 Remember a hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. As great as stars in outstanding stories, chose English novelists. Ladies and gentlemen, this is James Hilton. Tonight on our hallmark playhouse we tell of an incident in the life of the great president whose anniversary we celebrate on Sunday. In the lives of almost all great men there are tense moments of drama, but not all these get into the school history books. Our story tonight is one of these dramas in the life of Abraham Lincoln. It is based on papers and documents at present in the Huntingdon Library at San Marino, California, where they were used by Miss Norma B. Cuthbert to prepare her monograph entitled Lincoln and the Baltimore Plot. I think you'll agree that in this case a work of scholarship produced a very exciting result. Now for a matter that's of special importance whenever a Lincoln story is dramatized. The part of Lincoln with its many-sided brilliance and above all its nobility of character has always fascinated actors. And tonight we are proud to have in this role a distinguished visitor from the New York stage, Mr. Victor Jory. And now a word about hallmark cards from Frank Goss before we begin the first act of Lincoln and the Baltimore Plot. We celebrate a day of thoughtfulness and sentiment next week, St. Valentine's Day. And you can find hallmark valentines to send as proudly as you send hallmark cards on every memorable occasion. On the back of each valentine you will see the hallmark that is your assurance of perfect taste. That hallmark is a symbol which all who receive your valentines will quickly recognize and they will know you cared enough to send the very best. Now hallmark playhouse presenting Lincoln and the Baltimore Plot starring Victor Jory. President Lincoln was newly elected and he and his family were on their way to Washington for his inauguration. His journey was arranged to take him through five states. Like all of the presidents he had a lot of friends and he had more than his share of enemies. His train stopped for a night in Indianapolis and he rode in a carriage with his wife and his friend Ward Hill Lamar through the crowded streets. The president doesn't pass by often. It's something to tell your children. I saw the president on the way to his inauguration. I hope our sons are behaving themselves. I told William Tad to stay seated and not to jump up and down and upset the driver. They'll be all right. It's funny isn't it how like all the faces are. I've seen these same faces every place we've stopped. The faces of the ones that liked me and the faces of the ones that hated me. And the faces of the ones who believe I'll ruin the country and the ones that hope I might do something for it. They'll all mighty soon see. I wish I could say to them give me a chance. Just give me a chance. I was born of country earth and open sky. I grew listening to the dreams of free men. If you'll just give me a chance I'll put my hand to making some of those dreams come true. I don't want to take anything from the country. I just want a chance to give. Well if that's what you want to say why don't you say it. You can't say those things. All you can do is stand up before them and state your views and hope that they'll sense how you feel. And give you a chance to live and... To live? Well you talk as though you expected them to try to kid you. Nonsense. Well there's the Bates Hotel up ahead unless I'm very much mistaken. That's it all right. We're stopping. Let me get out of the carriage first. No. I'll get out first. Hello son. What are you doing down here all by yourself? Just thinking. This is no way for a president to spend his birthday. Even the president likes to get off to himself for a little quiet thinking once in a while. You know I'm 52 years old today. I had an idea that you were. You've been bragging about it all day. You know many many years ago there was a girl in Illinois. And she used to say to me, Abe, someday you'll be president. Mother? No I didn't know your mother then. That was when I was young. Perhaps it was the last time I was young. Where's the girl now? I sleep. Out there. Oh. Days like this we used to tramp across the fields. Talking. Talking seems like we never stopped talking. Strange I can't remember any of the things she said those days. But I can remember exactly how her voice sounded. The heart remembers long within the mind. Words can be forgotten by the mind. But the heart hears the melody of a voice eternally. Well, I'd better get back to work. Your mother sent me after Tad and Willie. I forgot about it completely. I forgot too. She sent me to look for Tad, Willie and you. Oh hello son. Mother sent me to hunt for you and Bob and Willie. Willie is the only one that's lost now. Willie isn't lost. He's up driving the train. No. Yes, he's got influence with the engineer. Come on, let's get him quick before your mother finds out. To have seen the president of the United States or his three sons. We're going to collect Willie now, dear. He's up front talking politics. Oh, well, ten years he must talk a brilliant game of politics. He talks a better game than some of these politicians talk. What's that newspaper in your hand, dear? Oh, I was just reading the accounts of our reception in New York. Oh, I see. I have been sent in charge of the president, the president's wife and the president's son. Hello, Hill. Who sent you? Willie. Willie? Yes. He