Original subtitles

I shall never forget that warm April

evening in 1940 when the first hit reached me that cousin

Willie had reappeared full blown in the life

of our little southern town in Fredericksville, Georgia.

Until the moment he telephoned and invited me to supper,

I hadn't even known I had a cousin.

Is this Albert Marbury?

Yes, sir.

Are you cousin Willie?

I am.

Come in, my boy. Come in.

It's good to see good folks again.

I used to know you when you were no taller than a deviled egg.

Emma, here's your cousin Albert.

Good evening, Albert.

Hello, cousin Emma.

I didn't know you were going to be here.

Oh, yes.

Nothing would do Will but that I must keep house for him.

You know, we were just talking about you.

I'll tell you, Will's a full of curiosity

as an old cat trying to catch up on everybody and everything.

Say, Cousin Will, you're...

Your mother's second cousin, Albert.

Of course, I remember!

Mom talked about you.

You send us a Bolo knife from the Philippines one Christmas.

I did.

Sit down, Albert.

Supper will be ready any time now.

Thank you.

Are you back in Fredericksville for good now, Cousin Will?

Well, I don't know.

I've only been here a week, hardly

time enough to decide whether this is a garrison or a [inaudible] area.

But you're retired?

Yes.

Uncle Sam has turned the old horse out to graze.

What may I offer you to drink, my boy?

Well, if cousin Emma doesn't mind...

Oh, don't pay any attention to me.

Orderly!

I guess a little whiskey and branch water, anything else you say.

Yes, sir?

Well, 98.

Oh, good evening, Mr. Al.

I thought you were working down at the depot.

Well, yes, I was until the colonel mobilized me up here.

Orderly, bring those two rum tampicos.

Yes, sir.

Going to get them.

Sure a nice place you have here.

Comfortable quarters.

But we were speaking of my retirement, Albert.

I confess I've been looking forward to it merely

as an assignment to a new post.

A new command means a new point of view...

new problems, new solutions.

You must have a lot of old friends around here, cousin Willie.

Enough at least for a good Saturday afternoon poker game.

Yes, this post is not wholly without its social aspects.

But first, Albert, tell me about Fredericksville.

Well, there's nothing to tell.

It's just like any one of 100 towns in Georgia.

What's the population now?

Oh, about 30,000.

How many voted in the last election?

4,000 or 5,000 I'd say.

You mean 25,000 took no part in the action?

Well, you know how folks are around here.

Politics and polite society just don't mix.

The mixed when your grandfather was a boy.

Perhaps Fredericksville is neglecting its history.

Yes, sir.

That road out in front was the very road over which

the late General Sherman was expected to advance on Fredericksville in 1864.

But General Sherman didn't come to Fredericksville, Will.

True enough, Emma.

Why didn't he?

Didn't he think out town was as important as Atlanta?

Lots of folks around here have never felt the same about

Atlanta since he passed us by.

Had they, cousin Emma?

You aren't still expecting General Sherman are you, cousin Willie?

Every populated center is always in danger, Albert.

Call out your sentries and the enemy appear.

Community's history is its family tree.

Swell drink, cousin Willie.

Uh, mess is ready, Miss Emma.

All right.

Just bring your drink along with you to the table, Albert.

No use letting supper get cold just because Will's wound up like this.

No, my boy.

Fredericksville didn't spring up like a mushroom overnight.

How did the molder do it?

It was rusted by steady hand and steady eye

from the reluctant wilderness wrested from a British king's

tyranny, wrested from Sherman, wrested from the noxious mire

of defeat in operations.

It is for us... the living, my boy... for you

and me and every decent citizen in the community

to see to it that Fredericksville does not forget that.

Yes, sir.

I'll try to keep it in mind.

By morning, I had forgotten about cousin Willie

for it was Confederate Memorial Day.

In Confederate Monument Square, the mayor... head

of the Home Folks Party, which had governed our town for as

far back as I could remember...

was delivering his usual glowing tribute to the lost cause.

I yield to no man in everlasting pride,

in that gallant band of gray-clad heroes!

With the mayor's salubrious praises

still ringing in my ears, I returned to my job at "The Leader."

Hey, how about handing this to Dewey?

- Sure. - Thank you.

Say, maybe this isn't going to be such a phony war after all.

You've got a neat column banner, Pete.

"Nazis sweep through Norway."

Got a cigar, Al?

Thanks.

What about his honor's tribute to the lost cause?

Oh, yes.

We mustn't let the world interfere with anything big like that.

I believe that it's locked.

Well, that's the trouble of the world today, no faith in human nature.

Why do you reckon a dame would want to lock up a few measly cigarettes?

Maybe we should have a chisel.

Well, there's one thing you can bet on.

Miss Carrie would never have done such a thing when she was society editor.

Oh, Miss Carrie was one swell old girl.

Oh, the salt of the earth.

But this new dame, hm.

And all these fancy things here, Venetian

blinds and flowers and rugs.

Yeah, just like I say.

There ought to be a law against women in newspaper offices.

Dewey!

Yes, sir?

Look at this.

How come that other paper up the street

gets a full-page ad from Chromarty's and we only get six inches?

Well, I'll tell you how it is, Mr. Hoats.

Yeah, I know.

I know. "The News" supports the city hall.

And the city hall tells Chromarty's where to spit.

That's about the size of it.

Well, it's got to stop, boys.

It's costing us money.

I want the mayor's speech on page one, you understand?

Yes, sir.

Well, what else you got on the stove, Dewey?

Well, the British are getting ready to pull out of Norway.

I mean your locals.

Well, Doc Buden says they're going to change the name of the square.

What square?

Confederate Monument Square.

Change it to what?

Toolen Square after old Pud Toolen.

So they're going to name the square after that old crook?

There won't be a story on that, all right?

Eavesdropper.

Maybe she doesn't understand that he was the founder of the Home Folks Party.

I understand plenty... the way he

lived on the city, the poor white relatives

he kept on the payroll.

Isn't there anyone around here who'll stand up for what he thinks?

If my father was still editor about this paper...

You know, Dewey, that was another nice thing about Miss Carrie.

