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Radio 59, WROW, first on the dial, serving Albany. Try and connect today.
And now, another tale well calculated to keep you in...
suspense.
In medieval times, in order to tell a tale of unmitigated horror and suspense,
Proubadours had to tell of the doing of witches, of werewolves, and ghosts.
But today, all that's changed.
With the coming of science, nobody believes in werewolves anymore,
and beside our electronic computers and nuclear energy, the shades of ghosts pale and fade.
The setting of tonight's story is here. The time is now.
And the most important member of the cast is you.
Remember that. Remember that, Ben, as we listen to Tonight at Five-Fifty-Five by George Bamber.
Chairman, something I'd like you to consider before I proceed any further.
Chamerene?
Yes, sir?
What time do you have?
Seventeen thirty hours, sir.
Make that read seventeen thirty-two exactly.
Yes, sir.
Take up a position of guard outside the door and lock it.
No one is to enter or leave this room for the next twenty-five minutes under any circumstances.
Is that clear?
Yes, sir.
Silence, gentlemen. Quiet, please. Quiet.
We have a very urgent matter before the committee.
One which we must make a recommendation on as quickly as possible.
I have in my hand an official communique that just came over the wire five minutes ago.
In effect, it is an ultimatum. They have given us thirty minutes to surrender or be destroyed.
What?
This is it, gentlemen. We either surrender or die.
This is the showdown. According to this cable, either we agree to throw ourselves open for occupation,
or they promise to unleash a barrage of intercontinental missiles such as the world has never seen.
As it stands now, we have less than twenty-one minutes and thirty seconds
which to decide what to recommend to the executive. Our time runs out at five fifty-five.
I don't believe it.
There it is. Read it for yourself.
Let me see that.
It's true.
I still don't believe it.
Gentlemen, this is of essence time. We must decide what we're going to do and do it quickly.
Have our forces been alerted?
Yes. The executive office issued a top priority alert as soon as the wire came in.
At this moment, all available aircraft are taking off armed with missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
At our missile bases here and overseas, crews are standing by ready to go into countdown.
Of course, everyone thinks it is a routine practice alert to avoid panic, but they are fully armed
and will attack in earnest the minute he gives the word, should we recommend it.
Then by all means attack. Attack now while we still have a chance.
Mr. Williams, this advisory group was formed because the decision to attack was considered too grave a responsibility
for one man to take upon himself.
If we recommend attack at all, it will only be by common agreement.
Yes, Dr. Harrison.
I hesitate to point out that any such attack without first being attacked would be against policy and tradition.
Their wire is essentially the same as an attack.
A mere telegram is hardly the same thing.
Dr. Harrison, the days when one nation assaulted another by throwing an army at the coastline are over.
In modern warfare, a nation can be completely wiped out in 30 minutes.
We must attack now while we have the opportunity.
May I point out that some reports indicate that they have a missile superiority of three to one.
Reports have been wrong before.
But if they are right and we fire 100 missiles and cancel one of theirs for every one of ours,
that would still leave 200 missiles for them to answer with.
I am not talking about sheer number of missiles. I'm talking about bases.
The more bases we destroy, the fewer missiles they have.
I know of cases where they have as many as 20 missiles stuck quiet at one base.
Suppose we knock out a base for every one of our missiles.
Reports indicate they still have twice as many launching pads as we do.
Intelligence is not infallible.
I personally can recommend several occasions in the last war when they grossly exaggerated.
I believe they're more reliable than your actual...
Yes, but please! Now this cannot degenerate into a mere clash of personalities.
The first to decide anything it must be done quickly and without emotion.
Mr. Tice, do you have anything to add to what's been said?
Yes, I... I wonder if I might use the phone.
Why?
I... I'd like to call my wife.
She's in Washington and it is most certain to be one of their key targets.
If I warn her now, she could jump in the car...
I'm sorry, no.
But in 20 minutes she could be well clear of the blast case.
Mr. Tice, I have been instructed to keep this information within the confines of this room.
For the simple reason that others would feel exactly as you.
Each person would have one other he wants to tell.
In no time the highways would be jammed with speeding cars.
And in the panic to escape the traffic fatalities alone would be incalculable.
But this is my wife!
If it would make you feel any better, Mr. Tice,
I could have had my own family in a plane headed for another continent.
But I resisted that temptation.
We're all in this together.