said you've all disappeared and he's hunting for you. You'd better put in an appearance before he pulls the emergency cord and stops the train. And let me tell you, he can stop the train anytime he wants. He has influence with the engineer. How did Willie get so much influence with the engineer? The engineer wants to retire and be a postmaster. Oh, I see. And Willie has told him that he has a certain amount of influence with the incoming president of the United States. Oh, you're going to have to spank that boy. Why? He's telling the truth. He does have influence. Say, aren't we due in Philadelphia at four o'clock? My goodness, is it that late? Well, it's almost four. Well, all right, boys. Come with me and help get our things together. Well, I wonder how Philadelphia is going to receive us. The strange thing being president, you never know whether it's a foe or a friend you're stepping off the train to meet. You never know. Oh, my dear, I've shaken so many hands tonight that my arm feels like it's going to drop off. Well, we really should go back into the reception room. Well, even the president of the United States is entitled to a few minutes to get a breath of fresh air. Oh, here you are, Mr. President. Hello, Hill. Mr. President, I'm afraid I'll have to take you away from the reception for a few minutes. There's someone who has a message of great importance for you. Oh, is it? It's Mr. Allen Pinkerton, the detective. Yes. What does he want with the president? Oh, it's purely a routine matter, Mrs. Lincoln. You go in and entertain the guests, dear. I'll only be a few minutes. Pinkerton's a fine detective. He's in the next room. How do you do, Mr. Pinkerton? Won't you sit down? Thank you. Mr. Lincoln, as you may know, I've been an employee of the Philadelphia Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad to guard the line. Yes, I know, Mr. Pinkerton. Recently, from some of my employees, I've had word of a concrete and definite plot to assassinate you on your way through Baltimore the day after tomorrow. Oh. And who is it that's going to assassinate me? The ringleader is a barber named Fernandino. I never heard of him. Neither have I. He's the head of several reasonable secret military societies in Baltimore. This plot, Mr. President, according to the conspirators themselves, even includes some of your Baltimore police escort. Mr. Pinkerton became a member of the group for a time in order to find out what their plans were. Fernandino says he'll immortalize himself by plunging a knife into your heart. And is that the chief threat against my life, the half-crazed threat of a foreigner? Don't underestimate this foreigner, Mr. President. It's a large group. They've worked out their plot in the greatest detail. I've had several men in the case, and their reports all coincide with mine. I see. Well, how are they going to accomplish this deed that they have resolved on? There'll be only a small police force at the railroad depot in Baltimore. A fight will start to draw off the policeman at the moment of your arrival. Then the assassins will close around you, and the deed will be accomplished. Well, Mr. Pinkerton, accepting your statements at their face value, what do you propose to do about this? I would like to take you to Washington tonight, secretly. I can't do that, Mr. Pinkerton. Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled to raise the flag over Independence Hall, and then I must visit the legislature at Harrisburg. I'm not going to run away in the night like a frightened schoolboy. I'll be the laughing stock of the country. As the President of the United States, it seems to me you owe it to the country to take whatever precautions seem necessary for the preservation of your person. Even at the risk of appearing a coward? At any risk whatsoever. So I shall remain in Philadelphia, and perhaps after your engagements tomorrow, you will reconsider. Well, thank you, Mr. Pinkerton, but I doubt it. Now, come in and join the guests. Mr. Lamarne will show you about Wancher Hill. It will be a pleasure. If you'll excuse me, I'm going up to my room. I suddenly find myself a little tired. Mr. President, your son Bob brought me up to your bedroom. He said it was the best place to talk to you confidentially. Oh, I see. My father sent me from Washington with some letters, which he said were of such importance that he would trust them to no one else. He said he would have come himself, but with the worst situation looking more and more grave every day, he didn't feel that anyone could leave the Senate. I understand. You are aware of the contents of these letters? Yes, Mr. President. Your father writes that a New York detective has reported that there is serious danger to me and Baltimore. A Chicago detective named Pinkerton told me the same thing about an assassination plot. My father asked me to urge you not to go to Baltimore. I don't see how I can change my plans now. I must go through Baltimore. In just a moment, we'll return to the second act of Lincoln and the Baltimore plot starring Victor Jory. Do you know what holiday is coming up next Tuesday? It will be St. Valentine's Day, a time that always brings up longing for the thoughtfulness and graciousness of bygone days. And the question is often asked, why can't we have the lovely Valentine's today that people used to send when gallant gentlemen drove high-stepping horses to court their ladies? Well, this