Original subtitles

[theme music]

ANNOUNCER: "Gunsmoke," with Milburn Stone as Doc, Ken

Curtis as Festus, Buck Taylor as Newly, and starring

James Arness as Matt Dillon.

[chickens clucking]

What is it?

It's the fox.

[music playing]

These two, and the one the fox got away

with while you was sitting here with your nose

stuck in that book.

I'm sorry, Pa.

Sorry don't mean nothing to them dead chickens,

and it don't mean nothing to me when I keep

hearing you say it so often.

Now bend over that barrel!

But Pa, I--

Do like I tell you, boy.

Bye, Ma!

Bye.

Bye, Pa.

You won't be going, son.

Well, I gotta go.

Mr. Decory is having a test today,

and, well, it's awful important.

There's work to be done here.

I'll work with you after school, Pa, I promise.

MAN: There's no more discussing it, boy.

Now get back in the house and change into your work clothes.

Go on.

But--

Go on.

You take these to the teacher, honey.

Tell him Tommy won't be needing them anymore.

Never?

Tell him I need Tommy here on the farm.

He won't be going to school anymore.

Bye-bye.

Yes, Pa.

Oliver, he couldn't just work after school?

No school at all?

It'll break his heart.

He's our only son.

We built this for him, to give him roots.

But he's drifted from us and the land.

He's dreaming dreams that have nothing to do with you and me,

or the farm.

And that's going to leave empty everything we worked for.

[music playing]

Good morning, class.

STUDENTS: Good morning, Mr. Decory.

Your history books, please.

You're late, Sally.

I'm sorry, Mr. Decory.

Page 86.

Where is Tommy this morning?

He's home, Mr. Decory.

Pa says he needs him working on the farm.

For how long?

Pa said he may never come back to school no more.

I don't understand, Sally.

When did your father decide this?

SALLY: A fox got in our chicken coop last night.

You know, Tom was supposed to be keeping watch.

Pa caught him reading.

He told me to give you these back.

WOMAN: Come and get it!

Ow!

Oh, oh!

Here, let me see that.

You know, I know you don't like being

taken out of school, Tommy.

When a man works with his hands and something good comes of it,

well, it's a feeling you can't get out of any books.

That's my teacher, Pa.

That's Mr. Decory.

You better go inside now.

Go on.

Go on.

Hot day.

Afternoon, Mr. Harker.

Afternoon.

I understand you're keeping your son out of school.

That's right.

Mr. Harker, I'm sure you believe you have

valid reasons for that decision, but

Tommy's become a fine student.

He's going to be a farmer.

He knows how to cipher, read, and write.

That's all a man of the land needs to know,

and I thank you for teaching him that.

Right now, he's needed here.

Good afternoon to you, Mr. Decory.

Mr. Harker, I'd be willing to come

here every night to tutor him.

It's plain, Mr. Decory, that you,

uh, you never worked a farm before.

After a hard day's work, you're lucky if you

stay awake through supper.

It's time for a man to rest, look back on the day,

and ready himself for the next.

No time for books.

Mr. Harker, there's got to be time for books and learning.

Time must be made for it.

I'll decide what time must be made for, Mr. Decory,

in my house.

Now get off my land.

But Mr. Harker--

[music playing]

I don't know.

You'd think he'd be proud, that he'd do anything

to see the boy develop.

How does Tommy feel about it?

Oh, he loves school.

You know, in all my time with teaching,

I've never run into a boy with his intellect.

And when you realize when I first came here,

he couldn't even read-- Marshal, maybe if you talked to Mr.

Harker--

Mr. Decory, you haven't been around Dodge all that long,

but most of the people here abouts are farmers,

and that's all they're really interested in.

Don't they understand there's more in the world

than just turnips and squash?

Marshal, isn't there something you can do?

The best thing either of us can do is to mind our own business.

Now, when you start telling a man how to raise his own son,

that's butting in.

And I don't think he's gonna like it very well.

I mean, it's just so frustrating.

Once in a lifetime of a teacher a boy like Tommy comes along,

and when he does, to deny him an education--

it's an appalling waste.

