The Cabalcade of America, starring Robert Young. Tonight, the DuPont Company brings you Mr. Fullman's Palace Car, starring Robert Young, on The Cabalcade of America. Now, here is Jane Whitman. Good evening. The floors and woodwork in your home need protection from everyday wear and tear. Protect these surfaces with DuPont's super clear varnish. It is easy to apply, dries quickly, and brings new beauty to interior floors, woodworks, trims, doors, and furniture. A surface coated with DuPont's super clear is so smooth that dirt and dust do not readily cling to it. Because it is super clear, it is especially good for use on the pale blonde woods, so popular today in modern decoration. To protect and make beautiful the surfaces in your home, try DuPont's super clear varnish, one of the many DuPont better things for better living through chemistry. Mr. Fullman's Palace Car, starring Robert Young as George Fullman, on the DuPont's Cabalcade of America. Well, that's three straights you've eaten. Want another? No, thanks. I'm afraid my luck won't last. I've been a bit tired. I think I'll retire. Yup, me too. I want to get a good night's sleep. What time do we get into Los Angeles? About noon, I think. Well, good night. Most Americans take sleeping cars for granted. We can ride back and forth across the continent in perfect comfort. But in 1855, travel was a far different story. And it was in that year that a young man named George Mortimer Fullman, then 24, left his home in New York on a trip to Chicago. The train was barely a day out. Excuse me, Mr.... Excuse me, young fella. What? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. That's all right. Is the seat next to you taken? No, help yourself. Thanks. I was looking all over the train for a seat. It's crowded. Yes, and dirty. There, sit down. Not for me, for my daughter. Amy? Yes, Amy, I found the seat for you. I thought we'd never find a seat. All right now, honey. Here, sit down. Thank you, Father. Excuse me, but you look rather tired. He is, Mr.... Yes, well, here, tell you what. I'll let her have the whole seat. Maybe she'll be able to lie down. Oh, no, please. Please, I'll be all right. There's no trouble at all. That's nice of you, mister, but you're liable not to get another seat. Oh, some of these people will get off soon. I hope. Well, all right. I'll let you do it if she wasn't all gone. Here, Amy, take my coat. Put it under your head. Thank you, Father. And you, sir? Fullman's my name, George Fullman. My name's William. She's William. My daughter, Emma. I'm glad to know you. How do you do? Well, we can't stand here in the aisle, Mr. William. I'll take a walk at the end of the car. Do you think you'll be all right now, Emma? I'll be much better now. I'll try to get a little sleep. Good. If you want anything, just holler. I will. And thank you again, Mr. Fullman. Don't mention it. Not much of a place to lie down, but it'll help. Her poor kid and her husband died in Charleston. They've taken her back home when they did Chicago. She's been traveling four days now. They're all tuckered out. No, that's a shame. But she needs some sleep. She won't be able to rest much on that seat. Well, better than nothing anyway. Too bad they don't have sleeping cars on some of these lines. Well, they have. Down south mostly, though. Not much good. Made out of wooden planks. Hard as nails. Surely nobody's thought of building a real sleeping car, is it? I mean, with beds and mattresses and blankets. Your daughter, there'll be a wreck before she reaches Chicago. She wouldn't have to be if she could stretch out, sleep a bit. Yeah, you're right. I hate to think of the hours ahead, and I'm a railroad man myself, and I sure don't enjoy bouncing around in these wheelbarrows all night. You're a railroad man? Yep. Master car builder for the Chicago Nolts. Then you should know it could be done. Why not build a sleeping car with beds and mattresses, carpets on the floor? The public can never pay for it. Well, they pay for nice hotels, don't they? Well, yeah, but, uh, well, uh, what would you do with the beds in the daytime? Well, I don't know. Maybe, uh, pull them up in some way against the ceiling. Out of the way. Well, well, son, you've got an idea there. Yeah. Yeah, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll make an appointment for you to talk to the president of the Chicago Nolts and Mr. Aldrich. He's my boss. He's my boss. Uh, Mr. Pullman. Yes? Mr. Aldrich