You never caught her sticking her nose into men's business.

Oh, Miss Carrie was sure restful, a credit

to pure southern womanhood if ever I saw it.

Dewey, I want a Sunday editorial on Pud Toolen.

Pud Toolen?

He's been dead for 20 years.

Well, dig him up.

Unless I missed my guess, here's our chance

to get in solid with the folks down at city hall.

You know, hit the civic leader angle.

Talk about what he did the city.

Or a Toolen.

Hit it off on the note, "The Leader"

takes pride in joining its voice to the clamor

for naming Monument Square after its benefactor" and so forth.

"The time has come in the growth of the expansion of our city"

and so forth, however you feel it.

Give it the works.

But isn't that dynamite?

Listen, I'm from Ohio.

Maybe I don't feel the way you Southerners do about these things.

I've got to think about the red and black ink on the books.

My bosses sitting up in Chicago aren't

worrying about what Stonewall Jackson did at Manassas.

And let me see it before you set it up.

I may want to add something.

Had to be a surprise to old Pud, I'd bet.

Beg pardon.

Where will I find the managing editor?

Right in there.

Thank you.

Colonel Effingham, sir.

W. Seaborn Effingham, currently United States Army retired.

Good morning, Colonel.

Take a chair.

Thank you.

You're visiting in Fredericksville, Colonel?

Not at all.

I was born in Fredericksville.

My father and my grandfather and my great grandfather

were all born in Fredericksville.

For an Effingham, Fredericksville is home.

I see.

My people have always been soldiers.

My grandfather fell at Chickamauga, his grandfather at Saratoga.

When Beauregard fired on Fort Sumpter, my own father,

unfortunately, was only nine.

That was a little young.

I, myself, was wounded at San Juan Hill.

I was at the siege of Panama.

For 50 years, Mr. Editor, the forces of civilization

had been held a day on the Isthmus,

unable to join the waters of two great oceans.

And do you know what blocked them?

Gatling guns?

Mini balls?

Superior forces?

Guerrilla bands?

Mosquitoes.

Well, perhaps one of my boys could fix up a little story for Sunday.

Stegomyia faciata.

A half a century, the enemy less than a quarter

of an inch in stature blocked the economic march of a nation

of 100 million people.

It was insupportable.

Well, Colonel...

We blockaded General Stegomyia, to with the mosquito.

We cut him off from reinforcements.

We hammered his communication.

So you're back in Fredericksville for good, now, Colonel?

We sprayed his concentrations with oil.

We screened his wells.

We put fifth columns of fish in the water to attack his ammunition dumps.

But more of that another day.

What I've been leading up to, Mr. Editor,

is the possibility of a column of war commentary in your paper?

War commentary?

War commentary?

I read both "The Leader" and "The News."

And though I realize "The News" has the largest circulation,

your former editor Mr. Sam Dozier was an old and honored friend of mine.

Well, we couldn't offer you enough.

We're only a small paper.

We haven't got much money to pay.

But sir, I don't want pay.

I'm offering my services free!

Well I'd like to think it over.

How can I get in touch with you?

My telephone is 514, sir.

Good day, sir.

Good day, Colonel.

How about... who is that guy?

I'm proud to say I never saw him before in my life.

Sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve things like this.

What's the harm in trying it?

Are you crazy?

Oh, I know it wouldn't be as good as taking on another comic.

But you're always looking for something to fill up that page.

Local guy, column two or three times a week on the editorial page might...

But of mosquitoes?

His grandfather?

I know.

But this is a funny town, Earl.

It's built around grandfathers and mosquitoes.

You know, this war in Europe is picking up.

A lot of people are worried.

We may be getting into it ourselves, if you can't tell.

In that case, a lot of the boys will be joining up.

After all, the old boy was a colonel

in the United States Army.

You don't get to be a colonel in peace times for nothing.

It might sit well with a lot of folks

to think we had a military expert right here on the paper.

Well, that's...

I think you ought to try it, Earl.

What have you got to lose?

OK, I'll take a chance.

Hold him on the firing line.

If you ask me, any time you buy something for nothing

that's just what you get.

Did you ever hear of a guy named W. Seaborn Effingham?

What's he done?

He's going to run a column in our little paper.

Column?

I didn't know he could write.

Anybody can write, bub.

As long as we're going to do it, let's do it right.

Build up the old guy two or three days before you start.

Get a few informal shots of the author at work and at play.

Uh, you'd better let me handle it.

All right, take Jake along to get the pictures.

No, I'll do it alone.

Two of us will make him nervous.

Two of us didn't make him nervous this morning.

And for my personal information,

find out the name of the last lunatic asylum he attended.

I can ell him that now.

Why?

Do you know the guy?

That's my cousin Willie.

Orderly!

On the double!

Orderly, our guest here wants a dog.

Is there an animal on the post?

- There's old Buck, Colonel. - Buck.

I don't know him.

But have him report here at once.

Yes, sir.

Oh, hello, Miss Emma.

Oh, I don't know what Will's thinking about.

This is the first time an Effingham has ever done such a thing.

People see.

Bad enough getting your name

in the paper when you're born or get married or die!

It's not my idea.

He's a man of determination.

Effingham men have always been men of determination.

Here, Buck!

Here, boy!

Hey!

Attention!

It's got "reader confidence" written all over it.

What's his name?

W. Seaborn Effingham, Colonel, the United States Army, retired.

The dog!

Buck.

His name's Rover.

Our subscribers seemed to open their arms to the pair.

First thing we knew, our leading citizens

were giving parties for him in the most

stylish houses in town.

Good evening, Miss [inaudible].

Good evening, Miss Emma.

Well, Will!

How's the old publicity hound?

Good, Clyde.

Effingham!

[inaudible], how are you?

Man, they've certainly been giving you plenty of write ups.

Everybody in town must know Colonel Effingham and his

faithful old dog Rover by now.

How does it feel to be in the limelight, Will?

Well, I'm used to being shot at.

Anyhow, Will, we want you to know we're right behind you.

Thanks, Clyde!

