Original subtitles

Bridge.

Who needs it?

A railroad bridge across the Mississippi.

Ah.

In fact, they're going slow.

Looks like they could use a few more hands, huh? Well, that's their plan.

Now, friends, if you just gather around,

I'm going to give you the opportunity of a lifetime.

As you know, the West no longer stops at the Mississippi,

but it's going to reach out, clear out to the Pacific Ocean. Now,

if you'll just listen to me a moment, if you'll just listen. Who are you?

The name's Bledsoe, friend. Jim Bledsoe. And I come down here to St.

Louis... Well, who asked you to?

I come down here to St. Louis because the railroad needs men.

Good men, strong men.

Men with muscle and grit that can swing a sledge and drive

a spike to help build that new bridge up at Rock Island.

Was he still talking? I hope he runs out of wind.

A dollar a day, plus tobacco and whiskey when you want it.

Now that's what's waiting for you up at Rock Island.

We ain't no fools, mister. Of course you're not fools. You're sensible men.

That's why you'll want to come up and work on the new bridge.

Now here's passage money up to Rock Island. Now who'll be the first taker?

We put a bridge across that river, we'll be cutting our own throats.

You can't stop progress, my friend.

The West is growing.

Step right up, boys.

Build our bridge, push our railroad across the river,

take the bread out of our mouths. Vultures.

Not you, ma'am.

And by all that's right, the railroad is willing to pay.

You know, I think I'll pipe her a board.

Well, Miss Murray, welcome back. Did you enjoy your shopping?

Oh, yes. St. Louis is so exciting.

Mr. Murray has bought me many things.

Yes, my hat and purse. Oh, and look. Look at my parasol. Isn't that beautiful?

It's charming.

You know, your father spoiled you.

Now, that is the second time you have made this mistake. Oh, that's right.

Well, I can't help wishing that he were your father.

And I try so hard to look married.

Serious.

Settle.

But maybe it's because it's only two weeks.

And this is still our honeymoon.

Oh, see these wonderful gifts.

Oh, thank you. Pardon, Capitaine, but you must forgive her. She's like a child,

Steve. Everything excites her, everything catches her fancy.

Oh, but why shouldn't it? Even the cloud on the top, that meeting,

I could hardly drag it away.

I found it so very interesting.

Such anger, such loud voices.

Oh, look, look.

Now, just keep calm, keep calm. A man's got a right to free speech.

We're getting even more excited than before.

Miss Jim Murray, I think you'd better take your bride topside.

Oh, no. Yes, madame. Wait, wait, wait. Mammy, come on.

Nobody's hanging anybody.

He's asking us to ruin ourselves. That bitch will take our river jobs away.

You don't have to work for him.

The law says you can't hang him.

Now move off.

All right, mister. Bloodstone.

Jim Bloodstone. You better get started wherever you're going and get there fast.

Where are you going? Well, I'm going to come aboard as a passenger.

That way, I'll come under the protection of the ship's officers. What?

Get out of here! They're calling!

No, no, let go, let go, let go.

You got a railroad man on board?

You got any money, mister?

Sure have. You need the business.

You'd let the devil come aboard if he had the money.

The devil thinks you say. Ah, the fare, mister, the fare.

And that one, too.

All right, get topside. All right, get up on the top deck.

All right, folks, take it up.

Railroad, man.

Up, up, over here. All right, folks.

Don't worry, Bill. No problem. No problem. Navigating at night.

I don't like it.

Even with a full moon, I don't like it. We're going to compete with the railroads.

We've got to speed up our schedule.

What's the use of speeding up our schedule if we end up without a boat under us?

What's the use of having a boat under us if we sail half empty? Take over.

Now, let's take men like you with your knowledge of boilers. Why,

there'd be a great future for you with the railroad. Ah, shut your ear.

And that goes for you, too, Mr. Carney. Good job, good pay,

all you gotta do is say the word.

Listen, do you want to stoke your life away on an old river scowl?

Well, a man with his experience and knowledge could be a...

A locomotive engineer. And that's practically like being the captain.

It's you that blows the whistle, and you merely choke your pockets with money. Now,

get up before I lay you out!