will see you now. Oh, thanks very much. Pullman? Yes, sir. Sit down. Thank you. Mr. Williams said you, uh, you had something of importance to my railroad. I think the Chicago Nolts would be interested, Mr. Aldrich. It depends. What is it? Uh, sleeping car. I beg your pardon? Sleeping car. Here, I spent last night drawing up these sketches. They're rough, but you'll get the idea. Just a minute, Mr. Pullman. We have sleeping cars. No, you haven't, sir. What? You're trying to tell me what I have on my own road? I'm sorry, Mr. Aldrich. That might have sounded a little, well, presumptuous. Maybe. But go on. You said you had sleeping cars, but they're not because no one gets any sleep. Not on hard wooden benches. Young man, passengers with insomnia are no concern of our roads. It's not insomnia. It's just plain discomfort. Now, look, here's my idea. Spend beds in the ceilings by means of these poles. That would be a great-looking coach, beds hanging from the ceiling. But look, when they're not in use, they fold up against the ceiling. Oh, I see. The mattresses, sheets, and pillows go with them. Everything's out of the way during the day. Passengers can use the seats. Something funny, sir? Fuhrman, I can just see some of our passengers, the ones who are used to traveling looking at those beds. Why? They'd laugh at them. Well, maybe they would at first. How about the people who want to see our country, people who travel for pleasure? Who does that? No one, because it's not a pleasure. And you want to make it that? Why not? Fuhrman, this is still pioneer country. Travel is sleep with the boots on. Women travelers break down from sheer fatigue, trying to get some sleep cramped in the seats and barely wide enough for two people to sit in. Sure, this is pioneer country, built by pioneers. How about you? What do you mean, how about me? Why don't you be a pioneer, too? I have done my part. Do some more, then. No, look here, Fuhrman, I haven't given you enough time. This is a big country. Some day it's going to be rich and bigger. Railroads have to grow with it or die out. Then where will you be? I'm asking you to take the first step, be a pioneer again. I ought to ask you to leave, Fuhrman, but I... You've got a point there. All right, what do you want me to do? Give me a chance to build a real sleeping car, starting from scratch? Not necessarily, just give me the chance to remodel an old coach. Tell you what, I'll let you have two old coaches. If it works, if I like what you've done, you can run them on my lines. Deal? It is, sir. Just one more favor. And what's that? Your master car builder, Shield William. And what about him? Lend him to me. Lend him? I'll pay his wages and give me a year and I'll have your car ready. Beds and all. Now, you're sure everything's all right, Shield? Right as rain, George. I hope so. Spending a year on this car has to pay off. What time is it? Six thirty. It'll be getting dark soon. Now, remember, when Mr. Aldrich gets here, we'll take him right into the car. Now, you check everything, Shield. Sure, sure. Stop being so nervous. Wouldn't you be? I talked Aldrich into this. I'd feel like an idiot if anything went wrong. Well, everything's new. Something could go wrong. That's fine. You're making me feel great. Just great. Take it easy, George. There he is. Who? Who's that with him? Mrs. Aldrich. Mrs. Aldrich? I thought only Mr. Aldrich. Well, hello, Pullman. Who are you, Mr. Aldrich? I'm Pullman, my wife, Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Mr. George Pullman. How do you do, Mr. Pullman? I've been hearing a great deal about this car of yours. What do you call it? Simply car number nine, Mrs. Aldrich. Oh, I'm very anxious to see it and to make this first trip, isn't it? Oh, you're going? Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Joel tells me that it has real bends. Couldn't keep her away. Well, everything all ready, Pullman? Yes. The engine's coupled. Of course, this is a trial run. There are, well, there may be some, what I mean is... What you mean is you're not quite sure. Oh, not another short, Mr. Aldrich. Everything's all right. Oh, sure. Now, if you'll go first, Mr. Aldrich. After all, it's your car. All right. Oh, Joel, are you hurt? Oh, I'm sorry. I should have told you the ceiling is low where the beds are hung. Quite all right. Quite all right. Where'd my hat go? Here you are, sir. I'm sorry your soap-pipe hat's got a little