Aren't you going to tell the people?
They will be told in time.
But they must be told now. All they want is a chance to escape.
You can't escape nuclear warfare by running.
Some could.
Maybe not all, but some of them would.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, surely you're not so distraught that you've forgotten the basic facts of nuclear warfare.
Certainly some will escape the immediate blasts.
Most of those living in the more desolate parts of the country will.
But they will still have to survive radioactive fallout.
The only ones who will survive both blast and fallout will be the ones with underground shelters.
And there will be 20 minutes from the time the first missile appears on our early warning screens until the first impact.
Plenty of time to warn the people with shelter to go to it,
and not give panic any more time to wreak destruction than it already has.
Gentlemen, the people will be warned.
Shall we proceed?
All those people just sitting there, waiting.
My wife, my poor wife.
We have exactly 17 minutes until 5.55.
Shall we proceed?
In just a moment, we will return for the second act of...
Suspense.
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I still say attack now while they don't expect it.
We'll destroy now, unless they can hurt us later on.
The American people will authorize the use of their arm might for nothing but retaliation.
If we don't attack now, there can be no retaliation.
We'll have plenty of time before the missiles arrive.
By that time, it won't matter anymore.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen, please, please, gentlemen.
We're not going to accomplish anything with heated argument.
Before we became embroiled, I believe Dr. Harrison was speaking.
Thank you, Ed.
Gentlemen, I believe there's one question we've lost sight of in all this argument,
and that is whether they have any intention of attacking us at all.
What?
Well, of course they do.
We have the paper right here.
We have a cable gram that came over the official wire no more.
Now, since that time, there's been nothing but silence, no confirmation, nothing.
I, for one, seriously doubt if they have any intention of launching a full-scale nuclear attack on us now or ever.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, please, please, let Dr. Harrison finish.
Before we worry about a nuclear Armageddon, we must first ask ourselves what do they want?
Now, the answer is obvious, world domination.
The next question is, if we stand in the way, why didn't they send the missiles instead of the note?
Again, I think the answer is obvious. They want to capture us, not destroy us.
Here, we must ask ourselves, what profit a man to conquer the whole world if he loses his own soul?
What are you driving at?
Yes, Dr. Harrison, please be brief. We have only 14 minutes and 22 seconds.
Well, suppose we don't surrender, and they carry through with their threat.
What would happen?
Now, it is estimated that it would take a total of 300 IBM and intermediate-range missiles to put us out of action.
Do you know what that many megatons of nuclear explosives would do to a country of this size?
Population centers would be heaps of concrete and steel ash.
A huge cloud of radioactive filth would blanket the earth, dropping out thousands of tons of radioactive death,
killing off what little population we had left, polluting the hills and streams and even the grass,
so that this great nation, the world's most productive and richest consumer market, would become a radioactive wasteland,
a dark continent where even the natural resources are inaccessible.
We are all well aware of the effects of radioactive fallout.
Yes, but that's only what will happen if we sit here and do nothing.
But we know we won't do that.
As soon as the first enemy missile breaks over our horizon, we will unloose a missile to answer it.
The 300 will be multiplied by two, making six, possibly seven or 800 thermonuclear explosions.
The cloud blanketing this country will have a sister cloud over theirs,
and the two radioactive clouds will drift eastward, raining death and destruction as they go.
Gentlemen, an all-out nuclear attack would mean suicide to them as well as to us,
and they have no intention of committing suicide.
And why do they send the cable?
Because they're gambling.
I consider this cable to be no more than a bluff, as if this were no more than a huge international poker game.
And they're trying to get us to fold without calling their hands.
We don't have to call. We know what they've got.
Yes, but we're not sure what they're going to do with it. That's what they're gambling on.
I say if we stand pat, ignore their ultimatum.
When 555 comes, the only thing that will happen will be a routine reopening of communications
and perhaps an official apology for the inexperienced clerk who created the cable for a joke and sent it by accident.
Hyposterous! This is international politics, not poker.
Yes, the stakes are higher.
They're gambling that they can capture the most powerful nation in the world without risking a single man, without firing a single shot.
Just a minute. Suppose what you say is true.
How do they know that their cable gram won't jar us into the very thing you say they want to avoid, a panic retaliation?
We haven't yet.
That doesn't mean we won't.
That's the safest part of their gamble. To do so would be suicide.
