The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 5, 1926, Page 8

| for the Capitalist Politicians. JNDEED the republican party needs a. little saving among the farm- ers. Their condition is becoming impossible. What the large mass of farmers are confronted with at present is the steady fall in s prices of commodities that they sell and the steady rise in prices of commodities that they buy. Thus, for instance, the government’s index number for farm product prices, which last August stood ‘at 163, began this year at 152, coming down to less than 145 last April against a general average of 153 for other commodities in the same month. The farmer resents this and demands relief. But what are the eapitalist parties doing about it? Nothing. The Coolidge adminis- tration openly resists every effort, genuine and otherwise, to help the farmers in their critical situation. Most of the democrats are sup- porting Coolidge against the farmers a hundred per cent. Behind this combined republican-democratic opposition to farm relief legislation stands Big Capital. This is clear. These big bank- ers and “industrialists are cleverly manipulating the government in their own.interests. See what they did with the funding of foreign debts. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been given away to various European governments to stabilize their finances and to en- able the American international bankers to make further loans and tremendous profits. Just the other day congress ratified the debt settlement with France to enable Morgan to go through with his loan of $300,000,000 upon which France will pay to Morgan more interest in the next ten years than she will pay to the United States during the same period on her war debts, There is plenty of capital to help the banker, the manufacturer and the merchant but there is no capital to help the farmer—this is the philosophy and policy of the capitalist parties. And the farmer is gradually awakening to the full meaning of such policies. No wonder the capitalists and their politicians are beginning to feel sional elections and also in view of the presidential elections of 1928 which are already looming up in the distance. Coolidge Is Fading Away. HE inevitable is happening. Coolidge’s prestige among certain sections of workers and large masses of farmers is going to pieces. His frank service to Big Capital, his unconcealed hostility to the workers and farmers makes him unacceptable even to his own mas- ters. Big Capital wants A WINNING CANDIDATE, not a losing one. And Coolidge’s chances of winning in the next presidential election are very slim. Does that worry the capitalists? Not much. The big boss fig- ures it this way. Coolidge has done his job, Coolidge may go. Now we will find some other politician in the old parties whose prestige has. not been much discredited yet. We will get a man who can play ‘the” role of a farmer’s friend. Still better if we cant get someone whol’ can lay claim to being a “dirt” farmer himself but"who"¢an Be reviéd! on to do the bidding of big capital with the same zeal and devotion as Coolidge does. And we will make that man the candidate for the next president of the United States. It is in this situation that Charles G. Dawes declared in his Hell and Maria style that he wants to be considered a willing candidate. Not only w illing—this i is not sufficient to get the approval of the big boss—but also winning. And the way to win this time is to be able to neutralize or pacify the farmer without giving him anything. That’s why Dawes has become “a friend” of the farmer even to the point of taking issue with the president on the question of farm leg- islation. Calvin Coolidge is fading away. The senators who are known as collaborators with and support- ers of his administration are being defeated one after another in the primary elections. The list of knocked-out Coolidge senators is grow- Oregon. And at this writing Cummins of Iowa is fighting desper- ately to save himself from defeat at the hands of Brookhart. Big Capital Is Looking Up Its Next President. IG capital, taking stock of the situation, is beginning to look up its next president. That’s why all prospective candidates are grooming themselves for inspection. Charles Evans Hughes trims nis beard to more “freedom” for the trusts. Frank O. Lowden, former governor of Illinois and candidate for the republican presi- dential nomination in 1920, is putting on some more “dirt” on his political farmer clothes. And Charles G. Dawes, the knight of the inverted pipe, is blowing bubbles of farm relief for the wrathful farmer of the west. The campaign is on. And the only people that are not giving thought to it and are not preparing properly for it are the working people. They let their enemies do it for them. The result of this practice, if permitted to continue, will be another Coolidge under a different name. Suppose every labor and farmer organization in the country would immediately get busy and put forward labor and farmer can- didates in the forthcoming congressional elections. What would hap- pen? No immediate deliverance from the yoke of capitalist exploi- tation. No, but a right beginning in the right direction. Let’s try it. Alex. Bittelman. Red 1 Pepper Aft ER reading one of Henry Ford’s articles we were impressed with the fact that riding or writing, once started, the Ford rat- tles on. "HE deposed president of Poland is reported in a state of nervous collapse. Pilsudski’s dictatorship must have upset his constl- tution. Walt Carmon, The Revotrtsath of the Farinare ince Cae rae of the Farmers Is Becoming Uncomfortable uncomfortable. Particularly so in view of the approaching ing—Pepper in Pennsylvania; McKinley in Illinois; Stanfield in A PEEK EACH WEEK AT MOTION PICTURES THE VOLGA ‘BOATMAN jis by no ’ means a great picture and falls far short of the dramatic possibilities mherent in the theme, but it is really significant and well worth seeing. It is the first picture in this, or probably any other capitalist country that shows the Russian Red without horns and views the revolution from a some- what sympathetic standpoint. Amaz- ingly, this film not only tolerates the Red, but makes him its hero. In place of the wild-eyed, wild-whiskered Bol- shevik dripping gore that the movies and “‘Satevepost” magazines love to show, the Red hero of the “Volga Boatman” is \picture® as a strong, handsome figure with all the custom- ary movie virtues, and, in addition, a genuine dignity and something that while frequently falling into bombast at