Bordertown

My country, 'tis of thee

Sweet land of liberty

Of thee I sing

Land where my fathers died

Land of the pilgrim's pride

From ev'ry mountainside

Let freedom ring

And now, ladies and gentlemen

And members of the graduating class

Of the Pacific Night Law School,

Whom it has been my duty and pleasure

To guide along the paths of legal learning,

It is my high privilege and honor

To introduce to you the

honorable Rufus Barnswell,

Who will address you on

this momentous occasion.

The honorable Rufus Barnswell.

It is my privilege and honor

to address you, gentlemen,

As you step toward the new careers

For which you've toiled

and suffered and sacrificed.

Your fathers and mothers and your friends

May well be proud of your

courage, your determination,

Your will to succeed.

Your applause must be for these young men,

Not for me,

For such young men as one

whose history I happen to know

And who sits among the graduates

Because he had the courage

To lift himself above his environment,

To overcome handicaps

Which threatened to make him a criminal.

I reveal no secrets when I say to you

That this young man was the tough guy

Of a tough neighborhood.

At an age when most boys were in high school,

He was a child problem-

A problem to which his

parents had no solution,

But they didn't need it.

This boy solved his own problem.

He realized his opportunities and duties

As an American citizen,

And with that realization came ambition,

Which has led him to toil at

The hardest manual labor by day

So that he might study

And arrive at the point in his career

At which he stands now.

That young man, ladies and gentlemen,

Sits there.

Johnny Ramirez.

Mrs. Ramirez, you should

be very proud of your son.

I am, seor. I am very proud of my Juanito.

And excuse me, he was

not a bad boy, Excellency.

Only one little bit wild, maybe sometimes.

Julius Pasquani.

Good luck.

Charlie Plonk.

Johnny Ramirez.

Ijuanito! Ijuanito! Ihijo! Ihijo!

Happy, Johnny?

You bet, father.

Oh, Johnny, I think you

going to be the best one.

Ah, she's the best of all.

That really belongs to you, mamacita.

If it wasn't for you-

Oh, no, Johnny mio.

And I guess you wouldn't let

him get away with that crack

About me being tough.

But seor judge, she did not understand you.

And the seor police, she

never understood me either, huh?

Juanito, it is not nice

To make a fuss of your mother!

Oh. Behave.

Oh, mamacita!

Atencion. Atencion.

A toast to you, mi muchacho.

A toast to Johnny, no?

Isi! Isi!

Success, long life, and happiness

To a young lawyer.

Iviva! Iviva!

Gracias. Gracias.

No, Johnny. With wine.

Nix, Alberto. You know I ain't drinking.

You don't used to be that way.

Well, I didn't used to be a lawyer.

That stuff got me into more trouble.

Well, if you can't handle your liquor.

I can handle it, all right

- By letting it alone,

And that's just what I'm doing.

Hey, hey, hey!

Johnny, I think you going to make a speech.

Well, everybody, thanks.

All I got to say is this.

There was a lot of talk at graduation today

About hard work and study.

Sure, it was tough,

But look at Abraham Lincoln.

He worked hard, didn't he?

And he studied nights, too, didn't he?

You bet.

All right, I done

- I did, I mean, like Lincoln,

And I'm going to keep on being like Lincoln.

No, Johnny!

Hmm? What's that?

Not with whiskers.

Not with what?

Whiskers. I look in those book,

And seor Lincoln has the whiskers.

Now, please, Juanito, no.

All right, mamacita.

No whiskers. No whiskers. I promise.

It's like the judge said,

"This is a land of opportunity. "

In America, a man can lift

himself up by his bootstraps.

All he needs is strength and a pair of boots,

And I got them.

I'm quitting my job at the service station.

I'm going to open my law office.

I'm going to keep on working hard,

And someday, I can be

judge of the supreme court,

And I'm going to do it.

Yay!

He was a great man, mamacita.

Only not so great like

will someday be my Johnny.

Yeah, but none of those whiskers, huh?

No. Juanito, you have promised me.

All right. No whiskers.

No whiskers.

If I only had some law books to put in here.

What for you need law books, Juanito?

You are a lawyer now.

Sure. I just want them for looks.

Juanito!

Que?

Juanito.

Come here.

It is good you have it, no?

"J. Farada Ramirez. "

Mi Juanito.

"Attorney at law. "

Mi Juanito.

Oh, ma.

Ma, that's-

Aw, gee, that's swell.

Mama mia.

Aw, gee.

"J. Farada Ramirez, attorney at law. "

Oh, "J."

- Ma.

Look.

There you are. "J. Farada

Ramirez, attorney at law. "

Mamacita...

but where did you get the money?

Be a good boy and mind my own business.

Your wedding ring.

I'll make it up to you, mamacita.

Someday I'll be the biggest

lawyer in Los Angeles,

And I'll buy you diamonds and sealskin coat

And rings on every finger.

Oh, Juanito, could it be a Persian lamb coat?

Sealskin is kind of old-fashioned.

Sure, mamacita. Any kind of coat you want.

Juanito.

My poor Juanito.

But don't you understand, Jose, compadre?

I can't bring your case to trial

Until the court fees are paid.

I thought for an old amigo...

but listen, Jose. I don't get the fees.

I'd be glad to do the work for nothing,

But the fees must be paid in court.

The judge get a salary?

Sure, he does.

And why I must pay the court

Because someone tried to cheat me?

Let me explain again.

Now listen, Jose.

When you get the money,

You come back, and we start action.

You understand now, don't you?

I don't get the money,

The judge doesn't get the money.

The state gets the money.

Then I'll pay the money.

Buenos dias, padre.

Buenos dias, seores.

Adios, Jose.

Adios, padre.

Adios, Jose.

It goes slowly, hijo mio.

It doesn't go at all.

But I hear you have many clients.

Plenty clients. No fees.

I've collected just $2.00 in the last month.

Yet there must be a greater

satisfaction than mere money

In helping your own people.

If I only could.

It isn't the money.

I'm used to doing without that,

But I'm not getting anywhere.

They're all petty cases

Before the small-claim courts,

Justices of the Peace.

When a case amounts to something,

The poor client hasn't got money enough

To fight it,

And I don't get a chance

to show what I can do.

At least a guy's got that coming, hasn't he?

Don't grow impatient, my son.

Your chance will come.

Remember

- Patience is one of the virtues of our people.

Sometimes it's hard

To tell the difference, isn't it,

Between patience and just giving up.

You must not grow bitter, Juanito.

Anyway, I'm not giving up.

I'll get a chance someday.

I'll get a break someday,

And when I do, so help me, padre,

Nothing's going to stop me.

Johnny. Juanito.

Juanito!

Yes, Manuel?

You got to help me,

please. I got much trouble.

Well, who ain't?

What's it this time, Manuel?

No. My automobile

- She's no wish to go.

Do you want me to sue the

old heap or get an injunction?

No, no, Johnny. You help me, please.

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