The odds that we will commit suicide are about 50 million to one.
I object to having something as serious as this reduced to the level of mere chance, a simple game of suicide or survival.
But there, the odds are only five to one. They're natural gambling.
Oh, this is for posse.
Gentlemen, this is a waste of time.
I move.
Gentlemen, please, whether you agree or not with Dr. Harrison's theories concerning their motivation in sending this cable,
I think you must agree with one thing, his estimate of what we will do in the present circumstance.
To order a nuclear attack before we are sure we are under attack would not only be out of keeping with American tradition,
it would be suicidal.
The moment the first missile breaks above our horizons, we will have no recourse but to answer that attack.
But until that moment comes, we can only watch and wait and be prepared.
If there's no further objection, I will phone the executive office of our recommendation.
Yes, sir.
This is advisory one. Put me through to command at once.
Yes, sir.
In a moment, we will return for the third act of...
Suspense.
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What time is it?
Five forty-six and forty-five seconds, sir.
What do you suppose they're doing?
I don't know.
Mr. Chairman, if you please, I'd like to be with my wife.
I'm sorry.
But what more good am I here? We've already made up our minds.
If I leave now, there's still a chance that I can get to her before...
We know what is going to happen at five fifty-five.
You can leave then.
But before...
Yes?
Monitoring stations overseas report negative, sir.
Nothing?
All stations went off the air twenty-five minutes ago.
How about the overseas radio service? Have they got any news reports?
I don't know, sir. Let me check that.
They're definitely up to something.
We knew that when we got the cable.
I say we must attack, attack now.
Hello, sir.
Yes? Quiet, please. Go ahead.
Overseas radio service off the air.
Do we have any intelligence reports at all?
I don't know. I'll have to check and call back.
Very good.
How much more evidence do you need? They've captured the entire continent.
It'll only be a matter of moments before they begin their attack on us.
The silencing of ORS means nothing.
It could be nothing but a precautionary measure on our part.
I'll turn on the monitor.
That'll keep us in constant touch with our mid-continent operations center.
Early warning systems report negative.
Satellite monitoring report negative.
All skies are clear.
Stand by for further information.
What are you saying?
Yes, the calm before the storm.
I demand that we do something stronger than merely recommend.
If necessary, we should supersede executive authority and take matters into our own hands.
Mr. Williams, the command to attack can come only from one man,
and it will be taken only from him.
I'm sure that he will give no such order until the first missile breaks over our horizon.
Until that time, I suggest you sit down and wait.
In just a moment, we will return for the concluding act of...
Suspense.
Thirsty people everywhere prefer ice-cold Pepsi-Cola,
and because it's light, it refreshes without filling.
Charlie, be sociable.
I am, Kay.
Pepsi is a favorite of thirsty people from Maine to Hawaii, from Alaska to Florida.
Charlie.
It's perfect for parties or picnics, so serve Pepsi to your guests.
That's helpful, but...
This is the sociable part.
Keep plenty of Pepsi ice-cold and ready.
Remember, it goes fast because everybody likes Pepsi.
Singing still sounds more inviting.
May I?
Be sociable, love more.
Keep up to date with Pepsi.
Drink life-refreshing Pepsi.
Stay young and fair and dead and air.
Be sociable, have a Pepsi.
But singing doesn't say, pick up an extra carton of Pepsi today.
Better yet, get a case.
You do that.
The mathematical probability...
There's no time for mathematical probabilities.
This is war.
There is no war until the first chart has been fired.
And that has not happened.
And if it does happen, I'm sure we will be the first to be notified.
Yes?
It's your wife, sir.
You know better than to put through a call like that.
I'm sorry, sir, but she said you left orders to be called at work, no matter what.
It seems it's your granddaughter's birthday, and you gave her permission to call you on the telephone.
45 seconds to signal.
Very well. Put her on.
Grandpa?
Hello, Patty.
Happy birthday, Grandpa.
No, happy birthday, Patty.
Today's your birthday.
Is Grandma there?
Yes.
Thirty seconds to signal.
Well, look, Patty, Grandpa's very busy now.
Would you give Grandma a kiss for me, and then hang up?
Goodbye, Patty.
Happy birthday, Grandpa.
Fifteen seconds.
Anything new?
The sky is clear on all horizons.
Well, all we can do now is watch and wait.
And hope.
Ten seconds to zero.