Sorry, I can't offer you anything but punch.

But if you boys would step out into the kitchen...

I've already sweetened it just a mite Mr. Clyde.

Here's to you, Will, and to our good old billy goat days together.

And to Will's new column!

Oh, yes!

Here's your good health!

I can't get over it.

Old Will here, a colonel in the army, been everywhere, seen everything.

And we've just sat home and kind of mildewed.

On the contrary!

You gentlemen have made substantial successes in

your chosen fields of endeavor.

Jesse and you, Sterling, president of flourishing banks.

And Clyde, head of the Southeaster Fertilizer.

Oh, we've managed to keep a roof over our head.

Will Effingham!

You don't remember me!

Clara Breckenridge!

Clara Meigs, now.

You remember Charlie Meigs?

He was at dancing school with us.

He was always a lucky dog.

I would've known you anywhere, Clara.

Still the finest figure in Georgia!

Now, Will, there you go!

The same old flatterer.

I declare, I don't know how you ever escaped marriage.

Colonel Effingham, I'm Ella Sue Dozier.

I believe you knew my father, Sam Dozier.

Sam Dozier, one of the most courageous editors Georgia ever produced.

I rank him with Henry Gray.

I'm delighted to know his daughter.

Oh, you probably see a lot of this little girl

now that you're fellow workers!

Fellow workers?

I felt some Dozier had to be on "The Leader."

It's a pleasure to join forces with you any day, my dear.

To the ladies, under whose sheltering

wings lives the valor of Fredericksville.

Excuse me, Ella Sue.

Oh, hello, Ed.

Colonel Effingham, this is Mr. Edward

Bland, professor of economics in the high school.

Good evening.

How are you, Colonel?

Isn't this our dance?

Oh, I'm sorry, Ed.

But I've been saving this one for Colonel Effingham.

Will you dance with me, Colonel?

It's an honor, my dear.

I don't mean to be sacrilegious,

but you know who Will reminds me of, if he had a beard?

General Lee.

Yes, I can see the resemblance.

But I'm afraid General Lee wouldn't

lend his name to a column in the public print.

Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways.

Amen.

- Brother, are you prepared? - I am.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

The end of the world comes, brother.

Are you saved?

I've been saved, brother.

Hallelujah.

They want to ruin you.

Hallelujah, don't I know it.

Good morning, Albert.

How are you, my boy?

Fine, cousin Willie.

How's the war going?

Albert, tell me.

Does what's-his-name know about this plot?

What plot, Colonel?

The plot to name our Confederate Square

after that... that carpetbagger?

Well, I... I couldn't say.

The information hasn't been made public.

Well, let's go tell him.

It's time for newspaper's to deliver their big guns.

Well, I can't go right now.

- I have to write a story. - Well, I'll go see him myself.

Mr. Hoats isn't here.

He had to go to Atlanta for the day.

Well, surely there's a second in command?

No, Mr. Hoats is the man you have to see.

There's no hurry.

Next time you're in town, why don't you stop by and have a chat with him.

Yes, I'm sure he'll be glad to do everything he can.

It isn't a question of doing everything he can.

A newspaper's run for the good of the community, isn't it?

Well...

Isn't it?

Exactly.

Well, I'm out, my boy.

Good day, Ella Sue.

Then cousin Willi struck.

It was exactly as if he'd hurled a custard pie to established government.

The response of the town was quick and emphatic.

Meh.

What do you make of it?

Doc, after all we've done for Earl Hoats,

it's like finding a rattlesnake in your bureau drawer.

Hello?

Is this "The Leader?"

Is it true that they're going to rename Monument Square?

Well, as far as I can determine, Mrs. Meigs, it's an unfounded rumor.

Thank you very much.

Yes.

We'll do everything we can.

City desk!

No, no, the colonel doesn't happen to be in at the moment.

Mr. Hoats is the editor.

Yes, he's the man you want to see.

What's going on?

Oh, I never read his tripe.

I just hung it on the hook.

I thought the old guy was going to write a war column.

Hoats said to give him his head.

There, he's your cousin.

"Who is Pud Toolen?

Never got through the sixth grade.

Became Interested in politics when working in the cotton mills.

Set himself as head of the Home Folks Party.

Robbed this city for 20 years.

How does this compare with the contribution of

our glorious Confederate dead?"

City desk.

Isn't it horrible?

Nobody complained about the city government for as long as I can remember.

Just as peace and friendship and mutual understanding

were taking place between them and us.

Glad you liked it, ma'am.

United Daughters of the Confederacy congratulate us.

Say, is this cousin of yours just a nut or is he just a nut?

Well, he doesn't understand.

Trouble is he's been in the army for so

long he doesn't understand the rest of the world.

Give him a chance.

He'll catch on.

What are you and I going to use for money while he's catching on?

How'd it get by you, Dewey?

Well, I...

City desk!

For you, Mr. Hoats.

Hello?

Mr. Hoats?

This is Mrs. Clyde Manadue.

I just want to tell you how terribly pleased

I am... how terribly pleased all my friends are...

with the position Colonel Effingham has taken

on your paper in regard to the renaming of Confederate Monument Square.

Thank you.

Bye.

You heard anything from the city hall, yet?

I wasn't seeing this on the sport page.

Seems to me, Mr. Hoats, that if this thing was found

by a special writer, it wouldn't necessarily

represent the policy of the paper.

Mrs. Manadue's words must've fallen so sweetly on his ear

as to undermine his sense of reality.

At any rate, his reaction was simply to write a new editorial

to fit the circumstances, offered in the spirit

of righting a wrong.

I read it with satisfaction as I ordered my sausage and hominy

in the Manhattan Cafe.

Then I turned the page to Cousin Willie's column.

What's the matter?

Coffee too hot?

Listen to him.

"We shall not submit.

It is not enough that we stand to the defense

and hold the name of the square as it has been for nearly a generation.

Let us improve the square."

Oh.

"Picture, if you will, in a circle

above that shaft of Georgia marble 13 live oak trees."

Ain't you feeling good, Al?

Have you read what he's been up to now?

Aw, I think that'd be nice.

