This film opens with a cartoon segment. The main character, a coughing, sputtering man named Mr. Hack, is enraged by the amount of air pollution in his town. He decides to find the cause of the problem, first making his way to a nearby factory to complain to the owner. The factory owner denies responsibility for the problem and feigns concern about protecting the environment. The owner tells Mr. Hack that the electric power company is the one responsible for the problem, so Mr. Hack goes there next. A string of similar situations--owners denying responsibility and blaming other people--ensues until eventually Mr. Hack is directed back to the place he started. An angry Mr. Hack expresses how frustrated he is with the endless excuses. He then gets a divine commandment to take initiative by writing a letter to a politician, but hypocritically makes up several excuses to get out of it. The film then cuts to a senator who speaks to the audience about his air pollution legislation and urges public action. He explains the problem of general apathy and claims that public involvement is not only necessary for progress, but also a democratic obligation of all citizens. Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101622477 Learn more about the National Library of Medicine's historical audiovisuals program at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collections/films HF8098
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