At the signal, it will be 555 exactly.
Six, five, four, three, two.
Suspense.
You have been listening to Tonight at Five-Fifty-Five, written for suspense by George Bamber.
In a moment, the names of our players and a word about next week's story of suspense.
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Heard in tonight's story were Louis Van Rooten as the chairman, Ralph Camargo as Harrison, John Gibson as Tice, Whitfield Connor as Williams, Bob Reddick as Stennis, Larry Robinson as the Marine, and Francie Myers as Penny.
Listen again next week when we return with One More Shot by William N. Robeson.
Another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
The latest news follows, then Have Gun, Will Travel on CBS Radio.
Good evening.
This is Richard C. Hottelet with News Analysis.
Easter Sunday is an odd time indeed to note the birthday of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev.
But there he stands, 66 years old today, a reality with which this generation must cope.
He has set himself up in competition with the Christian ethic.
In place of redemption through sacrifice, which is perhaps the central tenet of Christianity, Khrushchev advocates satisfaction through obedience.
Even those who are sure that eternal religious values will prevail and that Communism is a passing thing find themselves compelled to meet its challenge in much of their daily existence.
That this should be so is due in large measure to the little man who now begins a new year of life.
Nikita Khrushchev has pictured himself as one who has grown to fit the office he holds.
Certainly there was no visible aura of greatness around him when I worked in Moscow shortly after the war.
Even traveling around the Ukraine of which he was then boss, one saw him as no more than a tough, competent administrator.
What was not apparent immediately when he rose to the top after the death of Stalin was the degree to which he contributed to his own success.
He was no intellectual giant to command respect as a Marxian theorist, nor was he an old revolutionary.
Khrushchev was an ice-cold, practical politician who had clawed his way to the top.
He had learned how to fight, to intrigue, to wait, and to survive, and that is the man he is today.
When theory suits his purpose, he spouts theory, like self-determination and coexistence.
But he drowned the Hungarian rebellion in blood and applauded the Chinese doing the same in Tibet.
In moving to the top, he condemned Stalin's personality cult and preached collective leadership.
Then he picked off his opponents one by one, Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich, Zhukov, Bulgani, until he is now the sole ruler of the Soviet state.
Stalin could hold Russia in check through the weight of his prestige and the cruelty of his police machine.
In his last years after the war, the Soviet Union became an outcast among nations.
Its foreign activities were naked terror, bloody purges in Eastern Europe, the Berlin blockade, the Korean War.
At home, it was stagnant, over-centralized, muscle-bound.
When Khrushchev took over, he could not have continued Stalin's policy, even if he had wanted to.
As a practical man, he had to ride the forces of change that burst out all over.
And this he has done, following no ideological formula, but only his healthy instinct for power.
Russia needs more food, so he took a gigantic gamble in plowing up 90 million acres of virgin land where rainfall is uncertain.
He liquidated the state's motor tractor stations and gave the peasants the incentive to produce.
He decentralized industry to slip off the straitjacket of top-heavy planning and dissolve the old internal empire of the secret police.
He has appealed for the support of the growing technical and managerial class,
given it a slogan and an effort that appeals to pride, patriotism, greed, and ambition.
Catch and surpass the United States.
Khrushchev does not tolerate political freedom, much less opposition.
He has the means of iron control.
But his hand is not as heavy as Stalin's, and he has given his people a razzle-dazzle show of success.
His Sputniks led man into space.
His seven-year plan has the economy booming, even providing more consumers goods.
He has organized the satellites in a rational economic system and embarked on a long-range program of penetration in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
He turns crises on and off, arranges trips around the world, and sets the terms on which a summit conference convenes.
Today, at the peak of his career, unrestrained by any constitutional checks and balances, unhampered by political opposition or public hostility,
he is probably the most powerful individual in the world.
Alert, shrewd, resourceful, bursting with energy, he is also a ham actor and a stage manager par excellence.
These are the qualities with which he has seized the initiative in the Soviet Union and in his dealings with the West.
It is not that he has a superior creed or even that he necessarily follows a communist doctrine.
His advantage stems largely from the confusion and lethargy of his Western opponents,
particularly where Christian peoples have found it convenient to abandon Christian principles,
and where the Easter message of sacrifice as the means of redemption falls on deaf ears.
This is Richard C. Hotelet, recorded in Washington.
This is the CBS Radio Network.
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