Get out of here.

Get up!

I said, get out!

Let me use this on him, Skipper. I'll shut his big mouth.

Now, I'm going to tell you this once, and I'm

not going to repeat it, so don't forget it.

You're a passenger on this boat, and that's all.

Don't try to enlist any labor for your railroad gang from among my crew,

because I'm going to stop the boat, put you in a sandbar,

and leave you there for the catfish and the crows, is that understood? Sure,

Captain, sure. Now get in your cabin and stay there.

That's the way you want it. Yeah, that's the way I want it.

Now what? Black boat coming alongside. What?

Ahoy there! What do you want? You be the captain.

What are you, a river pirate?

Ah, Captain, take a look at it.

You can see we're clean, decent citizens,

and all we're asking for is a tub of pig's tallow.

You look like you ought to ask for a bar of soap instead.

What do you want with the hogs and the pig's tallow for at this time of night?

Burn down a bridge.

What?

Burn down a bridge.

Don't you know where you are, Captain?

You're just below Rock Island.

Rock Island?

The railroad bridge.

You know, Captain, I ain't no preacher,

but it could be like fire raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah.

We'll burn that bridge down to the water's edge till it sizzles in the Mississippi.

Ah, the drunk.

Yeah, whiskey and fire, they go together, mister.

Now, how about giving us that tallow as your contribution to the festivities?

Hello! That's what you use to heat up your fires, ain't it?

I'll give you the back of my paddle wheel. That's what I'll give you.

Where do you think we are? A bunch of drunken river rats like yourselves?

Well, we're brave men.

Whiskey or not? Brave? You're stupid.

You'll get no help from us burning and destroying private property.

Now, shut up!

Whose side are you on, mister? I'm on the side of my boat, the Enterprise.

Well, all right then.

But that bridge ain't gonna make beggars out of us.

We'll burn it down if we have to use this jug of

whiskey to start the flame. Go on, move out.

Go on, move.

Hold those men.

Hold them right there.

Where are you going? I heard what those men said.

They're going to burn down the bridge. I want to get a closer look at them.

Why? So I can report it to the authorities of Rock Island. Now get out of my way.

You're not going to harm any river men.

My duty lies with the railroad, not to you, Captain. Now move.

Those men are just drunk. It's whiskey courage.

Go on back to your cabin. You heard Captain Holden. You heard what he said.

First man to step foot on my deck, I'll kick you right back into the Mississippi.

I don't get you, mister.

You knocked them down to protect us, didn't you? As you river men,

and you're drunk and you don't know what you're doing. Now go on,

forget about this burning and destroying.

Find some nice, soft, grassy place in the riverbank and sleep it off. Now, shut up!

I hope you hit a snag in the river, Captain! Are you all right?

Huh? Oh. Yeah.

I'm gonna have to learn how to duck, though.

This fella's got a kick like a canal mule.

That's very pretty, Marcerie.

The kind of music girls learn in the convent.

You know, gentlemen, My law practice depends upon the prosperity along the river.

If they collar the father of the waters with a bridge wire,

it would strangle me down in New Orleans.

You will again, sir.

Matter of luck.

I've had enough.

I suppose my debt is considerable.

Well, let's see here now.

You all, gentlemen, sir, make it double or nothing between you and me?

Why not?

Good.

Play it again, ma chérie.

Encore!

Oh, may my age is permitted a few weaknesses, will you?

Oh, I've got two.

My charming wife and Gavlik.

You see, I am very grateful to you, gentlemen, and to you, Capitán,

for this particular pleasure. I have an expensive pleasure, isn't it? Fortes!

Fortuna iubat, Latin gentlemen.

Fortune favors the brave.

Well, do you feel a little courageous tonight, Mr. Murray?

Why? Oh, see, sir. Well, that's $300 you owe me. Keep it down.

Will you take my I.O.U.?

I am somewhat short of cash, because of my charming wife.

I kept buying you gifts all the way along the river, didn't I, ma chérie?

That is the way to keep a young wife happy.

And to keep her from thinking about your age. Buy her gifts.

