[music] The principal parts in this story are acted by people from everyday life, who have given their time and effortto help in the fight against citrus. Roy Jackson is played by Eldred Marshall. His mother is played by Mrs. Marshall. His friend, Jim and Ruby, are playedby George Mix and Margaret Lindsay. Jim's friend Lindais played by Thelma Barnes, and Roy's true love, Irma,is played by Blandy Parks. [music] I was in trouble. Big trouble, it looked like. I thought, "Go see Jim." He had been around more than me. Jim would know what to do. [music] Maybe Jim don't think I should worry,but I was scared. This sore I had that Jimcalled a haircut didn't hurt any, but it looked mighty bad. I couldn't stay still thinkingabout the day in town when I got into this mess. [music] Ran into Jim that Saturday. I hadn't been to townfor a couple of months, too much work to do on papa's farm. We took a walk down Water Street. Jim know most everyone around here. He had a waveand a good word for everybody. Maybe Jim don't take farming too serious, but they sure got a lots of friends. [background conversation] Then it all started. A couple of good lookinggirls came into the café. Good friends of Jim,judging by the way they said hello. The one called Linda seemedto take a liking to me right away. [music] Now, I'm not ladies man like Jim, but this Linda was easy to lookat and easy to talk to. It wasn't long before we were laughing and kidding around like old friends. Tell the truth, I don't remembermuch what we talked about, but it seems mightynice and cheerful at the time. That afternoon passed in a herd,and me and Linda got pretty friendly. Too friendly,it turned out to be later on. [music] That's the way it was, and just when I've been figuring on askingIrma about our getting married. "Here you are, Roy.The little miracle worker. Just what you need." "Men, are you in trouble? Stop worrying now. Dr. Waldorf's little miraclecure will dry up your trouble. Sores disappear in 10 to 20 days. Your money back if you are not satisfied." "That sound like pretty big talk to me." "All right. Don't be so stubborn," Jim said. "Me and Ruby both useit for our sores like yours." I couldn't argue much. Maybe this was the easy way out. 20 days isn't so long,if the cure really works. [mimics] Like old times dealing with Roy again. Got real mad at first,him staying away so long, but his mama sayssomething's been bothering his mind. Not talking to anyone. Just going around the farmlooking mighty blue. Whatever it was,if he's feeling all right again. "Okay, sugar, I'm coming. I'm coming." [music] A great day today. Why not? Sun's been mighty good to Roy's crops. He's made up with Irma. Going out regular withher now the sore's all gone. Yes, life's worth singing about today. Cotton coming along fine,corn head high already. A lot of work and sweat goesinto those fields, but when you see a-- Is that the old trouble come back, Roy? You sore just breaking out somewhere else? Maybe Jim's salve was a fake, Roy? Good friends sometimesgive you foolish advice, because they don't know any better. See someone who knowsfor sure what he's talking about. The folks haven't noticedthe spots on my hand yet. Make me feel real ashamed going around trying to hide them. Been taking that tonic Jim toldme to get for about a week now. Still no sign of it clearing up. What's the matter with your back, Roy? It's all broke out. Roy, you got it on your hands too. Are your sick, son? Nothing, mama. Just the sun mighty hot out in the field. It doesn't bother me. I feel fine. If it was heat rash, son,it would be all itchy and fiery. Seems to me like it's something else. He say it'll get rid of it in a hurry. Oh, that Jim and his silly ideas. Don't let Ruby even see a doctor,and she is six months big. Oh, mama. Cut it out. You don't like Jim, that's all. I had a sore last month. He gave me some salvethat dried it up fine. You had a sore, Roy,and didn't tell me nor your papa about it. We thought you were feelinglow on account of you and Irma had a falling out. Leave Irma out of this, mama. Let me be. I'm no baby anymore. Now listen to your mama, Roy. I was taking careof all of you when you were sick. Not by just sendingin a dollar for a bottle of product that claimsit cures man or mule. You get some sense into your headand go and see Dr. Jones. Jim's not guessing aboutthis kind of trouble, mama. It worked for him,and it will work for me too. [singing] This is a special day at Mount Holly. The County Health Department has come down to spread the gospel of good health. The windows are coveredso pictures can be shown and Reverend Harris introducesMrs. Green to the congregation. She's going to talk about a sickness. everybody should know about, Syphilis. Some people call Syphilisthe pox of a bad blood, but whatever name you give it,it's real bad. You may be strong or puny, rich or poor, but when that Syphilisgerm gets into your blood, you are going to have a lot of trouble. Syphilis is a very catching sickness. You get it mostly by sexual intercourse. By fooling around with someonewho has Syphilis already. Babies can catch Syphilistoo before they're born. See this poor little fellow? His mother had