year you can find Valentine's just like the ones sent in those thoughtful days of long ago. For the makers of hallmark cards have created old-fashioned Valentine's this year, one of the most beautiful collections you have ever seen. Valentine's in three dimensions, with lacy designs, standing out from the rest in that quaint old-fashioned way. Here's one for Mother with pink roses and blue forget-me-nots, enchantingly beautiful. And here's another for someone very beautiful and here's another for someone very dear, a lacy heart designed with ribbon and flowers. Here's another Valentine of red with heart of pure white silk. Let's read the verse within. A Valentine greeting, and with it there goes a feeling much warmer than anyone knows. A feeling that's heartfelt and specially true because it's intended especially for you. What charm these Valentine's capture? I hope you won't miss the unusual opportunity they offer you this year to remember your loved ones and friends on St. Valentine's Day. Because they're hallmark Valentine's, it's easy to find one for everyone you'll want to remember to say just what you want to say, the way you want to say it, with the added meaning of that hallmark on the back to show you cared enough to send the very best. Now back to James Hilton and the second act of Lincoln and the Baltimore plot, starring Victor Jory. The times were dangerous. The stretch of storm rumbled low across the land and history held her breath waiting for it to break. President Lincoln paced back and forth in his room until the blood-red sun began to rise in the east. Then he went as he had promised to raise the flag over Independence Hall. There was a tenseness to the morning but he refused to acknowledge it. He went inside to speak to the waiting crowd. I am filled with deep emotion at finding myself standing in this place where we're collected together the wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion to principle from which sprang the institutions under which we live. Liberty as a hope to all the world for all future time was the sentiment which guided those who met here. If this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it. Mr. President. Thank you, Hill. Hill, I've decided to take Mr. Pinkerton's advice. I will let him arrange for me to go through Baltimore at a different hour. I'm glad to hear you say that, Mr. President. There goes against the grain, mind you. No man likes to appear a coward and as a man my pride would make me go straight to Baltimore. But as a president, pride is a luxury I cannot afford. I have much to do yet. Not even the bravest of men would step deliberately into a cage of hungry lions. Perhaps not. Did Pinkerton tell you any details of his plans about my departure for Washington? Yes, he said last night that he saw no harm in you going to Harrisburg as long as you felt so strongly about your trip but that he felt from Harrisburg you must go directly to Washington. All right. Tell him to go ahead with his plans. I'll do whatever he wants me to do. To see today the finest military array I think that I have ever seen in regard to those men that they give hope of what may be done when war is inevitable, allow me to express the hope that in the shedding of blood their services may never be... I'd like to leave you. I understand, dear. Mr. Pinkerton wants the rest of us to go on to Baltimore as originally planned. Yes, Hill is waiting for me downstairs now. Who's going with you? No one. Just Hill and you? Yes, just Hill and me and one car and locomotive and one engineer. Well, is that safe? Pinkerton seems to think so. It's being done in the best detective fashion. There will be no lights, no communications. The telegraph linesman have cut all the wires. No telegrams will be delivered in or out of Harrisburg until Mr. Pinkerton gives the word. Will this train take you all the way to Washington? No, just to Philadelphia. Pinkerton is going to meet us in Philadelphia and get us on the New York-Washington train. God keep you. And you. And the boys. Goodbye, my dear. Like a ghost train cutting its way through the night. Somehow it doesn't seem like the right kind of entrance for a president. A president should... should... Well, I know what you mean. The president should be standing in the sunlight. The band should be played. Well, history keeps changing. And the president has to do what the hour demands of him, just as you are doing. If anything happened to you, it would be the end of the country. Don't you think it for one minute. This country isn't dependent on any one man. It isn't a leader that makes the country. It's the country that makes the leader. It isn't the man that makes the office of president. It's the office of president that makes the man. I am what the majority of the American people who elected me want me to be. When someone else takes my place, he'll be what the majority want him to be. Well, the man has to make... have the makings of a president. If a man is a good American, then he has the makings of a president. No, my friend, the loss of a single man can never hurt this nation. It will always put another man in office and go on. The nation may grieve. It may have a sense of loss. But it will go on. Well, we don't want it to have to go on without you. I love this land of mine. And I love her voices. The voices of the storms and the winds. The voices of the hammer and the saw. Yes, into the railroads, splitting