There.

There.

Now.

Is that satisfactory, Capitaine? It'll be just fine, Mr. Bray.

Cash in the chest, Waller.

Tell me, monsieur, are we serious about this situation concerning the bridge?

Miss Murray?

Go away.

Leave me alone.

Oh, now, now, now. What's the matter? What's happening?

I'm not the right wife for him, Captain.

I know I'm not the right wife.

What are you talking about?

I try to be a good wife to him. I try to do the right things. I want to help him.

No, that's all right. Don't move away.

He thinks I'm still a child.

So he treats me like a child.

He doesn't show me any way to help him at all.

No?

No.

You know, it's funny, isn't it, Miss Murray?

How fate happens to bring two people together.

Well, we ran into the bridge.

Got lobbies. Anybody hurt? How are you? You got it?

Put it on. That's the boiler. Anybody hurt? Let's go back in here.

Deliberately! Deliberately! You ran into that bridge deliberately! Shut up!

Get out of here! Bashing the whole Texas deck! How did we get here?

Well, the current ran us into those pilings and the top timbers came over on us.

A hundred times I've been through here. A hundred times and nothing ever happened.

Now they put up a bridge.

Well, I got a stove in the galley.

Cook's watching over them with a meat cleaver.

Let's take $400 worth of damage up there alone.

Yeah, well, $300 or $400 we don't have. Yeah, I know. So?

What are we going to do about it?

Don't say what I'm going to do.

I'm gonna get this money from the railroad.

My name is Grimes, sir.

I'm here to speak for the railroad bridge company. Come right on in.

We've been expecting you.

Well, we can get right down to cases, Blake.

Now then, sir, my boat, the Enterprise, was damaged by your bridge.

The damage amounts to $400.

Just like that. Yeah, that's right, just like that. Why?

Well, now, whose floor do you think it was? Ours?

That depends on who's telling the story, sir.

See, I had a little talk with our Mr. Bledsoe.

Yes, our Mr. Bledsoe last night.

And from what he told me,

it's my opinion that your boat deliberately rammed our bridge.

Oh, you're so right, Mr. Grimes. I like running into bridges. It's a hobby of mine.

That's the way I made my reputation as the best pilot on the river,

by running into everything that got in my way. You see, that's right, Mr. Grimes.

You see, the bridge has got in Bill's way, so pow!

I'm in no mood for your jokes, Captain Holden.

It's our opinion that this was a deliberate act of willful destruction. Well,

you're not only misinformed, but you are completely wrong.

That bridge shouldn't even be there.

Its angle is wrong to the current.

It's a menace to navigation. On who say so, sir? Yours?

I'll have you know we use highly paid expert engineers.

Highly paid, maybe, but expert, no. Not on the results. Fire him. Now, look, sir.

All I'm asking for you is $400. Not one red cent, sir.

You won't pay me?

I'll take you to court, sir.

And I just won't sue for damages.

What do you mean?

I'll get that bridge taken off the river as a hazard to navigation.

It seems to me if anything is a danger to navigation, sir, it isn't our bridge.

It's the Enterprise.

You know, Mr. Grimes, if you weren't in such a hurry to leave,

I'd make you eat those words.

Are we gonna sue in a court? And just not for damage.

I'm gonna get that bridge off the river. That's a pretty big order.

You think we got a chance? Well, we got a good case, haven't we?

Yeah, you think so, but will a jury think so? Look, Gray,

I know a little about piloting a boat.

You know how to run a boat and something about digging up the cargo.

But neither you or me knows this much about the law.

Well, we don't need an expert. We'll get one. Yeah, well,

what are we going to pay a lawyer with? 20 years free passes on the enterprise?

We don't need to get a lawyer. I've got one. I want a lawyer. Fed and married.

Please rise.

Hear ye, hear ye, First Federal District Court is now in session.

On the docket, Captain Gray Holden of the Steamboat Enterprise

versus the Rock Island,

Illinois Railroad Bridge Company.

Who is representing the plaintiff?

If it please the court, I am, your honor.

Ferdinand Marais of New Orleans.

And who is representing the defense?