Well, Decory, you see, back east where you come from,

you have compulsory education laws.

And we just haven't quite got that far yet here.

Maybe it's time you did.

Good day, gentlemen.

Well, I think I-- I think I know how he feels, Matt, kind

of like I do when I lose a patient, you know,

somebody special.

Why in thunder is it that some people

regard an education as a waste of time or even a threat?

Now, why is that?

I don't know.

I'll tell you one thing.

Uh, being educated does have some advantages.

What's that supposed to mean?

The teacher here forgot to pay his bill.

But, uh, I'm sure he'll thank you

for it next time he sees you.

I'll see you later.

[door shutting]

Tommy.

Tommy, come in.

Come on in.

TOMMY: Me and my mom had to come in and do some shopping.

Sorry about having to leave school, Mr. Decory.

No more than I am, son.

It's good to see you, though.

How are you getting along?

Pa's real pleased with me working on the farm.

Mm-hmm.

What about you?

Oh, it's all right.

I don't know.

It's--

You miss school.

Yes, sir.

[chuckling]

Maybe your father will change his mind.

Mr. Decory?

Hmm?

Could I borrow a book from you?

Tommy.

Tommy, there's nothing in the world

that I'd like more to do than to loan you a book.

But under the circumstances, do you think it would be wise?

Well, Pa don't have to know.

MR. DECORY: Perhaps not, but you and I, we both know.

We know how he feels.

And right now--

TOMMY: But I just can't stop reading

for the rest of my life.

I'll read after my chores or in between, anything.

Please?

All right.

All right.

"The Odyssey."

Well, you liked the "Iliad" so much.

I think you'll like this even better.

After you've read it, perhaps we can talk, huh?

Yes, sir.

Mr. Decory, thank you.

Tommy.

Sir.

Tommy?

Let's just keep this as our secret between you and me.

I don't want you to get in any more trouble with your father.

Yes, sir.

Well, I better be going.

Ma will be waitin'.

Waiting?

ing, hmm?

Ing.

Thanks.

So what's happened is they've landed

on this island where Circe lives, and Circe is a goddess.

She can do magic.

Real magic?

Mm-hmm.

She turned Ulysses' men into pigs.

Pigs?

That's terrible.

Yeah.

Here, I'll read it.

Two hogs transform the sky and sea. [inaudible].

So-- Hi, Pa.

What are you two doing up so late?

We was just talking, Pa.

About what?

About nothing, just talking.

You get to your own bed now, girl.

It's only a book, Pa.

No harm in reading it.

I heard what you was reading.

You read all night, you're not worth a darn the next day.

But I've been working real good.

You said so yourself.

This book's only part of it, son.

The fact is you disobeyed me.

Well, did you, or didn't you?

Yes, Pa, I did.

You don't understand now, but I'm

doing this for your own good.

These fanciful books, they got no meaning, least wise

for farm folks.

These books are-- are only good to-- to turn

a man into a dreamer.

But there's nothing wrong with dreams, Pa.

There is.

They take your mind off your work.

Now, you come with me.

His chores are done, Oliver.

What harm can it do?

I'll handle this.

Please, not another whipping.

OLIVER: It seems like whippings are useless.

Throw it in the fire.

No.

It's not mine.

It's Mr. Decory's.

Do like I say.

No, Pa, I can't.

OLIVER: Now get to bed.

There's work to be done tomorrow.

You had no right to do that.

Would have rather that you whipped me, Pa!

No one has the right to do that, not no one!

No one!

Oliver!

Let him go.

[music playing]

Tommy, people have been burning books for one reason

or another for centuries, but books have outlived them all.

You can only, uh, destroy the paper the words are written on,

not the thoughts behind them.

What am I gonna do, Mr. Decory?

I don't know, Tommy.

All we can do is try to reach him, open his eyes.

And running away will only make it worse.

I don't even-- I don't care what he's saying.

I can't go back there.

All right.

You can say here tonight.

Tomorrow morning, we're going to talk it out.

Couch is yours.

Yes, sir.

Tommy.

What happened to your back?

That's where Pa whipped me.

When?

The night the fox got into the chicken coop.

