So This Is Washington

Abner Peabody, owner of the Jot Em Down general store in Pine Ridge, decides to set up a chemistry lab in his basement to contribute to the wartime effort. He partners with Lum Edwards and they begin experimenting on ways to improve life during the war. This venture marks a bold departure from their routine small town life.

In the basement lab, they devise an improved formula for manufacturing synthetic rubber. They believe their invention could help the war effort and aim to present it to Marshall, head of the Civilian Aid on the War Effort Board. Their optimism sets the stage for a cross country trip.

The pair travels to Washington, D.C. to present their discovery to Marshall. Finding lodging proves difficult; at one point they are offered a room in a department store window and are chased out when morning comes.

Their old friend Robert Blevine, a newspaper columnist, reconnects with them. He invites them to stay at his house and accompanies them to see Marshall.

Abner and Lum wait in line to see Marshall, while Robert's harsh articles have earned him the secretary's ire. The line underscores the rush for access to the wartime program and how quickly fame can spread.

Resting on a park bench, Lum interrupts a senator who is discussing drought and suggests planting worms to improve soil. He also remarks on migration from small towns to big cities and hints at policy ideas. These exchanges establish them as unconventional but practical advisers.

Their unorthodox advice draws crowds to the bench, and visitors begin seeking their counsel on the spot. Word spreads that they are great consultants and their reputation grows in Washington.

Marshall arrives by the bench to see their work and they present their rubber invention. Marshall is pleased and calls for an immediate press conference.

During the press conference, a statue falls and strikes Abner on the head, knocking him unconscious. When he wakes, he experiences near memory loss and forgets his rubber formula.

With the public doubting that a workable formula ever existed, Marshall faces public humiliation. He decides to accompany Lum and Abner back to Pine Ridge to extract the formula from Abner in his home environment.

Back in Pine Ridge, Abner suffers another head impact but this time his memory returns and he recalls the formula on the last day of the deadline.

Abner and Lum are rewarded for their service and named heads of a special committee on farming problems. Marshall's reputation is restored and the wartime program benefits from their insights.