Nice shade, nice to see the leaves

blowing in the summertime.

Look, every year or two somebody brings up the question of the trees!

Well, where'd we be without trees?

You want this place to look like a country town?

Well, anyhow, they're not going to do it.

No use bringing the whole thing up again and trying to embarrass everybody.

Gee, I never heard of a tree embarrassing anybody.

What's the matter, Albert?

The bacon burnt?

Do you ever read this little piece called, "On the Firing Line"?

Yeah, yeah, sure.

We always read it.

Bit of a nicer fella, eh?

And look at that dog.

My wife, she cut it from the paper.

What are you going to do about all those trees?

Little something spent for beauty is a good buy.

Before I'd read what he says, I never

know we had such interesting things in this town.

You live in a place, and you never know what happens way back.

It makes you feel a... like a somebody.

You know, the old guy got something to live.

On guard.

Straighten your body, man.

Straighten your body.

Bend your knees.

Oh, Mr. Colonel, sir, won't you rather have a rum tampico?

Position.

1, 2, touch.

Watch your feet, man.

Watch your feet.

Mr. Colonel, [inaudible] too.

Come here, Albert.

We're just keeping in shape.

Have a seat.

Cousin Willie, you know the mayor, don't you?

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting his honor.

Well, the mayor's a garden fancier.

He loves trees and flowers.

Seems to me it'd be nice if you can sell him about planting those trees.

Actually, he'd like to be in on any civic improvement of this type.

You know, take a little of the credit.

I don't care any about the credit of the trees.

On guard!

Touche!

They might welcome the chance of the trees

just to show their hearts' in the right place.

I don't know, Albert, whether their hearts' in the right place or not.

Stand up to it, man!

Uh, Mr. Colonel, sir, you sure you don't want no rum tampico?

On guard.

They're nice fellas.

They're only trying to do what's right.

Mustn't forget, cousin Willie, that they haven't had

the advantage of an education and travel

and that sort of thing like some of the rest of us have had.

You'll be surprised what some of those boys come from.

Wouldn't surprise me at all, Albert.

But I don't see why our biggest and most important

project... the administration of government...

should be handed over lock, stock, and barrel to a bunch of incompetents.

On guard.

Cousin Willie, I don't think you're quite giving the boys their due.

Due?

When we turned on the malarial mosquitoes in the Canal Zone,

you think the mosquitoes were not getting their due?

Somebody had to run the government.

The citizens won't do it.

If it weren't for the Home Folks party,

there wouldn't be any government at all.

Is it your impression, Albert, that these people are acting

as trustees until such time as the citizens come of age

and can take over the government themselves?

Well, anyhow, I think you ought to have a chat with the mayor sometime.

All right, I will.

Orderly, bring the car please.

Can I drop you by your office, my boy?

Well, you're not going to see the mayor right now are you?

Soon as I can change my clothes.

Well, there's no hurry, cousin Willie.

Any old time will do.

Son, when you get to be 65, it's a good time to hurry.

Mayor?

Your name is familiar to me, Colonel, but I can't seem to put my finger just

where I've run into it before.

Are you here in Fredericksville in connection with national defense?

Defense of America is the nearest thing to my heart.

What I want to discuss with you, Mr. Mayor,

is the desirability of planting 13 trees in a circle

about the Confederate Monument.

You write that column in The Leader.

I do.

I knew your name was familiar to me.

Well, Colonel, I tell you what you do.

Now, understand, there's nobody in Fredericksville that

loves trees more than I do.

Any kind of beautification appeals to me.

But there's a water main under Monument Square that might be disturbed.

And you can't dig up a water main just to plant a few trees.

Why don't you go see Mr. Clement, the city engineer.

I couldn't do a thing without his approval.

It's been nice to see you, Colonel.

Any time I can be of service...

Good day, sir.

See what I have to put up with?

No gratitude.

Sometimes I wonder why I ever let them put me up

for mayor in the first place.

I don't blame you cousin Ed.

And don't you "cousin Ed" me around here!

I have enough to contend with without relatives.

Hey, look Ed.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

The way to handle these nuts is to agree with them.

Let him plant his trees.

Are you crazy?

You want to undermine the whole city government?

No, no.

Certainly not, Doc.

But while we're improving the park, planting the trees,

we'll just go one step farther and improve the whole square by

putting up the new courthouse.

He'll think the whole idea's his.

Hmm.

What do you think, Doc?

By granny, I believe Joe's got something there!

Yes sir, Joe.

I think we've hit the nail right on the head!

From now on, this Effingham colonel's playing second base on our team.

So you're gonna tear down the courthouse?

I have nothing to do with it!

You could stop it!

How?

You could if you wanted to!

Look, the old fire trap's about ready to fall apart anyhow.

Well, how'd it wear out so quickly?

It's been warn out for years. They just discovered it.

Well, why didn't you keep it repaired?

Look, why do you suppose I'd have anything to do with it?

I just tell the facts.

Oh, you tell some of them!

Isn't the fact that they've already signed a contact with Bill Silk,

the mayor's brother-in-law,

to build a new one?

I don't know anything about that!

Well, you ought to know!

That's your job, isn't it?

Hey, what's the matter with you today, any how?

I've got a slight case of mild indigestion.

You don't understand!

The old building's just tumbling down.

The floor's unsafe.

The sewer's disintegrated.

The roof's no good!

Wow, you sound like somebody in Berlin describing democracy!

Do you think every building that's 150 years old

- ...is tumbling down? - Sure!

And if it isn't, it ought to be!

The end of the world coming, brother.

Are you prepared?

I will be as soon as our artillery comes to position.

Gentlemen.

You'll have to excuse me, Colonel.

London's just been blitzed.

Just a moment, if you please.

May I presume to ask, what is the attitude of this newspaper

regarding the destruction of that final landmark, our courthouse?

Oh, later, Colonel, later.

Dewey, get this set up.

I've searched your column for a word of condemnation of this diabolical plot.

But I could find nothing, sir.

I'm afraid you don't understand, Colonel.

The courthouse is in a pretty dangerous condition.