He whip you like that often?

TOMMY: No, sir.

Only when I done something real bad.

Go to sleep, Tommy.

I'll see you in the morning.

Do I still have to go home?

Yes, you do, Tommy, first thing in the morning.

There's no other way.

Hello, Mr. Decory.

Join us here.

Oh, thank you.

Stopped over to your office first, Marshal.

Festus told me you were here.

Something wrong?

Last night, Tommy Harker ran away and came to my place.

Where is he now?

Reluctantly, I sent him home this morning,

but I wish you'd take a look at him, Marshal.

You too, Doc.

Boy's been whipped by his father.

Marks are still on his back.

Mr. Decory, you're from Massachusetts.

Don't fathers discipline their boys there?

Perhaps, but that doesn't make it right.

DOC: Wait just a minute.

There are folks that, you know, still

deplore this kind of treatment, and I'm one of them.

Now, you can punish a child.

You don't have to beat him, you know?

Now, let me tell you something.

I've known Oliver Harker a good many years.

-Well, I have too. -All right.

He's a good man, isn't he?

Well, yes.

Maybe he's a little old fashioned,

or maybe he's stubborn, but that man

has a right to discipline his son anyway he wants to,

and I'm not going to interfere with him,

not until there's a law that says so.

I don't buy that, Marshal, not one iota.

That boy isn't an ox pulling a plow,

and there must be somebody who can do something about it.

But Doc, I'll tell you something.

He's just gonna make things worse for that boy.

Well, he cares.

There's something to be said for that.

Well, sure, Doc.

But I still don't believe that a man's got a right

to come between a father and his own boy,

Doc, not unless that boy's being badly abused or something.

That's not the case here.

You can abuse the mind too, Matt, as well as the body.

Matt, for 20 years, you and I have seen eye-to-eye

on just about everything.

On this, afraid we're gonna cross swords.

[music playing]

And this time, you can pay the check.

MR. DECORY: All right.

What is the name of this city?

Jackie?

Jack-- Lucy?

Jack-- Lucy?

Berlin, and it's in Germany.

Very good.

We hold these truths to-- we hold these truths to be

self-evident, that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their creator

with certain inalienable rights, that

among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Now, in the Consti--

[door closing]

Stand up, boy.

We're going home.

Stand up.

I'm not going to tell you again.

Stand like you're told, or I'll drag you to your feet.

Better go on home, so.

Keep out of this.

Mr. Harker, this is my classroom.

Please wait outside.

I'll send Tommy out to you.

He's coming out with me.

Nobody's going to send him anywhere.

No!

No!

I don't wanna go!

It's not necessary to use force.

Pa!

Come on, Sally.

I believe we've all learned enough for one day.

Class dismissed.

I don't blame you for being upset, Mr. Decory.

But as I told you before, you're interfering

between a father and his son.

Now, a schoolhouse is community property.

A parent has a right to go in there anytime.

And strike the teacher?

If you want to file assault charges, I'll carry them out.

But I can't guarantee you what'll happen after that.

Well, then, we'll just have to see, won't we, Marshal?

[music playing]

JUDGE: Everybody rise.

Order in the court, please.

Who's representing the defendant?

I am, your honor.

Mr. Decory, I understand you've requested

to act as your own counsel.

That's right, your honor.

If that is your wish.

MR. DECORY: Now, Mr. Harker, on the morning of the 14th,

you came to the schoolhouse to take

your son away from the school.

Now, he didn't want to leave, did he?

No, he didn't.

In fact, he resisted you, didn't he?

That's right.

And when I tried to intervene, you hit me, didn't you?

Because you were butting in your big nose

where it didn't belong.

Then you admit you assaulted me?

I never denied it, and I'd do it again if I had the chance.

Thank you.

No more questions, your honor.

JUDGE: Bruce, any cross-examination?

Mr. Harker, you said Mr. Decory was butting in.

Would you explain that?

Well, even after I took the boy out of school,

he still tried to keep his hold on him.

He even came to my farm and tried

to argue with me about it.

Finally, I had to order him off my land.

Any other occasions?