I am, your honor.

Abraham Lincoln of Sangamon County, Illinois.

Whereas these being the charges,

therefore claimant is suing for damages and loss

of time and for the removal of this bridge

and further to restrain the railroad from building

any future bridge across the Mississippi.

The claimant contending that such bridges are a permanent

threat to free navigation on the river.

Are you ready to proceed, Mr. Moray? We are, Your Honor.

Captain William Blake to the stand. Place your left hand on the Bible,

raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Yeah, I do.

Now, sir, your full name and profession, if you please.

Captain William Blake, master pilot and partner in the enterprise.

I understood you, sir, and I believe I heard you correctly.

I understood you to say that you were a partner.

That's right, yes.

Well, that is a general statement, sir.

Is it exactly precise?

What's I got to do with it?

Why, I was referring to the figures.

Well, get to the point.

Now, Captain.

How much of a partner?

Half partner. I own half, and Captain Holden owns half.

How do they tell the junior partner, Counselor?

By age?

Sit down. Do you hear me? Sit down.

Mr. Lincoln, you will confine your remarks to cross-examination.

My apologies to the court, Your Honor. And to Captain Holden.

Proceed, Mr. Moray.

Thank you, Yolanda.

Now, Capitaine, let us go back in time to that fateful night when steaming

peacefully up the father of the waters with passengers and crew all serene.

Let us go back to that night when the Enterprise was

tragically ambushed by the pilings of the bridge.

Objection.

Your Honor, along with anyone else, I appreciate a dramatic recitation or speech,

but counsel is leading the witness.

Oh, I think Mr. Murray is within his rights at this time.

Overruled.

May I thank the court for its reasonable attitude, Your Honor.

Reasonableness is the very cornerstone of justice.

A little less language, Mr. Murray, and a little

more substance, if you please. What?

You mean don't talk so much.

Silence!

Well, uh... Will...

Now, Capitaine, where were you when these tragic events occurred?

I was in the wheelhouse. It was at nighttime.

We were only going about five miles an hour.

In that part of the river, there's a very tricky current,

and all of a sudden this current seized the boat and smashed us into the piling.

You didn't deliberately strike the bridge.

What are you saying?

I'm a master pilot, not a fool.

That bridge doesn't belong in that part of the river.

It doesn't belong any place on the river.

Objection.

Witness is stating an opinion.

Sustained.

He's telling the truth!

Order.

Order in the court.

I'm well aware that this case has aroused strong feelings along the river,

but I will tolerate no demonstrations.

Is that clear? Proceed, Mr. Murray.

I am finished with the witness.

Step down.

What do you mean you're finished? You didn't even begin.

Please, Capitán, let me handle the case.

The law has nourished me for years, and I understand her petite quirks and secrets.

Approach discreetly and intelligently. She can be a man's friend.

Why don't you stop talking so much and saying so little?

What kind of a lawyer do I own?

Your Honor, if Captain Holden wants a few more questions asked of Mr. Blake,

I'd be glad to oblige. That is, if Mr. Murray has no objection.

Mr. Murray, any objections? None, Your Honor.

Mr. Blake, will you return to the stand?

Well, Mr. Blake, from the looks of you, you must be quite a veteran of the river.

Oh, flattery will get you no place, Mr. Lincoln.

Now, if you want me to admit that I am an accomplished master pilot on the river,

I'll be guilty to that charge.

Your Honor, would you please instruct the jury that Mr.

Blake is not charged with any wrongdoing? No

need to, Your Honor. I'll take care of that.

Gentlemen.

Mr. Blake was just using a figure of speech. He is not a defendant in the case.

I bet you wish I was, though, huh, Mr. Lincoln?

Mr. Blake, you will please confine your remarks to answering the questions.

Yes, Your Honor.

Well, Mr. Blake, now that we've established the fact,

and I freely concede the point, that you're an experienced pilot,

would you tell me when in the course of a day's

run you're usually in the wheelhouse?

Well, that could be most any time from sunup to sundown, all depending.

Depending on what?

Well, depending on the condition of the river at that time,

the trickiness of the current, the shoals, the bends, anything.