Who says so, may I ask?

The two best structural engineers in the section.

Local engineers!

The condition cannot be determined except by a man

from out of town, one who has never even heard of this courthouse.

When I was in the Canal Zone...

Excuse me, Colonel, I just remembered a date.

I had the privilege of seeing the Red Mirror Flores locks

hewn out of the jungle, one of the greatest feats of skill

in that entire monumental project.

The man principally responsible was

a Captain Hickcock, now a major, US Army Corps of Engineers.

Major Hickcock is now retired and living in Atlanta.

Let him look at this building.

He'll tell you whether it's falling down or not.

Colonel, nothing would give me more

pleasure than to help in getting your friend this little job.

But no loyal citizen of Fredericksville wants to ask Atlanta for anything.

Besides, there's the cost of bringing him here.

I'll get him here for nothing.

Doesn't that imply a lack of confidence in the government?

It certainly does.

I've discussed this matter with a number of responsible citizens.

And they agree that "The Leader," true to its name,

should sponsor a movement.

What responsible citizens?

People you know.

They'll come forward when the time is right, never fear.

I'm a newspaper man, Colonel, not an evangelist.

My function is to inform our readers

of what's going on in the world, not to advise them.

If a group of citizens want a third engineer

to look at this courthouse, bring him in.

I'll print the story.

That's our position.

As you say, Mr. Editor.

Long distance, please.

Never give anything for nothing.

I always did know that.

You got me into this, remember?

I told you what would happen.

All I said was...

And you, don't stand there with your mouth open.

Do something.

He's your cousin.

I tell you, no private citizen has the right

to go meddling in public affairs that don't concern him, pulling us into it.

Confound it, it's sedition!

Major Hickcock!

Phone number, 1483, Atlanta.

No, I don't want to reverse the charges.

Charge it to "The Leader."

Naturally, we didn't carry any buildup on Major Hickcock's

coming to Fredericksville.

But I was detail to accompany him and the colonel

on the tour of the building, just

to make sure they didn't go into a huddle and fling us a fast one.

Of course, if the major should happen to agree with the local contractors...

a new building was needed... it was to be

a page-one story with a byline.

I don't quite see how this old wreck rates the society column.

I'm just here on my own.

Curiosity?

Interest.

Trying to check up, hmm?

Trying to make sure I won't draw any wrong conclusions?

Possibly, or print them.

How do I get up onto the roof?

Right this way, gentlemen.

Mind yourselves.

You can wait over there.

Can I?

Won't find anyone socially prominent up there.

After you, my dear.

Fire up here?

Way back, just after the war.

War between the states?

No sir, that other war.

Surface char.

I'd like to see the roof.

Give me a hand, will you?

You don't want to go out there.

You'll ruin your clothes.

Oops, sorry.

What's the matter with that Effingham

colonel anyhow, bringing in that old has-been engineer from Atlanta?

Is he a red or something?

Wait, let's get down to grass roots.

What does this guy own?

Five acres in the country and a $500 Ford.

What sort of business is he in?

Maybe we ought to inspect his plumbing.

He's retired.

What does he live on, then?

Oh, he gets a pension from the United States government.

He's still got a water bill, hasn't he?

Reformers are mighty touchy about water bills.

Gentlemen, the question before us is the new courthouse.

Exactly.

And if we don't watch out, he's going

to get people to thinking we're trying to railroad this thing through.

The people don't care!

I don't know, Doc.

You can never tell about them.

My idea is to get the jump on it.

Call a public meeting.

Discuss the whole thing right out in the open.

Show them we're not trying to hide anything.

But Ed, you're my brother-in-law.

That contract for the courthouse has already been signed.

Don't you worry, Bill.

You will build it.

We only want to do what's right and proper.

Besides, how many people came to the last public meeting?

It must have been 15 counting you and me.

It's a good idea, Chief.

Let the public get it off its chest.

The public hasn't got anything on its chest but its shirt.

Right, Doc.

Suppose you call Hoats around at "The Leader."

Let him have the story.

We'll set the meeting for a week from tonight in the courthouse,

in the superior courtroom.

Think that'll be big enough, your honor?

Well, it's not up to us to get a crowd.

Well?

I don't like subtlety.

Maybe you like petitions.

Petitions?

Would you like to sign one?

I would not.

What sort of petition?

Listen, honey child.

You've reached the age of reason.

Do you really think free people in a free country

are going to sign their commercial death warrants?

I'm not asking you to sign.

I asked you if you want to.

I have nothing against the old courthouse.

Matter of fact, I have a personal attachment for it.

I think cousin Willie's stirring up a lot of unnecessary trouble.

He's stirring up a lot of trouble, all right.

I want to feel sorry for the old guy

like a rabbit bouncing out of it his nice briar patch

and leaping lickety split across a field

under the muzzles of 12-gauge shotguns.

More like a rabbit to sit cowering in his nest?

Put it on the desk, will you?

Well, the National Guard has just got in some new 30-caliber machine guns.

Go on over and have a talk with Captain Ramsey, will you?

See if you can get a little story for Sunday.

Well, its water cooled.

Your water jacket, your hose, your water can.

Fires from a belt of 250 rounds.

And it fires at the rate of 500 to 550 rounds per minute.

It's deadly, of course, within short bursts.

Then a funny thing happened.

The captain talked and talked, but I didn't hear a word he said.

I just kept looking at that uniform

and wondering how Ella Sue would like me in it.

Here, this field manual will tell you all about it.

Not bad.

Not at all.

Hello, Professor.

How are you, Marbury?

By the way, did I tell you...

Tell me what?

I've offered my services to the government.

That's swell, Ed.

You what?

You are now addressing Private Marbury

of the Georgia National Guard.

I don't understand.

Nothing to understand.

Democracy is threatened.

I reach for my gun, simple as that.

Funny that all of a sudden you should be so much more

concerned about democracy in Europe than democracy in Fredericksville.

My dear girl, what happens in Europe

is directly connected to what happens in Fredericksville.

You can't isolate our town and forget all about Europe.

Neither can you isolate Europe, which is 3,000 miles away,

and forget about Fredericksville right here under you nose.

