The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-25
THE NEW FILM
By DAVID PLATT

While Golden Harvest" Holly
woods current contribution" to the
solution of the farm crisis, contains
two or three remarkable scenes show
ing militant farmers trampling on
court decisions that favor landsharks,
stopping foreclosures by putting over
their famous penny sales, and start
ing mass farm-strike movement in
the hope of lettering prices for their
productS-as a whole the picture is
nothing more than the most insolent
kind OF pleading for the farmers to
support Rooseyelt's refinancing, price
fixing and imitation schemes calcu-
lated to benefit the landowners, insur-
ance companies and grain SPECTATORS,
at the expense of the ruined and mid
die farming classes.
/ What is more, there is typical be-
fuddled and reactionary leader Of the
farmers in this film who is supposed
to be working strongly in their in
tereSt and yet who is in direct contact
with the ringleaders of the Chicago
Wheat Exchange urging the wheat
pit (mind you-the farmers worst
enemieS) to lend moral and financial
support to the farmers by keeping up
the price of wheat as long as the
strike lasts. Instead of calling upon
the city workers to also fight any at
tempt on the part of the parasites
to perhaps pay the farmers higher
prices for their products Gas result
Of their moyement), out of the pockets
of the workers-this Hollywood Milo
Reno treacherously directs his appeals
to the spectators themselves for their
own gain on the hypocritical pretext
that the wheat pit is the logical source
of financial and moral support for
the farmers.
OF course, the ringleaders of the pit
in Golden Harvest" welcome the OPP
portunity to prove their Solidarity
with the farmers and begin by i'm
mediately buying up all the wheat
they can, so that later when the strike
is on, they can sell the grain at fabu-
lous commissions, for which naturally
the workers and the farmers will have
to pay double.
But vicious sport is made of the
whole character of the strike that
follows, so as to prepare the way for
the introduction of the N.R.A. and
the new deal for the farmers under
Roosevelt and wallace that will de-
pend not so much upon the mass
actions OF the farmers as upon mir
aculous orders from above. It seems
that spring comes to the picket lines
in the midst of the strike; the farm
ers begin to hear the ineluctable call
Of the soil and are seized with sud-
den desire to start turning over the
land for planting; as result Of which
they soon break ranks and go back
to their ploughs manifestly relieved
that the strain of the strike is over;
while deserted and disillusiened by
the betrayal of the farmers our
heroic" farm leader goes off to Wash
ingten to see If he can get help from
the White House for his destitute if
thankless countrymen.
The malicious characterization OF
fighting farmers as fools and betray-
ers, who have to be forced to fight
for better conditions while reactionary
leaders are presented as great heroes
fighting a lost cause single handedly
will come as q surprise no doubt to
the tens of thousands of militant rank
and file farmers who picketed the
highways during the holiday strikes
last year in the face of almost insur-
mountable dangers, only to be miser-
ably betrayed by the opportunistic
Milo Renos who sold them out to the
landowners and bankers before the
strikes were half begun.
I Indeed, the best possible answer to
slanderous films like Golden Har-
vest" is in the militant program it.
self of the Farmers National Relief
Conference adopted last month by
over 700 delegates representing 80
states, So farm organizations and over
100000 farmers, calling for immediate
cash relief, cancellation Of debts, no
foreclosures or evictions, and declar-
ing their solidarity with the workers
and against the bankers, landlords,
grafters and spectators under whose
direction this golden harvest Of lies,
half-lies and half-truths was produced
and released.