Syphiliswhile she was still carrying him, and when a baby catchesSyphilis from its mother, it will likely be borndead or worse than that. All crippled uplike the baby in the picture. Some people get a warningsign when they catch Syphilis. Mostly, it is a sore on that privates, because that is where the germgets into the body. You've heard men call it a haircut. A woman might not seeher sore if it's inside of her. That first sign usuallygoes away after a while, even without any treatment,but Syphilis doesn't give up this easy. Maybe two or three weeks later,you get a second sign. Maybe a sore in the cornersof the mouth like this or patches of hair may fall out. Some get sores on their face. People think they are ringwormsor call them nickel and dime spots. Sometimes it is a breaking outof spots on their hands and feet. Lots of people get this kind of a warning, and most all of these soresare as catching as can be. That is how Syphilis is spreadfrom one person to another. Now, many people don't knowthat these are warnings of Syphilis. A lot of people who catch Syphilisdon't get any of these signs at all. They go for years not even knowingthat they have Syphilis. They may feel all right, but the germs are still eatingaway inside their bodies. If they don't get the treatment, then years later they may getswellings in the joints, like this woman, or go crazy, or get heart trouble. They get soreslike this that never heal up. Just eats deeper and deeper. You can keep this from happening to you. Go to your Health Departmentor your doctor and get a blood test. If your blood test showsthat you have Syphilis, there's only one way of getting cured. Salves and tonics won't help you. Go to your Health Departmentor your doctor for treatment right away. It takes only a few daysto kill the Syphilis germ and make you healthy again. [clapping] [music] My name is Mrs. Jackson. How do you do? I'm worried about my son. He has rash on his hands and back,just like the picture you showed today. Have you tried telling him to come to the Health Departmentor see his doctor? A blood test is the only wayof telling what his sickness really is. That's the trouble, Mrs. Green. I keep asking him, he won't listen to me. He's taking a tonicthat his friend say will cure him. Well, you can be surethat those home remedies won't do himany good if it's Syphilis he's got. Here,I'll give you an appointment slip for him. Then he'll know what day and hours to come to the HealthDepartment for a blood test. If your son has Syphilis, Mrs. Jackson,and doesn't take the treatment, he's gonna have a lot of trouble. Thank you. I'll try to get my boyto come in for a blood test. Thank you. The lecture gave Royplenty to think about. That fellow has a breaking out like mine. He went to the Health Department,but Jim can't see it. Calls it a lot of fancy talk. Insisted he and Ruby took careof themselves when they had it. But Roy just can't get the picturesof the lecture out of his mind. Maybe Jim and Rubyclaim they feel all right, but the health lady says you never know when that Syphilis is gonnacome back and cripple you up. I had a talk with the health people, Roy, you were so bashful in talking yourself. This is a slip they gave me to give you. Man, you're in big trouble now. They have your name and they going takeyou off until your full of shots and make you sick as a dog. You see here, Jim, you have caused enoughtrouble with your hoodoo cure. Did you hear the lecture? If you are so smart,take Ruby to the clinic and see if she and the baby is all right. Let Roy take care of his own business. Let's go home, son. I have a dinner to get on the table. [background conversations] That's a bad looking rash there, Roy. Oh, it'll soon be gone. Jim is sticking me up withsome special tonic he got. If I were you, I'd get me a blood test. How you know it ain't the pox? I feel all right. Why should I go messingaround with doctors in treatment? I don't blame you, Roy. They tell me they have a needleout there that long. Stick you up your back like you was a pig. Oh, you're crazy, Willie. There's nothing to it. Well, I took the treatmentwhen I was in the Army. Rather do that any day than to be crazy,or blind, or end up like old Ben. That Syphilis nothing to fool around with. [music] Remember the lecture, Roy. You have to make up your own mind, Roy. Who are you going to believe? [music] The Health Department was new to Roy. Saw the doctor look right inside of a man with one of those x-ray machines. Saw the clinic that helpsmothers keep their babies healthy. There was malaria control,dental care, the VD clinic. Looked like he should have comehere long ago, instead of foolingaround with Jim's cures. Roy was embarrassed at firstseeing what his trouble was, but he got over that. The people actedlike they were there to help him, not blame him for the trouble he got into. Saw the man from the church lecture too. He told Roy the doctorwould give him an examination first and then he'd get his blood test. [taps] "That's what Syphilis can do,"The doctor told Roy. "That man had Syphilis for years. Didn't know it until he went blind. We cured the Syphilis. The germs won't do any more damage, but he will