OLIVER: He gave the boy a book, even

knowing I told the boy I want no more books in the house.

Would you say it was Mr. Decory's

influence that caused Tommy to return to school that day?

That's what I would say.

The boy even run away, stayed at his house all night.

He had the missus sick with worry.

LAWYER: So you'd say Mr. Decory came between you and your son.

That's what I would say, yes.

No more questions, your honor.

You're excused, Mr. Harker.

Mr. Decory, you have another witness?

Dr. Adams, your honor.

Now, tell me, Dr. Adams.

After the assault, you were the one who treated me.

Now, what was the extent of my injuries?

You had a bruise on your right cheek and one on your shoulder.

MR. DECORY: What's your background, doctor?

I mean, I know you have a shingle outside your office

that says you're a doctor of medicine,

but what exactly gave you the right to put that sign up?

I studied medicine.

Your honor, the defense acknowledges

Dr. Adams' qualifications and that he's an excellent doctor.

Now, your honor, it's not his qualifications I'm getting at.

It's how we got them, and why.

LAWYER: Your honor, I have a feeling

Mr. Decory intends to make schooling

and education an issue here.

Now, I realize the prosecutor isn't

exactly a seasoned attorney.

However, I feel obliged to remind him

that this is an assault trial.

If he continues in this line, I must object.

I'm sorry.

I-- Your honor, with all due respect,

Mr. Harker's attack on me was prompted by the issue

of his child's education.

That would seem to me that Mr. Harker's views

on education and the assault are very

definitely closely related.

A reasonable assumption.

Objection overruled.

Continue, Mr. Decory.

MR. DECORY: Yes, sir.

Was your father a doctor?

DOC: No, no.

Then it was just your decision to become one?

Oh, yeah.

MR. DECORY: Now, Dr. Adams, don't you feel that Tommy

Harker and every other child deserves

that same right of decision?

Objection, your honor.

Mr. Decory's managed to twist his line of questioning again.

You've ruled that Mr. Harker's views on education

may be relevant.

I'll accept the court's judgment on that issue.

However, a child's right to an education is not relevant.

JUDGE: Mr. Decory, I'm afraid counsel is correct.

You don't have to answer that, Dr. Adams.

Well, I insist on answering that.

I think every child has a right to an education right up

to the limit of his capacity.

Objection, your honor.

Sustained.

Now, wait a minute.

Don't be so danged high and mighty, Caleb.

Listen to me.

You know as well as I do the real issue here

is an education.

All of this other fadderall is-- is hogwash.

LAWYER: Objection!

Dr. Adams, I must remind you where you are.

Oh, I know where I am.

Your honor, I'll try to make my questions a bit more relevant.

Please do.

MR. DECORY: Dr. Adams, Mr. Harker attacked me

because he believes he has the right

to force his child to quit school whenever it suits him.

Now, do you believe, doctor, a father has that right?

That's more relevant.

Objection, your honor.

I believe that it's possible for a child to work and pursue

and education at the same time.

Your honor, how many objections do I have

to make before I get a ruling?

JUDGE: Mr. Bruce, despite Dr. Adams'

unnecessary and unprofessional outburst,

I believe there's more on trial in this courtroom

than simple assault. Overruled.

As I said before, your honor, if education

becomes an issue in this trial, I take exception.

JUDGE: Noted.

Proceed, Mr. Decory.

Doctor, do you believe that it's as important for a child

to go to school as it is for him to work

in the fields with his father?

Objection!

-You shut up. -Overruled.

Yes.

MR. DECORY: Where do you think you would be today,

doctor, without an education?

Well, I shudder to think of it.

-Objection! -Overruled.

-Exception! -Noted.

MR. DECORY: Is it a fact, doctor,

that you owe everything in your life to the fact

that you have an education?

-Objection! -Overruled!

Exception!

Noted!

[interposing voices]

Order!

Order in this courtroom!

[interposing voices]

Order in this courtroom!

I want order!

Nobody's going to tell me how to educate my boy.

That Decory's got no right to interfere.

They're going to take over when I'm gone.

Oliver should've hit him harder.

ALL: Yeah!

Nobody's gonna tell me how to raise my kids.