OK.

OK.

I'll sign your petition.

Sorry, we've done very well without you.

Hope it isn't your trigger finger.

Thursday night was more fitting to moonlight and mint juleps

than to public meetings.

But to everyone's amazement, there was quite a turn out.

Stay together, ladies.

Mostly widows and old-maid aunts.

They know as much about running a town as a jack rabbit.

Yeah, but they're the talking type.

Well, there seems to be a scarcity of bank presidents

and captains of industry.

Where's Mr. Clyde Manadue?

Probably in a dugout.

He usually is when there's any shooting.

Hello, boys.

Mr. Mayor.

The sooner we get started, the better chance we have

of getting out of this place before it collapses.

Just a minute, Mr. Mayor.

If you'll please, sir, these ladies have not found seats.

Oh, ladies, I think you'll find comfortable seats over by the window.

I know you're all anxious to get through with

this so you can go on about your own affairs.

To the contrary, Mr. Mayor.

The matter requires considerable discussion.

There he goes.

Order, order.

We've invited you here tonight, ladies and gentlemen,

to express any opinion you may have as to the disposition

of this old building.

Now, I'm going ask the clerk to put into evidence as exhibit

a reports of two independent contractors who have examined the building.

Oh, for sweet and legal.

Nice looking couple.

Lovely.

From that report, ladies and gentleman, you'll be able to see that it is not

a question of what we would like to do with this grand old building.

It's a question of what we can do.

Mr. Mayor!

Before presenting a petition to repair this building,

I'd like to have your permission to read a report on the state

of this edifice, the report by Major Anthony D. Hickcock, United States Army

Corps of Engineers retired.

But we don't know anything about this gentleman.

You've heard of the Mirror Flores locks, I presume, sir?

Why, no sir.

I don't think I've ever heard of that particular brand.

Have you heard of the Panama Canal?

Why, yes.

I've heard that...

Major Hickcock was the engineer in charge

of that monumental achievement in the Panama Canal.

He's examined this building from top to bottom and has filed his report.

Has this man a license?

Yes, has this man a license?

He has a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Now, Mr. Mayor, I move that the chair accept the Major's report in evidence.

Certainly.

I was just about to make the same suggestion.

That the structure should have been allowed to deteriorate

to such an extent as now is a matter of apparent negligence,

certainly which it is not my duty to report.

But the building is, by no means, beyond repair.

To destroy such a dignified and harmoniously proportioned

structure is something which the pride of this community

should go to great lengths to prevent.

The council will be glad to take this report under its due consideration.

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that the chair call

for a rising vote of those in favor of preserving this building.

Seconding the motion!

Just a minute, if you please, Mr. Mayor.

Uh, OK.

May I inquire if it is in order to call upon this meeting

for a vote on a matter which is entirely

the responsibility of the duly elected city officials?

The gathering of citizens require a government license

to vote on a public question?

Well, I... I don't deny the right

of this or any other anomalous body to expresses its opinion.

But that opinion must not be forced upon the council, which

has had thee benefit of the advice of competent engineers

known and respected by all of us.

This is a... is not a matter in which a pressure group

should try to enforce its will.

This building doesn't belong to the city council

to dispose of as they choose.

It belongs to the people of the city of Fredericksville

and the country of Fredericks, 500,000 strong.

I'm afraid the gentleman's idea of our population is as exaggerated

as some of his other ideas.

The figure is highly conservative, sir.

This courthouse doesn't belong merely to

the citizens of today, but of yesterday.

On the steps of this building, General George Washington

addressed the citizens of Fredericksville.

In this very room, the delegates from the young state of Georgia

assembled to ratify the Federal Constitution.

This embodiment of our common memories

is a symbol of law and order and of democratic procedure,

a symbol of what we fought the revolution for.

It represents a heritage of our free government, handed down

to us through perilous years.

It belongs to every citizen who trod the streets before us.

It belongs to every citizen who will tread these streets

after you and I are gone, sir.

No, the figure is not exaggerated.

The only exaggeration is in naming any figure at all.

The owners of this building are as impossible to number

as the generations yet unborn.

The old boy's quite an orator.

The contract's been signed.

Shh!

The council is, of course, interested in the opinions of the citizens.

Whatever is done with this old building is going to cost

money, the taxpayer's money.

And it is our duty to see that that money is well spent.

Now, in order to either rebuild or repair,

we will need WPA help.

If a grant can be secured from the WPA,

it will take care of 1/3 of the cost.

But the WPA is not interested in repairing old buildings.

However, there is every reason to believe that a grant of 1/3

can be obtained toward building a new courthouse.

May I ask, what could be the approximate cost

of these two projects?

Approximately $375,000 for a new courthouse.

And for repairing?

$390,000.

You mean to say it would cost $15,000

less to build a new courthouse than to repair this one?

$15,000 on the face of it, ma'am.

But when you add to that saving the $120,000 that the WPA will

probably grant, you have a total savings to the taxpayers

of something like $150,000.

Preposterous.

What kind of repairs would cost $390,000?

It's all contained here, sir, in the report

of the architect which, unfortunately, is too long to read.

This building should be preserved, no matter what the cost.

I question the figure submitted for the cost of repairing this building.

Objection noted, sir.

Furthermore, no matter how much is spent on a new building,

it can not buy for it the history and dignity of this one.

Unfortunately, the city government cannot

be conducted on mere dignity.

We are entrusted with the duty of providing

the county with safe and proper means for carrying on its business.

Has the WPA already agreed to grant $120,000 for a new courthouse?

Why, um...

I move the meeting be adjourned.

I second the motion.

It is moved and seconded that this meeting be adjourned.

All those in favor, say, "Aye."

All those not?

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned.

Cousin Emma, I hope this means he's going to lay off.

He ought to know by now he can't do anything with these people.

They have too much power.

Why don't you steer him to raising roses or camellias or any thing?

Cousin Willie, have you a statement for the paper?

You may say I have nothing but praise

for the magnificent behavior of the troops.

Well, at least I'm glad it's all over.