never be able to see again. That's why it pays to geta blood test regularly, then you know for surethat you're all right." The doctor didn't do any guessing. Checked Roy's throat,looked at the spots on his hands, looked at the rash on his back. Seemed like it was Syphilis all right, but the blood test would be the proof. The doctor told Roy,"Be sure to take the treatment if your blood test showsthat you have Syphilis. "You can go to your doctor or to the medical center runby the Health Department. The treatment you'll get there is free." Time for the blood test. Like he told Jim later on,when you never had one, you get scared. No reason for it. Everybody says it doesn't hurt,but you just can't help worrying, wondering what it's going to be like. [music] Well, people weren't fooling. Just like they say, there's nothing to it. Roy's blood is put in a tubeand sent away for testing. In a couple of days, the report came back. [music] Yes, Roy's trouble is Syphilis. Roy decides to goto the medical center for treatment. The center is runby the Health Department. They pay your transportationthere and back home again. You get a place to sleepand all the food you can eat. Good food too,and it doesn't cost you a penny. [baby cries] One of the first thingsyou do at the center is get another examination. It always pays to double-checkwhen you're dealing with this Syphilis. [baby cries] Listen to that poor baby cry. Makes Roy want to gethome fast while there's time to talk some senseinto Jim's stubborn head. Ruby should have this treatmentright away before her baby's born. While the doctor listensto Roy's heart and lungs, he sees a little sore on the sideof Roy's nose. The doctor takes a smearfrom it on a glass slide. If there are Syphilis germs on that smear, then there's no questionthat Roy has Syphilis. You want to take a look at this? See those corkscrew things moving around? You can only see those,as they're so small, with a microscope. That's the germ that causes Syphilis. They're in the rash on your hands,and back, and in that little sore on your nose. They got in your blood through that sore you said you had on your privates. You can see now why a thousandtonics could never do any good. All they do is dry up your sores. The treatment you get herewill kill those germs in your blood. You can put your shirt back on now. It's a good thing you camein soon enough so those germs won't have a chanceto do any serious damage. Well, it will take onlya few days to clear this up. Before you know it, you'll be well again, then you won't be able to giveSyphilis to anybody else. That's the big thing, Roy. When folks get Syphilisand don't get treated, they can pass their sicknesson to the people they go with, maybe someone they like very much,like their wife or their sweetheart. That's right, doctor. When you don't know what the Syphilis is, you can get other peopleinto a mess of trouble. Oh, good luck, Roy. You'll be all right as long as you takethe treatment until you're cured. [music] Roy's had several shots by now,but it's the first day for the others, and they feel like Roy did the first time. Can't take their eyes off the needle. This is old stuff for Roy. A couple of secondsand you've had your shot. It's hard to believethat something as simple as that kills those Syphilis germs,but it does. No two ways about that. [background conversations] [music] What's all the kidding about? My. Roy has his bag all packed,all set to go home. See? The rash on his hands is gone. The doctor sayshis trouble's all cleared up. Won't be long until he seeshis folks and Irma again. A man that is born of a womanhath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up and is cutdown like a flower. He fleeth as it were a shadowand never continueth in one stay. In the midst of life, we are in death. Forasmuch as it hath pleasedAll Mighty God in his wise Providence to take out of this worldthe soul of this little child, we therefore commithis body to the ground. Earth to earth,ashes to ashes, dust to dust. [cries] Let us pray. Our Father, Who art in heaven,hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be doneon earth as it is in heaven. For Thine is the kingdom,and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. [music] It took a deal of talkingto get Irma in for a blood test. She said she felt fine, but when I toldher some of the things I'd seen and why Ruby's baby died,she stopped arguing. Her mama wantedher to go to the family doctor, and I said it didn't make any differenceas long she had the test. Irma was bashful aboutcoming in for something like this, but the doctor madeus feel easy right away. [music] while I was waiting,I got to thinking about Ruby's baby dying. Too bad she and Jim had to learnabout Syphilis the hard way. They're taking the treatment now. The blood test showedthey both had Syphilis. Dr. Jones said,I did the right thing coming in with Irma. Every couple should have this bloodtest before they are married. He told Irma, "Don't you worry. Roy here has had the treatmentand is healthy again. When the reports come back on your testand it says you are all right, well then you two go right aheadand have as many children as you want."