He's got no right.

He's only a school teacher.

Decory doesn't know anything about this part of the country.

This isn't the East.

This is Kansas.

That's right.

Folks out here depend upon their crops,

and they depend upon their kids to help them!

You tell them, Burke!

ALL: Right!

DOC: How many kid you got, Burke?

Now, that's got nothing to do with it.

I think it does.

Burke, you know, you're always sticking

your nose into something that doesn't concern you.

Now, you listen to me, Doc--

Frankly, Burke, I'm tired of listening to you.

Well, I-- I didn't get up on the stand

and defend him like you did.

Burke, I said what I said on the stand

because I was under oath.

Now, in case you don't know what that means,

that means I had to tell the truth.

A man don't need all that schooling to be something.

I didn't have much.

Shows, too.

Here, Floyd.

Huh? -No thanks.

Let's go, Festus.

Well, I just now got here.

BURKE: Festus, you never went to school, did you?

No.

Well, uh, you feel the sorrier for it?

No, 'cept some once in a while, I

get to thinking a whole mess of things

could've been made a whole heap simpler if I had.

Floyd, give Festus a beer on me.

A matter of fact, give him all the beer he can drink.

[music playing]

That sucker's went plum crazy.

Mr. Decory, do you have any other witnesses?

Your honor, I'd like to call back

Oliver Harker to the stand.

JUDGE: Mr. Harker, will you take the stand, please?

And may I remind you, Mr. Harker,

you are still under oath.

Why did you hit me, Mr. Harker?

I already told you.

You were coming between me and my son.

You mean just in the classroom?

All along, you've been filling his head full of fool notions

that he's something special.

MR. DECORY: Did you object to the books he read?

For a schoolteacher, it sure takes you a long time

to figure things out.

[chuckling]

[gavel banging]

We'll have no more sarcasm, Mr. Harker.

You burned one of those books, didn't you, Mr. Harker?

That's right.

What was it called?

It doesn't matter.

Any book is harmful, then.

OLIVER: I didn't say that.

There's lots of good ones, the Bible for one.

But they're bad when that's all they got time for.

Mr. Harker, don't you want your son to know more than just

to work in the fields from sunup to sundown,

and to pray to God for rain when there is none,

or for it to stop when there's too much?

OLIVER: I always figured God knows what he's doing,

I never seen a man dying from hard work before.

And what if Tommy did go to school all the time, like you

said, reading and learning?

What's he's gonna when he's learned all there is to know?

Become a schoolteacher like you?

[chuckling]

MAN: Tell him, Oliver!

I am only a schoolteacher, and I don't make very much.

But I'm as proud of my work as you are.

Well, I'm a good father, and no one can say I ain't.

And I do what I think is best for my son.

I believe you, sir.

Mr. Harker, I understand some years ago,

you had the best corn crop in Ford County.

That's right.

MR. DECORY: Then the yields began to diminish.

How was your crop last year?

Fair.

This year it's worse?

Yes.

You plant the same ground every year, sir?

Yes.

Isn't it possible, Mr. Harker, that the ground is worn out?

I mean, have you ever heard of erosion, Mr. Harker?

No.

Have you ever heard of rotation of crops?

No.

Mr. Harker, this book-- this book

is called the "Farmer's Almanac."

Have you ever read it? -No.

Your son has.

It carries astronomical data, weather forecasts,

even new farming techniques.

I got no time to read.

Why do you think your son read this book?

Because he run out of fairytale books, I suppose.

No, your son read this book because he thought it could

improve your corn crop, sir.

And I might add, the farmers who have read it

and followed it in the past have improved their corn crop

and far surpassed your yields, sir.

The value of learning, Mr. Harker.

No further questions, your honor.

You're excused, Mr. Harker.

Mr. Bruce?

Your honor, I'd like to call Henry Decory to the stand,

please.

Mr. Decory.

"Farmer's Almanac."

Erosion.

Crop rotation.

Tell me, Mr. Decory, where did you grow up?

In Massachusetts.

On a farm, I suppose.

No, in a town.

Oh, well, uh, as a boy, did you have a garden?