moments approaches revolutionary ardor. And though the film’s concep- tion of the revolution is sentimental and vague, it does seem to be trying to convey a general impression of something new and&,vigorous replacing something old and decayed. HE scene is laid along the Volga in the neighborhood of Jaroslav at the outbreak of the revolution. As the picture opens a gang of boatmen are seen hauling a barge up the rivér. They are harnessed like animals and their rag-wrapped feet are bleeding and sore. The fact that the last man- drawn barge must have disappeared ‘rom the Volga some thirty years ago need not mecessarily impair the artis- tic truth of the picture; the popularity of the song has made the Volga boat- men a sort of symbol of the Russian people to Americans. But it is sig- nificant that workers in an occupation romantically remote are chosen for this presentation of oppression and re- volt- instead of factory workers or, say, miners. American producers can- not afford a sympathetic presentation of anything that might hint at class ASS ng present and real | sathat, might, be ‘Teminiscent of our Peange tag or Zeigler or, West Vir- ginia. S the barge reaches the village a ear brings Princess Vera, daugh- ter of the local land-owner, and Prince Dimitri, officer in the czar’s army, along the river road. The Princess is attracted by the singing of the boat- men, particularly of the handsome broad-shouldered man in the lead— the hero, of course. The Prince, not liking Vera’s romantic Turgenievesque interest fin Russia or the people in general, and the blonde boatman in particular, contemptuously points to che men as they sink down in the ‘races at the landing place in utter axhaustion—“animals,” he exclaims. At this point occurs the clash between Dmitri and the boatman that initiates the theme of the play. As the Princess is speaking to Feodor, drinking at the well, the Prince, coming up to them, gets the remains of a dipper of water accidentally splashed over his pol- ished riding boots. He orders Feodor to wipe them off; at first the boatman refuses, then after a long moment of arrogant impatience on the one side and restrained menacing fury on the other, he bends—it is Czarist Russia— and wipes off the boots with the sleeve of his blouse, Straightening up he points to the mark the leathern thong of the boat harness has left on his breast, and says: “Some day you will be forced to wipe this off.” The an- swer is a stinging blow across Feo- dor’s face, As the boatmen are resuming their journey that evening a motor boat flying the red flag comes up the river, a note weighted down with bullets ds tossed ashore—the revolution has broken out—to arms. Up in the castle the betrothal ceremony of Vera and Dmitri is Just at an end when an order a ee propor 4s made local revolutionary commander, When the roll call shows that the only ones failing to report for service are the occupants of the castle the crowd marches up to get them out, Feodor finds the old land-owner and his daughter at their luxurious mea] in the great dining hall and orders the people to be fed, The servants are seated at table, the aris- tocrats forced to serve for a change. A veal old movie faithful servitor tries to shoot Feodor for this indignity to his beloved bosses, but the bullet hits a youthful comrade of the revolu- tionist who throws himself in front of his friend. A life is demanded for a life—the Princess insists it shall be she instead of her father, and pro- ceeds to vamp the commander into sparing her. He pretends to shoot her, substitutes wine for her blood— the gypsy girl who loves him discovers the deception—and escapes with her into the night. The inn where the two are shelter- ing is captured by the Whites, matu- rally with Vera’s officer suitor in com- mand. Feodor is recognized and sen- tenced to be shot, despite Vera’s pro- testations of his perfect gentlemanli- ness. The scene changes to the great palace at Taroslavl. A state ball is in progress—aristocracy dancing on the brink of destruction. Out in the court- yard of the palace the boatman is shown trussed to the immense iron railings, face toward the ballroom. He is very evidently meant to arouse the sympathies of the audience, this bound figure with arms outspread in the atti- tude of Christ crucified. As the firing squad lines up Vera rushes to the chained man and covers him with her bady, despite the entreaties of the Prince, who says that the firing squad must carry ou: orders, even if she re- mains. UDDENLY the Song of the Volga Boatmen is heard. The scene shifts to the river bank. A corner of the canvas covering the loaded barge that is being pulled up the river is lifted. revealing a.cargo of armed Reds. At the same moment more armed men crawl out of a harmless-looking peas- ant wagon passing the palace gates, overpower the sentries and send up rockets to signal their comrades on the river. Reinforcénierts ‘pour “in from the barge and-a gun-stationed on the river bank begins bombarding the palace. ‘Feodor, rescued and brought to the commander of the attacking force, is charged by the villagers with betrayal, but somehow or other movie provi- dence fixes it up so that his desertion of his post to help an enemy woman to escape is easily condoned by the authorities. The Whites are forced to drag the barge up the river to the seat of the revolutionary tribunal. What happens to the rest is not told, but, on Feodor’s plea, the Prince and the Princess are given the choice of supporting the revolution or exile. The Prince chooses exile, but Vera chooses the “new Russia,” and. Feodor = rather, Feodor and the new Rus- hg is all a queer mixture of finely conceived scenes and sloppy bour- geois bunk. On the one hand, the boatman addressing a meeting before the revolution—a rather real glimpse of listening peasant faces; the attack. on the palace from the barge, the lights of the village across the Volga. On the other, the Red commander lay- ing aside his revolver when the whites are breaking into the room at the inn, because the Princess asks him not to shoot at her people, silly clown-like representation of the revolting peas- ants, and much of the same sort, But the fact remains, that though the hero is, of course, fashioned by the Dbour- eoisie in their own image, he is meant to be a revolutionist, and the heroine is made to choose the Russia of the future instead of going off to New York to be entertained by the Four Hundred and bewall the destruc- tion of “her” Russia by the bloody Bolsheviks, Amy Schechter. —————— enna A