Then would you say that you spend a considerable amount of time in the wheelhouse?

You could say that again, Mr. Lane.

And would you say you were always at the wheel

when the navigating was difficult or dangerous?

That's my responsibility.

And were you at the wheel at the time of the crash?

I was.

Why, Mr. Blake?

Was there a problem?

Oh, no. No, there was no problem.

It was just that... Would you finish that sentence, Mr. Blake?

It was just that... What?

Object, object! Why? It's a proper question. Silence!

What's the matter, Mr. Blake?

Cat got your tongue?

No, it was just that it was...

Nighttime.

Night, you say.

And is it usual for a riverboat to travel at night?

No.

Then why were you?

We were trying to speed up our schedule to compete with the railroad.

It looks like the current kind of knocked us out of competition.

That's all, Mr. Blake. You can step down.

What are you doing, mister?

Hello, Sonny.

Hey, I know you.

You're the lawyer.

Why aren't you at the trial?

Well, it's a recess.

I've been trying to figure something out.

You live around here, Sonny?

Yep.

I suppose you could tell me all about this river.

Sure.

Well, I guess you're the expert I'm looking for.

How fast does the current run under here?

Oh, I couldn't tell you that, mister.

I don't know.

How would you like to help me find out and make a dime?

I'm your man, mister.

Here's your dime.

Now, you see that point?

When a log comes floating around that point, you let out a yell.

I'll start taking the time on my watch.

Now, when it comes under us here, you yell again, and I'll quit taking the time.

That'll give you the speed of the current?

The time it takes for it to travel from there to here,

that'll give me the current speed. You ready, sonny?

And don't forget, yell.

Captain Gray, hold into the stand.

You know, I've been waiting impatiently to get you on

the stand, Captain. That is, ever since yesterday.

Well, I'm here.

You shall, Miss Word, tell the truth, the old truth, nothing but the truth.

Do I help you, God?

I do.

You don't especially like me, do you, Captain? In fact,

I guess I'm not so popular with any of you river men, am I? Now that's a fact.

You ain't the belle of the ball.

Order. Order in the court.

Well, I...

I guess I'd be a lot safer if I'd applied for a job on your side, Captain.

Captain Gray Holden.

Well, you're maybe the first good-looking steamboat

captain I've seen since this trial began.

You know this river, Captain? You from Illinois?

You know it all?

I guess maybe there's some parts that don't. Well, I'm not so careless.

I know all the river, from New Orleans to St. Paul, from St. Louis to Cincinnati.

I know it all.

You're a fighting man, aren't you, Captain?

Objection, Your Honor.

Counsel is obviously attempting to bait my client.

It is unsporting and ungentlemanly.

Why don't you sit down? I can take care of myself. The witness will control himself.

Calls for you too, Mr. Lincoln.

You want that bridge off the river, don't you, Captain?

We want all bridges off the river.

You insist. You really believe that a bridge is a peril to navigation?

It's like a snag.

Now, if you don't know what a snag is, Mr. Lincoln,

I'd be glad to explain it to you.

Naturally, you're a fighting man. That's right.

But I don't burn, and I don't commit sabotage, and I don't lie.

I do my fighting, or I'm supposed to be doing my fighting,

right here in a court of law.

Now then, steamboats been coming up and down this river for nearly 30 years.

And nobody's got the privilege of interfering with their right of way.

Order! Order! Order in the court!

The country's changed in 30 years. The railroad's changing it, not the people.

Tell me, Captain, how much time do you spend on the river?

I spend all my time in the river, every day and every night, weeks, months, years.

Speaking of how you spend your time,

I understand you were playing blackjack the night the accident occurred.

Won yourself a lawyer, I believe.

Objection, Your Honor. Sustained.

Well, there's no telling what a man's likely to win at blackjack these days.

Order in the court. That's enough levity, Mr. Lincoln.

I won't warn you again.

I'll tell you something, Captain.

You steamed up that night too close to the Illinois shore. Yeah?

You should have been closer to the West Bank, the Iowa side.

What makes you think you're a navigator?

It's spring, Captain.