There's been no order to sound retreat.

I'm scarcely mobilized.

Write an editorial to go with it, something like, um,

"Since the WPA refuses to aid in financing the repairing

of the old courthouse, even the most sentimental citizen

will be practical enough to realize"

and so forth and so forth.

Lay it on thick.

Hey, Chief, look at this, a full-page ad for Sunday from Chromarty's!

Good boy!

Yeah, well don't thank him.

Thank your pals down at city hall.

They passed the word to Chromarty's.

You see, that's what comes of playing ball on the right team.

See to it we keep on doing that.

"The Leader."

For you, Mr. Hoats.

Atlanta calling.

Hello?

Colonel Effingham speaking.

It's him.

Yes, Colonel?

Your cousin.

In other words, sir, the local authorities

seem to be suffering from a considerable misapprehension.

The WPA has, one, not agreed to aid in the building

of a new courthouse and, two, has not refused to aid in the repairing

of the present structure.

In fact, the WPA has not even been approached in the matter.

Therefore, since it was this misrepresentation regarding

the attitude of the WPA that caused the citizens,

at the recent public meeting, to hesitate as to how to cast

their vote, I insist, Mr. Editor, that you

demand a new public meeting.

I'll inform the mayor of your suggestion, Colonel.

That's the best I can promise.

Goodbye.

Give me strength.

What are we going to do with him?

Why don't the officials do something?

Is the whole country headed for chaos?

Is he trying to start a second party here with all the wastes of campaigns?

Why, some of these people have been in office

since they got out of the fifth grade!

They know their job!

Is he trying to turn them all out on the street?

You're not going to print that, are you?

If we don't, "The News" will blow it wide open,

especially when they see what we got from Chromarty's!

Al, go and tell the mayor we've got to run it.

Maybe they can think of something.

Who, me?

He's your cousin!

Why did he have to come back here, nice

and peaceful and contented?

Couldn't he stay in Panama with General Stegomyia...

to wit, the mosquito!

Bring your identification tag.

Oh, hello.

Mrs. Meigs, you know Mr. Marbury, one of our bright young reporters

and one of our most patriotic citizens.

Why yes, of course.

You're a relative of my very dear friend, Colonel Effingham, aren't you?

Oh, sort of.

They're devoted.

Hey, Al.

Congratulations.

Thanks.

The town took it like a man.

Two or three people called in about the meeting,

but they were mostly just surprised or sorry.

There was no suggestion of resistance.

My dear, the fault lies with the high command.

We made the tactical error of withholding our reserves too long.

The time has now come to throw in our storm troops and our capital ships.

Then you're not discouraged, Colonel?

Discouragement has no more place in a soldier's equipment

than an inner-spring mattress.

To our capital ships!

Full speed ahead!

And as Admiral Farragut said... you know, about the torpedoes?

Ah.

Top on the list of the colonel's reserves was his friend Sterling Tignor.

Well, what do you want me to do, Will?

I want you to help us save this fine old courthouse.

It belongs to the people.

And the people want it saved.

Will, let me tell you something.

I've been watching all of this to-do about the courthouse.

It reminds me of somebody

trying to open up a can of sardines with a pocketknife.

You're going about this the wrong way.

If you want to save that courthouse, you can do it.

Are you suggesting bribery?

Well, these are practical man you're dealing with.

They listen to reason.

I be willing to make a personal contribution of

any reasonable amount, myself.

What you suggest is unthinkable and indecent.

All you need do is write a letter to the paper,

as a private citizen, calling for another public meeting

in the light of this new information from the WPA.

Write a letter to the paper?

Why, don't you know, if I did that, tomorrow

morning the whole municipal checking account would be closed out!

Nonsense.

It's you fellas who are impractical.

What can they do with it?

They can't walk around town with the money in their pockets!

They'd take it right up the street to Jesse Bibbs bank.

No, no.

You reformers don't have a sense of reality, Will.

You don't seem to grasp the heard-headed facts.

The hard-heading facts are if you don't repair something

that needs repairing, pretty soon you won't have it to repair.

I'm sorry, but there's no use arguing about it.

Good day.

I'm sorry, Will.

But you're making a mistake... a great mistake...

to antagonize these people.

Antagonize?

You advocate appeasement?

No, but what you're proposing is that I stab my stockholders in the back.

That I most assuredly will not do.

What about all the windows and orphans who own stock

in the bank of Fredericksville?

But sir, what about all the widows

and orphans who own stock in the city of Fredericksville?

What are you afraid of, man?

No citizen has anything to fear from a politician!

Young men of this town will be going off to war soon.

They volunteered to serve their country in time of war.

When they come home, they must be prepared to volunteer

to serve their community in time of peace,

to confront any enemy of progress

wherever he shows his head.

What sort of example are we going to set them?

I'm sorry you won't see this realistically, Will.

Idealism is all right in its place, but...

Idealism is everything, Jesse.

Without it, you go stumbling along in the dark day after day.

Its your match in the dark tower.

Well, romantic, then.

Whatever you want to call it.

There's nothing more romantic in any us than to think we are not romantic.

We are such stuff as dreams are made of.

Well, never mind.

There's one man in this town who sees things the way I do, Clyde Manadue.

He can buy and sell the lot of you bankers, and you know it.

I'll let him call the tune.

We'll see if you fellas dance.

Yes, sir, I should have consulted Clyde Manadue in the first place.

He'll put a stop to this... this invasion.

How is he?

Mighty poorly, Mr. Al.

Where's Miss Emma?

She's inside.

Oh, Albert.

Thank goodness you've come.

Maybe you can do something with him.

Any change, cousin Emma?

No.

He just sits there staring out the window.

Ever since his best friend, that Clyde Manadue, turned him down,

the whole fight seems to have gone out of him.

He just can't understand it, Clyde Manadue of all people.

Been able to make him take his medicine?

Yes.

That's what worries me.

He takes it without hardly any fussing at all.

And you know how cranky he used to be about medicine.

It's not like Will to give in so easy.

Could I see him?

Yes, go right on up.

Maybe you can do something with him.

Oh, stop playing that thing.