dented. I'm glad to still have my head. Well, let's see the rest. Mrs. Aldrich, try to see. Oh, my, my, red flush. And carpets on the floor. Why, it's just like a parlor, isn't it, Joel? What? Oh, yes, sure. Joel, stop rubbing your head. Now, what else? What? Well, I guess we're all... Well, let's see the beds we're to see, Ben Pullman, right now. Ready, Shields? Sure. Mrs. Aldrich, you mind sitting on the other side? The bed comes down. Yes, here. Better get out of the way. All right, Shields. Here she comes. Well, Shields, what's wrong? Well, it's a little new. You see, Mrs. Aldrich, we'll have porters trained to do this, but till they get the hang of it... No, no, Shields, pull the rope. The rope! Maybe Mrs. Aldrich and I better wait at the end of the coach. No, thanks, Joel. I'm very interested in this. Of course. Well, Pullman, where's the bed? It'll be down. Shields, I think they're fully stuck. They're the one to your left. No, that's all right. Well, let me try it. Oh, the rope broke. Well, we'll have to get a heavier rope, Mr. Aldrich. It seems to me our passengers can lose a lot of sleep this way. No, no, no, it's just that this is new. We'd better climb up and see what's stuck. Go ahead, Shields, but be careful. I will. Mr. Pullman, are you sure it's supposed to come down? Well, it did this morning without a hitch. I thought the beds were supposed to go up in the morning. Joel, please. Now, I found the trouble that the rope's stuck holding the bed up here. There she comes. Oh! Charlie, are you all right? Oh, yes, dear. Well, there she is, all ready to climb into. Yes, climb? Oh, but, Mr. Pullman, how does one get into it? Oh, this ladder. Watch. Ladder? Simple, isn't it? Just climb the ladder to get in, and in the morning you find out. Oh, look out! Oh, it's slipping! Watch out! Jordan, are you all right? Yes, I just bumped my shin a little. That makes us even. Oh, yes, it does. Well, Mrs. Ulrich, will you do me the honor of being the first passenger to use my sleeping car? Oh. Mr. Pullman, I love my wife. It's all right, Ulrich. Ain't a finer, safer bed in the whole United States. Well, all right. Joel, I'll do it. Thank you, Mrs. Ulrich. Allow me to help you. Goodbye, dear. Joel, don't be silly. Mr. Pullman, I shall be delighted. Please, help me. Will you see Mr. Pullman, Mr. Ulrich? All right, Henry. Send him in. Yes, sir. Will you go in, please, Mr. Pullman? Thank you, Mr. Hanley. How, uh, are you this morning, Mr. Ulrich? Sleepy, Mr. Pullman? Ah, Mr. Ulrich, nothing works perfectly at first. We'll fix things, improve them. My wife was scared. Didn't sleep a wink all night. She was afraid that bed would come crashing down. Well, you've got to remember that this is new. She's a woman and naturally a little frightened. I was scared, too. Like sleeping in a hammock held up by threads. Other people will feel the same. Maybe not. Mr. Ulrich, keep my sleeping car on your line for a few weeks and let people try it. See how it works out, what it's like. Mr. Pullman, I don't like the idea of frightening my passengers. At least on the wooden benches, they're close to the floor if they fall off. But in those beds of yours... They'll sleep. Please, Mr. Ulrich, the idea is new. Everything new has to be tried and proved. Certainly people shy away at first. Lots of them were afraid to go near a telegraph instrument. But look at it now. It's the same with my car. Please give it a trial. All right, all right. I'll keep number nine on for a while. But I warn you, if it doesn't prove itself, off it comes. And I'll hear no more about sleeping cars. That's all I wanted to hear, Mr. Ulrich. And don't worry, everything will be all right. You are listening to Robert Young as George Pullman in Mr. Pullman's Palace Car on the cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. George Pullman, determined to prove the feasibility of his idea for a sleeping car, has persuaded Joel Ulrich, president of the Chicago and Alton Railroads, to put the sleeping car into use on the line. But it proved a failure. George Pullman, however, went right ahead until the war between the states interrupted his work. Then one day in 1864, he walked into Joel Ulrich's office with a new batch of sketches under his arm. Don't you see, Mr. Ulrich, this car is different. Now look at the sketches. An idea for a car built from the ground up. I want you to... You won't give up, will you, Pullman? No, sir. Even when you know that the