Plant your own vegetables?

No.

Then how do you know that what's

in this book isn't all hogwash?

Have you ever put into practice any

of the farming techniques written in this book,

or any other book on farming?

No.

No.

And I wager to say, Mr. Decory, that you've never

had an aching back from pushing a plow or digging a post hole,

or dirt under your fingernails, or calluses.

Yes, Mr. Decory may be an expert on books, but farming?

The defense rests, your honor.

[cheering]

MR. DECORY: Mr. Bruce.

Mr. Bruce, I've never farmed, just

as most of these people in this courtroom

here have never taught in a classroom.

Each man to his own choosing.

But in order to do that to its utmost,

you must be taught, educated.

Objection, your honor.

Mr. Decory happens to be my witness,

and I'm through questioning him.

[chuckling]

JUDGE: Since Mr. Decory is acting as his own counsel,

I would assume that he has the privilege

of cross-examining himself.

Overruled.

Exception.

Noted.

Continue, Mr. Decory.

Your honor, one of the first acts of our forefathers

when they first landed on Plymouth Rock

was to pass a law demanding compulsory education

for every child.

Objection!

Overruled.

MR. DECORY: And then, Massachusetts, where

I come from, Mr. Bruce-- Massachusetts

passed that into law in 1852.

And since that time, Michigan, Vermont, New

Hampshire, Washington, DC, Connecticut,

they've all passed it into law.

And maybe, your honor, because of what

happens today in this courtroom, perhaps

it won't be long before compulsory education

comes to Kansas.

Objection!

[interposing voices]

Quiet!

We will have order in this court!

Court is adjourned until 8 o'clock tomorrow.

[interposing voices]

[knock at door]

[music playing]

[chatter]

Everybody rise.

Quiet, please.

Quiet.

Quiet in the court.

Where's Mr. Decory?

Uh, judge, uh, your honor?

Mr. Decory was assaulted last night by four men,

and they warned him.

They told him that if he showed up here, they'd do it again.

What were the extent of his injuries?

Cuts and bruises, numerous contu--

[interposing voices]

[gavel banging]

You needn't be here.

I'll make it, Doc.

Are you all right?

I feel just fine, your honor.

Sorry I'm late today, but I just had to ensure the presence

of an additional witness.

Your honor.

Thank you, Doc.

The defense wants it plainly known

that it deplores what happened to Mr. Decory last night,

and it condemns it.

JUDGE: Well said, Mr. Bruce.

[gavel banging]

Court is now in session.

Mr. Decory, the defense has rested its case.

You said you have an additional witness?

Yes, sir.

Tommy Harker.

[murmuring]

Your honor, we object to the calling of the defendant's son.

Prosecution can hardly expect a boy to testify

against his own father.

Now, Tommy, uh, no one is forcing you to take the stand.

You can step down if you want.

No, sir.

I'll stay.

[murmuring]

JUDGE: Mr. Decory.

Tommy, can your father read and write?

Yes, sir.

MR. DECORY: Could his father?

Uh, no, sir.

So your father's had some schooling?

Yes, sir.

He had some.

MR. DECORY: So he learned how to read and write.

His own father could neither read nor write, but he

saw to it that his son did.

Tommy, when you first came to me in school,

you were almost 10 years.

You got a very late start in school.

Could you read at that time?

Uh, no, sir.

MR. DECORY: Could you write? TOMMY: No, sir.

MR. DECORY: Add or subtract?

No, sir.

Now, your honor, with your permission,

I would like you to just call out some numbers, two

or three digits.

And Doc, if you will, will you write

those numbers down on here and add

them up as quickly as possible?

Tommy, I want you to listen to the judge very carefully.

And when he's through, please give us your total.

Your honor, I'd like you call the numbers out rapidly,

please.

All right.

24, 35, 16, 44, 61, 52, 77.

Is that enough?

Yes, sir.

What's your total, Tommy?

309.

And you, Doc?

Just a minute.

309.

[murmuring]

MR. DECORY: You've all just seen an example of what

can be achieved by education.

Potential is limitless.