A body can't hear himself think around here.

I ain't playing nothing, Miss Emma.

I ain't touched it since the colonel...

Well then play it.

Stop acting like there was a funeral in the house.

Come in.

Hello, cousin Willie.

Hello, Albert.

I just thought I'd stop by for a minute before we leave.

Leave?

The company's pulling off at 9:30.

My boy, I'd clean forgotten it.

I'll be there.

Oh no, cousin Willie.

You mustn't do that.

You'd better stay here and take care of yourself.

Albert, I have made the unpardonable error

of overestimating the quality of my reserves.

You mean Manadue and that crowd?

Well, I...

It's not as bad as it looks, cousin Willie.

You know, Albert, there's only one

phase of this whole campaign I can

look back on with satisfaction.

When I first saw you again, I must

say you seemed as indifferent to the fate of Fredericksville as all the rest.

After you began to consider that life story of Fredericksville

and realize the toil and blood and sorrow

that Fredericksville had grown from,

your indifference began to leave you.

And you enlisted in the National Guard.

Sure, Colonel, but...

Now that we've come to a time of new growth

when oil and blood and sorrow are, again, called for, I

am proud, Albert, proud that you stepped

forward among the first.

The same is true of your comrades in arms.

I didn't do anything, cousin Willie.

They'd have drafted me, anyway.

Albert, I want you to have this.

Oh, cousin Willie, I couldn't take that.

This was the first wristwatch in the Panama Canal Zone.

It hasn't lost a minute in 34 years.

Cousin Willie, that's swell.

I should like to think of it carrying you into action.

In action, my boy, timing is very important.

Thank you, sir.

Well, I guess I'd better be shoving off.

Bye, sir.

Bye, my boy.

God bless you.

Hello, Dr. Evans.

Oh, good afternoon, Albert.

Hey, Doc, what's the real low down on the colonel?

Well, I'll tell you, Albert.

He ought to be in the hospital.

But I can't do a thing with them.

He refused to budge from the house.

Is he going to get well?

Not unless we can put some fight back into him,

give him something to get well for.

The way he is now, at his age, It's hard to say.

But we'll do our best.

Goodbye.

Order!

Halt!

Right face!

First Sergeant.

Dismiss the company.

Yes, sir.

Inspection arms!

Forward arms!

Dismissed!

Hello!

So you've come to cover the story, have you?

Well, you don't think I came to see you, do you?

Ella Sue?

Want something to eat, soldier?

Have you a statement for the press?

Only that I wish to convey to our esteemed city leaders

my heartfelt appreciation for this delicious barbecued pig,

without which democracy as we have known it in Georgia...

You know, I think you ought to hang a service star on the door

of the society department.

Why?

You got me into this.

Me?

I thought you'd like the uniform.

Oh, Albert, this is so sudden!

Remember that day at the courthouse

up in the catwalk when a wind blew your skirts up?

Well, Albert, how sweet of you to notice.

I guess that was the turning point in my life.

Oh, I'd seen your legs before.

But they'd never impressed me as being anything unusual.

Just run of the mill.

Suddenly I realized there was something about them that

didn't seem to fit in with that fresh little

dame in the office who hid her cigarettes.

You know, something sort of special and person.

I didn't suspect you knew I had legs.

Just began to bother me, that's all.

You mean, there's something profane in your feelings towards me?

Definitely.

Oh, Albert.

You are nice.

After that, I never felt the same

towards you... towards anything, for that matter.

Then I thought maybe you'd like the uniform.

Why didn't you tell me?

I reckon I couldn't figure out how to say it without getting serious.

Seriousness won't hurt you.

Listen, honey child.

I'm a southerner.

Seriousness is one thing I'm scared to death of.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege

and distinguished pleasure to present his honor the mayor.

This is a red-letter day in the glorious history

of Fredericksville when the sons of Georgia

once more answer the call of duty.

Words fail me to express the gratitude that we, the citizens

of this community, feel for you young men who are going forth

like your fathers of old to preserve and protect

our way of life and the ideals of government of the people,

for the people, and by the people.

Some of you may even be called upon to make the supreme sacrifice in defense

of our ideals and our homes.

But boys, I want to remember this.

You can always count on the folks at home.

And when the war is won and you come marching back in triumph,

you'll find the home folks right here waiting for you

and the Home Folks Party.

Boys, boys!

Quiet!

Quiet!

I want to make a speech.

I've listened to all the bunk I want to.

We guys are going out to do a job that's got to be done.

Maybe we won't get back in time for the next election.

But when we do get back, we want to make sure that we're

going to have something to say about what's going on around here!

Too many of us have sat back like scared rabbits.

We're scared to talk, scared to vote,

scared to even look at things the way they are!

Maybe by the time we get this job done,

we won't scare so easy!

Maybe more people heard Colonel Effingham than you thought.

When an honest man speaks out, you'd be surprised how many people hear him!

Maybe they're tired of political tricks and grabs

and runarounds and shenanigans!

Maybe they want their town run and not run down!

And about this courthouse, leave it right where it is.

See to it that it's fixed up by the time I get back.

If it's not fixed up, we're gonna want to know why!

And leave Monument Square alone, too!

We had enough of Pud Toolen while he was here in person!

Am I right, fellas?

All right come on you kids.

Get down there.

All right, what's your answer, Mr. Mayor?

And we want it straight!

Boys, boys!

And we want it right here in front of the whole town, so there'll be no stalling.

Well, uh...

Boys, boys!

Why, I... uh, we promise.

You know we wouldn't do anything to harm that grand old building!

That's all we wanted to know!

So long, everybody!

Fall in!

Goodbye, Ella Sue.

Darling.

Left face!

Right shoulder, arms!

Forward march!

Eyes right!

Uh, Colonel... uh.

I'm sorry, Will.

I was wrong.

From now on, you can count on me... and the others, too.

Yes, yes, Will.

Good luck, Will.

Colonel, you ought to hurry and get back on the job.

We need you!

Mr. Colonel.

Great column, Dewey.

I always said so.

Oh, that's right, Earl.

You did, always.