car you made was a failure? Only because I used old coaches, remodeled them. I told you that before the war. I know, I know, I know. Look, son, forget it. People will ride trains, they'll catch sleep whenever they can, but they won't climb into those traps you call beds. Look, just look at these sketches. I won't be talked any further. What's that contraption? A lower berth, made by pulling two seats together on a track. A lower berth? Yes, sir. And this thing over the windows? The upper berth, Pullman. Why do you insist on making mountain goats out of people who only want to go to sleep? Well, it's different this time. They open on a jointed arm like a box lid. Chains hold them in place. Chains, eh? Well, there are no ropes this time, huh? Well, chains look and are a lot safer than ropes. They'll give people confidence. Hmm, looks good on paper, Pullman. But you know what it would cost to build a car like that? Twenty thousand dollars. Now, who's going to pay for that? The public? Yes, sir. They'll pay for comfort, they can do it in hotels, they can do it in the extreme bloody murder. I've raised twenty thousand dollars. I'll stake every penny of it to build this car. You will? I will. Now, all I want is a place to build this car. Like a Bloomington train shed? That's it. All right, I'll bite again, Pullman, because I like you. Use the train shed. And one other thing. I know, I know, Sheel Williams. All right, take him. And this time, I'll pay his wages. I'll be here and I'll be finished. Well, Mr. Aldrich, what do you think of it? Well, it's all right. All right. Why, Mr. Pullman, I think your car is perfectly wonderful. I only hope Mr. Rainey likes it. He's looking it over now. Pullman, if you can convince him that his Camden and Ambo lines need sleeping cars, you've done a man-sized job. What did you name this car, Mr. Pullman? The Pioneer. Here comes raining. You'll find out now whether you're a success or not, Pullman. Well, Rainey, how do you like it? Pullman, I've just been through that car one end to the other. Mighty fancy, mighty pretty. Thank you, Mr. Rainey. And I'd say that it's about nine feet wide, huh? Nine feet seven inches. And how high? By the clearance of nine feet eleven inches. Yep. Now, George, that circus car you've got in your shed there is just about a foot too wide to go past any station platform and two feet too high for brigades. Is that right? You know it is, George. My line and yours, too small to take that dress-up coat. Pullman. Didn't you know what you were doing? Yes, I knew it. What? You deliberately built a car too big? Not too big, Mr. O'Rourke, but big enough. High enough for stovepipe hats and wide enough for beds that are comfortable. Pullman, you expect railroad companies to rip up platforms and tear down bridges with that newfangled contraption? I do. I spent $20,000 knowing that car was too wide. But one of these days, you railroad men will have to build double-track trunk lines and standardize your gauges. Yes, poppycock. You're a young man, Pullman. But you'll learn, you'll learn. New coming, Joel. Pullman, I don't know what to say. I certainly can't revise the roads to suit your car. I'm afraid Rainey's right. Drop in my office any time, though. Hold up, Rainey. Come on, Charlotte. Yes, Joel. Mr. Pullman, I'm very sorry. Well, I guess that's that, George. No, it isn't. Someday that car's going to run, and other cars like it. They'll have to think of the passengers. They'll have to think big. Sure, sure, but how are you going to make them do it? How? I don't know, Shield. I don't know, yet. Well, there it is, Shield. The Pioneer. I know. Been sitting like that for weeks now. Looks like it ain't going to get the chance to prove itself. Why don't they realize they'll have to think of comfort on train, Shield? Sooner or later, they'll know that. Pullman! What? What's the matter, Sam? You heard the news yet? News? What news? President Lincoln was shot. Oh, no. News came over the telegraph station just now. Is he dead? He ain't expected to live. I can't believe it. Oh, hey, Lincoln. Oh, it can't be true. There must be some mistake. No, no, it's true, all right. The last message gave all the facts. Man named John Wilkes Booth shot the President at Ford's Theater. I've got to take the message up to the office. It's just like some bad dream. Abraham Lincoln. Dying. This car doesn't seem very important now as a shield. I believe what I'm thinking of