The river's at flood stage. Current comes down hard and fast this time of year.

Runs at 15 miles an hour heading for those pilings.

The water drop at those pilings is four feet,

thus an eddy and cross current are formed.

By the way you hit, you got caught and swung some 35 feet to the pilings.

Then you got stuck in the eddy with your bow up.

Traveling at five miles an hour, you couldn't fight off that current.

It swung you like a toy.

Well, I guess you do know something about the river.

Well, now that you admit that, I'm going to admit something to you.

And to you too, gentlemen of the jury.

I'm going to get something out of the way.

Gentlemen, I did a little investigating during lunch recess,

and I want to say here and now that in my opinion,

the Enterprise struck that bridge by accident.

Now we admit it was not done deliberately.

The current being such and the bridge being where it is, it had to happen.

We candidly admit this.

But, and this is the vital issue, No man,

no one has the right to ask the railroad to remove this bridge

or to impose a restraint against any such future building.

The defense asks for a recess, Your Honor. Granted.

You just lost your case, Mr. Lincoln.

Did I admit you?

Did I? Mm-hmm.

All I admitted were facts, Captain.

And the facts only proved that the bridge should have

been built at a different angle to the river.

Not that it shouldn't be there at all.

He has given us our case, Captain. He has given

us all we need. I can taste the victory.

I can taste it.

Yeah?

Yeah, whose?

His or ours?

Now, Captain, I've called you back to the stand for a few final questions.

Fire away.

To which I hope to get some honest answers.

Well, that's the only kind of answers you ever get out of me, is honest ones.

By now, I'm sure of that, Captain.

Actually, it's only one question.

Captain, the steamboats handle all cargo and

traffic up and down the river and across it,

don't they? That's right.

Products from the east to get to the west have to use the steamboats.

Yeah, that's right. Seems like you've got something of a monopoly, Captain.

That's all there is.

Steamboats.

That's all there were.

Until the railroad reached the Illinois shore and started across.

Now you've got competition, Captain.

That's right. And that's why you're fighting the bridge.

No!

That bridge is a menace to safe navigation.

For 30 years, men have been living on this river.

Keelboatmen, flatboatmen, riverboatmen.

The witness will sit down and stick to the question at hand.

That's all right, Your Honor.

Let the captain speak.

It's easy to talk about competition.

Make it sound like we're greedy.

There are people who live on this river,

and that's what I'm thinking about right now.

Women, children, families of river men.

What's going to happen to them?

What will their future be now?

Where will they go? Where will they go if the river goes dead on them?

Will the bridge take care of them, Mr. Lincoln?

No, of course not.

But the riverboats will.

I'm not fighting competition.

I'm fighting for a living for every one of us here on the river.

Are you finished with the witness, Mr. Lincoln?

That's all, Captain.

What do you mean, that's all? I haven't even begun yet.

The witness will step down or be in contempt. What do you mean?

Order.

Order in the corner.

You will step down.

Well, Mr. Lincoln?

The defense is finished, Your Honor.

Then there will be a 15-minute recess.

We'll listen to closing arguments after that.

Court is dismissed.

Why didn't you say something?

Why didn't you object? My good man, there was nothing to object to.

First you open your mouth too much, then you can't say a word.

Madam, I bet you told me your husband was an important lawyer, a good one.

He is.

Please, my child.

Go away.

This must be extremely painful to you too, to see me embarrassed, abused.

Ferdinand!

You do talk too much.

Absolutely do.

What?

I have despaired of ever finding a weakness in you.

But now I have, and I'm glad.

Not for your weakness, for that I am sorry, but it does tell me you are human.

Because of that, I can reach you as a wife should reach her husband.

And this, this I've not been able to do before.

Marie, ma chérie, Marie.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

Well, maybe part of our side will get something out of this trial after all.

Gentlemen of the jury, you have heard many reliable witnesses

testify to the fact that no bridge should be there.

You have heard candid omissions by the defense, all of them.

All this goes to prove our contention that danger

to free navigation of the river exists.

Competition is not the issue, but safety is.

The unimpeded freedom for river traffic, the right of the river man.