the prairie with the challenge of civilization. The voices of the people themselves. Arguing and growing by their own arguments. Learning more and more every day what freedom means. And liberty. I hope I shall be listening to them for a long time yet. You know, I'm beginning to wonder if I ever will get to Washington. Maybe I'll be the first president that was assassinated before he was inaugurated. I think, Mr. Pinkin, it's much too efficient to permit a thing like that to happen. How sad it must be to love the people and to die at their hands. Over by the corner, I'm beginning to feel like a fugitive. Come on, none quite so interesting. You're only the PWMB station. Well, you're born a regular passenger train. I'm beginning to feel more and more like one. I'll kindly remain in the berth with the curtains closed until you reach Washington. Above all, don't so much as stick a whisker out of the berth while the train is in Baltimore. Yes, Mr. Pinkin. I should be closed by until you're safely in Washington. Thank you. Believe me, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for all your efforts on my behalf. Try to get some sleep, sir. I know this has all been a great deal of strain. Yes, I will. You just reported to me that all was well. People was perfectly quiet. Baltimore is asleep. Good night, Barbara Fernandino. Sleep deeply. The ships have passed in the night. And the hour and the man have escaped you. DC. Just a moment. I'll get off ahead of you, if you don't mind. Where's Mother Pinkerton? Were you asking for me, Mr. President? Welcome to Washington. I might have known. Now, how did you get down there on the platform ahead of me? He got off the car ahead. Well, let's get off. The Seward is waiting at Willards to breakfast with you, Mr. President. He didn't want to cause any commotion by appearing on the platform. How do you know he's waiting at Willards? The message was conveyed to me by, uh, certain sources. Mr. Pinkerton, you are amazing. Mr. Lincoln, may I return the compliment? My association with you shall always be one of my most treasured memories. Thank you, Mr. Pinkerton. Thank you, Mr. President. And now, this is where we say goodbye. The only thing I must do now is restore the telegraph service and send this message by code. Yeah, meet it if you like. This is to report the safe arrival in Washington of President Abraham Lincoln. I'm very proud to have been able to give you a safe conduct into history. Mr. Lincoln, goodbye and good luck. Goodbye, Mr. Pinkerton. I sincerely hope I shall prove to be worth all this trouble. Well, the plot failed, didn't it? The Baltimore plot failed. Sorry, and James Hilton will return in a moment. In this hurly-burly age, one of the finest things you can do for a child is to teach him to be thoughtful of other people. It isn't always easy. But Hallmark Valentine kits for children offer you a pleasant way to teach your youngsters thoughtfulness. Hallmark make-your-own Valentine kits contain red hearts, lacy panels, appealing decorations, everything needed. One kit with the makings of 16 Valentine's costs only $1. Other make-your-own kits are as little as 50 cents. It will thrill your youngsters to send Valentine's they've made themselves to fond grandparents, to aunts and uncles, and their little friends. And giving such pleasure to others by the work of their own small hands will teach them in a wonderful way. So tomorrow, stop in at the friendly store where you buy Hallmark cards and ask to see Hallmark make-your-own Valentine's. Here again is James Hilton. Thank you, Victor Jory, for a truly memorable performance in tonight's story. It was a pleasure to be here, Mr. Hilton, and to play Abraham Lincoln in this exciting adventure story from his life. The fact that it's one of the lesser known incidents from Lincoln's life made it particularly intriguing to me. That's about how we feel, Mr. Jory. With Lincoln's birthday just a few days away, it seemed to me to provide a fascinating drama as well as a timely one for Hallmark Playhouse. Yes, Mr. Hilton, your story selection tonight your Hallmark cards. Frankly, I was delighted to hear about those old-fashioned Hallmark Valentine's. I've always felt there's a place in our modern lives for thoughtfulness and honest sentiment. But tell me, who's joining you next week on Hallmark Playhouse? None other than Ethel Barrymore. You can imagine how proud we are to have on our Hallmark Playhouse the leading lady of the American theater. And Ms. Barrymore will star in a story written by one of America's best-loved Mrs. Edna Ferber. It has the rather unusual title, April 25th as usual. And it's a warm-hearted story of a middle-western family and their problems as the children grow up. A problem as American, as the little Wisconsin town they call their home. Until next Thursday then, this is James Hilton saying good night. Her Hallmark cards may be seen currently in the 40th Century Fox production Carable Trail. This is Frank Goss saying good night to you all until next week at the same time when it returns to present Ethel Barrymore in Edna Ferber's April 25th as usual. And the week following, the autobiography of Will Rogers, edited by Donald Day when our star will be Edward Arnold who will tell you the story with Will Rogers Jr. portraying the part of his illustrious father. And the week after that, John Fenty is the wine of you on the Hallmark Playhouse. This is CVS.