If it were not for the great minds of this nation,

the Benjamin Franklins, the Lincolns, the Thoreaus,

this country would not be where it is,

and we would not be gathered here today.

All of these men were great men because they were educated.

And despite Mr. Harker's determination

to keep his son out of school, he

understands very well the value of learning

because he, too, is a teacher.

You are all teachers.

You teach your children how to milk cows

and how to stack wheat because you

realize without that knowledge, they are helpless.

Now, all of you want your children to become farmers.

There's nothing wrong with a boy becoming a farmer.

Farming is an ancient and honorable trade,

but must a farmer be only a farmer

because he knows nothing else?

George Washington was a farmer.

Thomas Jefferson was a farmer.

Many of our greatest leaders, they all grew up on farms,

just like your children.

Now, the difference between our teachings

is that I teach from a book because I learned from books,

because the sum total of all human knowledge

is passed down in books.

I told Tommy Harker that burning a book

can't stop a child's hunger for knowledge,

but a child's parent can.

He can stifle it or kill it, just as you can kill a plant

if you deny it light and rain.

You take your children out of school.

You tell them long enough and hard enough

that teaching and schooling is unnecessary.

The ultimate tragedy, then, is that they will

come to accept that as fact.

And once they do, once they believe that schooling is

a waste, from that very moment on,

the lust, these bright, agile, young minds

will be tarnished forever.

And we will be the poorer for it because by robbing

our children, we also rob ourselves

and all our future generations of the priceless gift

of knowledge.

I'm through, your honor.

[clearing throat]

Well, uh, Mr. Decory is quite a-- quite a speaker.

It's plain his education was thorough,

but that doesn't necessarily make him right.

But you are not here to decide this issue.

I feel obliged to remind the jury that you sit here

in judgment, not on a child's right to an education,

but on assault. Assault.

And you are here to decide whether or not Mr. Oliver

Harker is guilty and should be punished for striking

a man who came knowingly and deliberately

between him and his son.

And that, not education, is the subject of this trial.

And I hope and trust that every member of this jury

will agree that a father's right to protect his child

is the most sacred right every parent has.

[music playing]

You didn't expect to win that case, did you?

Not at first.

But as we got deeper and deeper into the trial,

I hoped that-- no, I guess not.

You didn't want Oliver Harker to go to jail, did you?

MR. DECORY: No.

No, I didn't.

But that wasn't what was on trial, Doc.

Henry, you familiar with the old saying,

he who fights and runs away?

I am.

You didn't finish it.

He who fights and runs away may turn to fight another day.

He that's in the battle slain will never rise to fight again.

Well, maybe I'm tired of the battle.

DOC: Henry, I-- I'm afraid you may have lost

something besides just blood.

Now, look, Doc, I thought a town like Dodge

would welcome education.

I thought that all men wanted better for their sons.

There wasn't a word that I said that made any difference

to these people, nothing.

Standing still.

That's all they want for themselves.

That's all they're going to pass on to their children.

They might as well hibernate.

Henry--

Doc, I tried to keep one child, just

one child with extraordinary ability, in school,

and I failed.

What about the other children?

How am I going to help them now?

You made a point today.

Yes, I made a point.

I got everybody in this whole town against me.

You reached a couple of people today.

Tomorrow, maybe a couple more.

Henry, it takes time.

I started teaching when I was 23, Doc.

I'm 43 now.

I don't have much time to wait, at least not here.

Henry, let me tell you something about time.

A few years ago, this was a wilderness.

Somebody came along and built a town.

Others came, and Dodge became a town.

It cost a lot of blood, but it's here.

There was no medicine here until I came.

There was no law until Matt Dillon came,

and no education, not the kind we're talking about,

until right now.

And in that regard, it's still a wilderness.

Anytime anybody comes into town and wants

to change anything, they've always been met by ignorance,

suspicion, even violence.

Henry, all you can do is plant a seed and hope it grows.

Henry, if you stay, that boy and a lot of others have a chance.

Now, if you leave, they don't.

I'm not sure I care anymore, Doc.

You don't?

[music playing]

ANNOUNCER: Stay tuned for exciting scenes

from our next "Gunsmoke."

[music playing]