To guarantee secure transportation to their clients.

On the question of damages for injury to the vessel and for time lost,

on the question of the existence of a bridge crossing the river,

you must in all conscience, gentlemen, find for the plaintiff.

Order!

Order in the court!

Mr. Lincoln?

Well, now, that was quite an inspiring speech.

Counsel for the plaintiff sounded like a different man.

Changed for the better, which is fine.

I only wish his legal position had improved, too.

He's still dead set against the bridge crossing the river.

Now, gentlemen, must that crossing always be by canoe or ferry boat or steamboat?

Must the railroad come to a halt at the riverbank, unload,

pile all its goods and products on boats, Sail them across,

then reload them on railroad cars to continue their journey west?

Wouldn't this hold back the progress and development

of that great region to the west?

All that's wrong with that particular bridge is

that it was built at a wrong angle to the river.

We will correct this, gentlemen.

But a bridge must be a conceded right if a nation is to grow and expand.

Now, I'm not going to let counsel for the plaintiff

outdo me in respect for your patience,

so I'm going to be brief, too.

I'm going to conclude with just one more point that

I think puts the whole problem in a nutshell.

It seems to me that one man has as good a right to cross

a river As another has the right to sail up and down it,

provided each doesn't interfere with the other's rights.

It's like a highway or a street.

You cannot deny that a man has the right to

Cross it or another to pass up and down it.

As long as they don't get in each other's way.

This gentleman is an undeniable right.

And it is the issue at stake.

Thank you.

Order!

The jury will rise.

Gentlemen, you will retire to the jury room.

The court is recessed until a verdict has been reached.

You were wonderful and marvelous, wasn't he, Captain?

Well, we'll see you when the jury comes back.

Come on, I need a drink.

Been in that jury room for one hour. Oh, it's a good sign, Skipper.

Sure.

For us.

Mister.

You obviously have a head of iron just like your railroad.

You know nothing about jurisprudence.

I got more sense than you, mister. I live on land, not on water, like a river rat.

Why, you... Carney!

I ain't no sodbuster's gonna call me names.

There's a trial going on. At least wait till it's over.

Yes, sir. Drink your drink.

Well, hello, strong.

Tully, have a drink on the railroad, will you? Sure. Well, there you are.

Boys have been looking all over for you.

Now, the jury's still out.

And it looks like the riverboat men are going to come to grips. Oh,

it'll be a sad day for them.

So why don't you join up with the railroad?

Now, here's what we're going to... Put your money away and shut your mouth.

Wages are still the same.

A dollar a day, plus tobacco, plus whiskey.

Now, look, boy, we can't beat them, so why don't you join them?

The jury's bound to vote for them. All right, boy, just sit down.

I've stopped riding before, and I can stop it again. Now, just take it easy.

I've owed you that ever since the boat.

Now, if your men will turn you loose, I'll give you a little bit of interest.

That a fact.

Oh, now that's a good sign. A sure sign of victory for all. Great!

Gray, the jury's coming in. Court's about in session.

You know, Mr. Carney, maybe you're right.

Maybe it's a good sign after all, huh?

Come on, boys.

What happened to you, Captain?

Oh, just another little disagreement, Mr. Lincoln.

And who won?

Well, the river men.

Naturally. Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

And what is your verdict?

We, the jury, fine for the defendant.

They have the undeniable right to put a bridge across the river,

providing it's at an angle that does not interfere with navigation.

And on the subject of damages, we fine for the plaintiff.

I guess we might as well take on them. Uh-oh.

Captain, I'm coming on board as a passenger.

Do you mind if I ride home with you two gentlemen?

Welcome to the Enterprise, Mr. Lincoln. Permit me to say, Captain,

you put up a very good fight.

We haven't given up that fight yet, Mr. Lincoln. No, no, no.

That bridge is here to stay.

You know, you might have spoke up for progress, Mr. Lincoln,

but you didn't make yourself so popular along the river.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sorry about that, Captain Holden.

But that's the trouble with progress.

Someone's always getting hurt by it, one way or another. All right, cast our lines!

Keep those airplanes on!