doing can be arranged, Mr. Edwards. Oh, Pullman, come in, George. George, I sent for you to meet Mrs. Edwards, President Lincoln's sister-in-law. Oh. Hi, Mr. Edwards. Mrs. Edwards, there's no way to express my sympathy. Thank you, Mr. Pullman. This is Miss Edwards George. Gentlemen, this is Mr. George Pullman, the man I told you about. I'm happy to know you, sir. I'm honored, Mr. Edwards. Sit down, George. Mr. Edwards, will you tell Mr. Pullman the facts, please? Mr. Pullman, as you know, Mrs. Lincoln has collapsed and is unable to attend the President's funeral in Springfield. My wife and I are to represent the family. I see, but, uh... Mr. Pullman, the funeral train has been held up and been laid by crowds. I've had no rest or sleep for almost two days, but I must get to Springfield. See, Pullman, the way to Springfield, there'll be the same problems. Crowds try to tie up some of the line. Mrs. Edwards must be able to rest and sleep on the train. You're thinking of the pioneer, Mr. Edwards? Yes. Greggy? Can it leave today? Mr. Edwards, you know the pioneer's too big. I know, but I'm going to telegraph ahead, put on double cruise to accommodate the pioneer. Mrs. Edwards, I hope you won't be frightened. A lot of people refuse to use my first car. I'm not frightened, Mr. Pullman. Only grateful if you've made such a car. Everything went beautifully, Pullman. I'm happy I was able to help. George, the whole country's talking about your sleeping car. Thousands of people who saw the funeral train saw the pioneer. It proved itself. I know, I only hate having had it proved on such an occasion. I know how you feel. But look, look, newspaper stories about Mr. Pullman's palace car. And these. What are those? Telegrams. Looks like all the railroads in America want Pullman palace cars. Well, I guess you were right, George. No, let's put it this way. The people were right. They knew what they wanted. All I did was give it to them. Makes me feel pretty good, Mr. Ulrich, because, well, now we can say we're helping to build America. The story of George Pullman illustrates a central fact about the men who make America great. He had to have faith in the people of his country. If he hadn't, there would be no Pullman cars even today. And America would be far different from the progressive, enterprising civilization that it is. American industry respects the American people. That is what makes America great in industry and great in democracy. Robert Young will return to our capitol microphone. Now our star, Robert Young. I'd like just a word with the veterans of our audience. Many of you have dropped your GI insurance. This insurance with new liberal privileges is still available to veterans of World War II. It's an investment in lifetime protection. So if you never had GI insurance, apply now. If you've dropped it, reinstate as soon as possible. And if you are already insured, hang on. You won't regret it. A baby is born of apparently healthy parents. Yet the baby is doomed to die because of a mysterious something in the blood that goes hand in hand with death. That was the baffling, terrifying fact that confronted doctors for years. What was it? Why was it? Then from the laboratories came word of a brilliant discovery, one that gave life where death was certain before. The story of the discovery of Rh factor in blood is one of the greatest and most thrilling in medical history. Next week on the Cavalcade of America, you'll hear its dramatization. Be sure to listen next Monday to The Stirring Blood, starring Lee Bowman and Yuna Merkel. Make it a point to listen regularly to Cavalcade. In the coming weeks, you will hear Lionel Barrymore, Henry Fonda, and other famous Hollywood stars brought to you on the Cavalcade of America. The music for the DuPont Cavalcade is composed and conducted by Robert Ambruster. Tonight's story was written by Paul Peters. Robert Young will soon be seen in the RKO picture, They Won't Believe Me. In the cast with Robert Young were William Johnstone as Aldrich, Georgia Backus as Mrs. Aldrich, Jeanette Nolan as Mrs. Edwards, John McIntyre as Williams, and Fred Howard as Reigning. This is John Easton inviting you to listen next week to Lee Bowman and Yuna Merkel in The Stirring Blood on the Cavalcade of America, brought to you by DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The Cavalcade of America came to you from Hollywood. This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.
