it's a letter from my little kid. Something's wrong. I call home and no answer. I think maybe put a little kid in hospital. What is it you want me to do? Read a letter. Tell me what's wrong, please. Sort of a sudden interest you're taking in reading, isn't it, Anas? Well, aren't you here for to teach me to read? My job isn't to teach you to read your letters from home, Anas. I'm supposed to give you enough education so you can become a fighting soldier, that's all. Ruga comes every day for an extra hour or two and works with me. Why do you do that, Ruga? I am not so smart. Work hard for me. Army say I got to learn or kind of fight. I have mother in Tugoslavia. I did have brother there, too. What do you think I think about Greece? About U.S. states? I fight like anything for them. Well, you got to finish school first. I finish, huh? Only read letter, huh? No, Anas. I put up with enough from you. But my kid... Learn to read, then. Corporal, I think now Anas work hard. Maybe you let Ruga read letter to him, yes? You think you can, Ruga? I try. George, you feel bad. All to know about little girl. All right. Give Ruga your letter. What does it say? Dear Papa, I have a... a surprise for you. By the time you get this letter, and Anastasia... Anastasia. And I will be in your camp. I am so... excited that I can all write no more. I will tell you every thing when I see you. You loving daughter Mary Anas. The kids. The kids, you come to see me, huh? There is a P.S. Read them, read them. And Anastasia say, please do send me... Do not send me any more quarters. Quarters. I am eating too many. But is this word, please? That's banana split. What's the matter? You can't read. Now Anastasia can read a lot more than banana splits. And so can the whole class. Even Ruga. They'll be graduating soon, and they'll make good soldiers. Here they come now, marching to class. You hear them? That's more than 10 men. That's all the special training units in all the camps. Thousands and thousands of men from the 48 states. Men from over the seas. Men who did not have enough education to serve their country under arms. There'll be better soldiers now, and better citizens later on. Here they come, on their way to school, 20 years late. But on their way to school at last, to the schoolhouse at the front. Thank you, George Tobias. In a few moments, Mr. Tobias will introduce Cavalcade's special guest of the evening, Lieutenant Colonel Morton A. Seidenfeld of the Army Special Training Service. Before he does, we want to tell you the story of the capture of sunshine by chemistry, and how this development is helping to produce 60 billion eggs this year. Have you wondered what the food situation might be if there were not plenty of poultry and eggs? There are at least half a billion chickens in the United States at the present time, the greatest number ever. They're expected to lay nearly 60 billion eggs this year. Poultry products have become a $2 billion business in wartime America. But the poultry man raising more hens, producing more eggs than ever before, is facing problems he has never faced before. He is hampered by serious shortages of vital ingredients which he must have in the feed he gives his flock. That he is doing as well as he is, is due to his own extraordinary wartime efforts, and the persevering effort made by the feed manufacturers to supply him in spite of war shortages with a complete ration. One shortage that has not developed, a shortage that might have been more serious than any other faced by the poultry man, has been prevented by chemistry. Chickens, just like human beings, must have certain vitamins, especially vitamin D. A chick needs vitamin D to grow sturdy and strong. A laying hen needs it for health and egg production. And every poultry breeder knows that vitamin D assures him more eggs will hatch. Luckily for America's food supply, vitamin D is one shortage the poultry man doesn't have to worry about today. For DuPont now manufactures vitamin D for poultry in quantities that meet all of the needs of America's greatly expanded wartime poultry industry. Sunshine captured by chemistry. That's what it amounts to in matter-of-fact scientific terms, for vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. And using domestic raw materials of which the supply is secure, ultraviolet rays, identical with those in sunshine, are what DuPont pours into them, using great banks of powerful ultraviolet lamps in place of the rays of the sun. Hens and chicks must have vitamin D the year round. And not only today, when there is plenty of summer sunshine, but next winter as well, when skies will be overcast, this stored up chemical sunshine will help to see to it that you have plenty of chickens and eggs. Poultry men are doing all they can. So are feed manufacturers. Their record is amazing, 60 billion eggs this year. And we at DuPont are happy in the knowledge that their task is made easier by delsteral deactivated animal sterol, one of the DuPont better things for better living through chemistry. And now the star of tonight's Cavalcade, George Tobias. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. As I'm sure all of you recognize beneath the comedy of tonight's Cavalcade is a serious condition that demands correcting. For its part, the Army is doing what it can. In Washington now as a gentleman who will tell you what is being done. It is my privilege to present Lieutenant Colonel Morton A. Seidenfeld of the Army Special Training Branch, Colonel Seidenfeld. The story we have been listening to tonight carries with it inspiration and hope for many other Americans who, like George Annas, have not had an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of our language. It is a serious reflection upon our national culture that two of our Axis enemies, Japan and Germany, can boast a higher degree of literacy than the United States. Education is the foundation of democracy. We must never lag in strengthening that foundation. Among potential soldiers, illiteracy is a serious handicap and a hazard to successful military operations. The Army is doing what it can to salvage the ability of some of the men who cannot read or write English but who are otherwise eligible for induction into the Army. Our public schools are also cooperating to help the literates prepare for regular assignment when they are called to the colors. The Army welcomes any other assistance it can receive to help develop capable soldiers from the large group of Americans similar to Annas and Popov who eagerly desire to serve our country. Beneath the surface of tonight's amusing story, there is a real tragedy. How unfortunate it is that there are still many Americans so unlettered that they not only fail to realize their handicap, but instead they actually boast that they are functional illiterates. Through proper education, these men might readily take pride in their increased ability to serve our country at war and in this new learning, we'll permit them to enjoy the greater opportunities in our land when the peace for which they fight returns. To most people, a diamond is a jewel. To some, it is an instrument of war. Next week, Cavalcade presents an action-packed Nazi spy melodrama about the men who risk death for diamonds for industry. Our play, Diamonds at War. Our star, the popular screen player, Charles Coburn. Be sure to hear Cavalcade next week when we present Diamonds at War starring Charles Coburn, the famous Mr. Dingle of the motion picture The More the Merrier. The orchestra and musical score tonight were under the direction of Donald Burry's. Cavalcade is pleased to announce that tonight's star, George Tobias, is soon to be seen in the Warner Brothers feature picture of the Berlin's This is the Army, which will be presented nationally for the benefit of the Army Emergency Relief Fund. This is Clayton Collier, sending best wishes from Cavalcade's sponsor, the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This program came to you from New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.