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Boy!

City desk. Springer.

Okay, standby.

That Gillette jury is sure taking its time.

Fixed juries always do.

Boy, listen, smart guy.

If they don't convict Gillette,

I'll eat the final edition.

Feature section and all?

Not even a fixed jury could ignore that evidence.

City desk. Houston.

Oh yeah.

Hold it a minute.

Well, you can start eating that final edition.

Huh?

Gillette's been acquitted.

- No! - Yes.

Something tells me that 12 good men and true

are going to be riding around

in 12 brand new shiny automobiles.

Why? What's the city coming to?

Hello. The judge make any comment?

Yeah, I got it.

Now listen. Get on those jury men and shove 'em around.

Especially the foreman.

Sink the harpoon.

Accuse 'em of betraying public confidence.

Imply they've been bribed.

Hammer hard, sometimes that makes 'em crack.

Now get on it.

Tod, Tod Swain.

Kill the Gillette editorial

and hold the page for a new one.

Yeah. What now?

Across the street to the courthouse for you.

Yeah. Who's dead there?

Nobody yet.

I want you to get an interview with Gillette.

He's just been acquitted.

Oh, well, thanks for the assignment, Ralph.

No, no, he's too tough.

Hey, wait a minute.

What do you mean he's too tough?

He carries a strong arm squad

around with him all the time.

You're not afraid of him, are you?

- Well- - What are you trying to do?

Be a prima donna and pick your own assignments.

Oh, no, not that, but-

Well then get over there and find out how it feels

to swindle the city out of $2 million and get away with it.

Ask him if he's gonna bid on any more city contracts.

Ask him what he's got to say about the intention

of the district attorney to prosecute for jury fixing.

Wait a minute.

You're getting way ahead of the district attorney.

He didn't say anything about jury fixing.

We're giving him an idea.

That's why people pay 2 cents for a newspaper,

to think for them.

On your way, Tod and pour it on him.

Pour it on him.

But don't get wet yourself.

The Colonel's got the Better Government people

in his office now.

I better go in and break the bad news.

His political machine is powerful and far reaching.

Years of graft and corruption have entrenched it firmly.

This machine will work, even with Gillette behind the bars.

I agree.

If I'm to be elected mayor next November,

we can't rest on our laurels.

We've got to get the better element out to registers.

Right.

Colonel Bogardus and his great newspaper, have been

and will be a tremendous help to us in our cause.

Gentlemen, I've just received the most distressing news.

Gillette has been acquitted.

Think of that, gentleman. Acquitted.

It's an outrage, a travesty on justice.

Ah, the case was open and shut.

30 witnesses to two.

What are we going to do about it?

I'm wondering, what is he going to do about it?

He?

After all, gentlemen,

it was our joint efforts brought Gillette to trial.

Alright, Tod.

- What about Gillette? - Did you get anything?

Yeah. Got this.

Oh-ho! Hey fellas, come here.

Now, wait a minute.

Now don't make a big thing out of this now.

Look, I sent him out after an interview

and look what he comes back with.

Say, that's a beauty. Who gave it to you?

- Nobody gave it to me. - I had to fight for it.

What happened?

Beak McArdle socked me.

Who?

He's Gillette's muscle man.

Yeah, it looks like he hit you with that big cameo of his.

Cameo?

Yeah. You know that big cameo ring he wears?

With a Julius Caesar on it with a broken nose like his own.

Well, you can see Caesar just as plain.

Oh, look. Here's another Caesar right on his chin.

That's my dimple. What do you see-

Springer. What's going on here?

Swain's just been assaulted by one of Gillette's gorillas.

Well, he wouldn't, he wouldn't dare.

Well, maybe I'm wrong.

No, Swain, you're right.

You've shown courage.

Gentlemen, this concerns us all.

When Gillette's thug assaulted Swain,

he struck at "The World" and all it stands for.

Now, we've been fighting him

and this element for a long time.

Now, gentlemen, I call on each and every one of you

to fight him as we've never fought before.

Huh!

You know, that's very, very good, Colonel

and very convincing.

Oh, my good friends the Better Government Committee.

Now, isn't this a coincidence?

You know, I'd been wanting to talk to you gentlemen too.

What do you want, Gillette?

You know, if you had a flute,

you'd look like the Pied Piper with those rats behind you.

You called me that in the paper.

How do you think it makes my wife feel?

How do you think it makes the rats feel?

Oh, maybe you'd like to meet Julius Caesar.

Yeah, maybe you'd like to introduce him to me.

Nah, nah, no, no. Relax.

I'll take care of this, Houston.

Gillette, what's your business here?

It's strictly social.

I just dropped in to pay my respects.

Of course, if I was the kind of a fellow

that you think I am, I might be a little bit upset

about the way that you tried to railroad me into jail.

You, Mitchell, and your Reform Party.

But I'm not the least bit sore. Am I boys?

Nah, he ain't sore.

Hardly none at all.

Mitchell. You'll never be mayor of this town.

And I can probably fix things

so that you won't even be able to live here.

You can't intimidate us.

Well, boys, the big department store owner

that's going into politics.

I'll be getting around to you too, Franklin, in due time.

You don't frighten us, Gillette.

Are you coming, gentlemen?

So sorry that you must leave, men.

But then we'll be seeing each other again soon, I know.

Gillette, you get out of here

and take your hoodlums with you.

Oh, now, Colonel. Colonel.

Now I ask, is that the way to talk to,

to a fellow journalist?

A fellow what?

Get out your pencil and paper, boy.

Here's some copy for you.

Charlie Gillette lately in the paving

and contracting business has just purchased

for a nominal sum, Colonel Bogardus's

hitherto despised competitor, the "Mountain City News."

Preposterous.

And I'm changing the name of the news to "The Sentinel."

Of course, you know what a sentinel is, don't you, Colonel?

He's a fellow that carries a gun.

That's why no self-respecting newspaper man

would work for you.

Oh no. Well, we see about that.

There's a couple around here.

I think I'll grab off right now.

Oh, how about you, Swain?

We closed your eye today.

Yeah.

Would 100 a week open it?

100 a week?

Well, er, 100 a week?

Well-

He wouldn't touch your kind of dough, Gillette. Would you?

Er, well, no. No.

I wouldn't touch your kind of dough.

Okay.

And now for you guys,

I'll double anything you're getting now.

And when I pay off, I pay in cash instead of conversation.

Come on. Come on you mugs.

What do you think this is? Sunday?

Get back in your barrels. Let's turn out a paper.

Hicks call the Temperance Union

to find out what they think about liquor.

You call the weather bureau and find out

why it didn't rain last night.