The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 18, 1926, Page 8

--wagpet History of the Catholic | Church in Mexico Mexico is living thru one of the proud- est periods of her development. Mex- ico has not yet a workers’ and peas- ants’ government, but the peasants are still armed in great numbers and the agrarian revolution is still going forward, while the working class, 75 per cent organized in trade unions, occupies a strategic position in the life of the nation. President Calles, a petty-bourgeois, but a sincere national- revolutionary, is carrying out a policy based upon the principle of making Mexico economically as well as politi- cally independert. His fear that the class-conscious workers may seize too many of the good things that he wishes to accumulate for petty Mexican capitalism has led him to make some ill-conceived compromises with Wall Street and Washington— which proves that petty-bourgeois leadership cannot be trusted to pilot the Mexican revolution to fruition. Nevertheless, his program indicates many points on which a constructive Mexican nationalism can base itself. The Mexican nation has won the ad- miration of all Latin America, which looks to it as a leader against U. S aggression, Thruout Mexico, and thruout Latin America as well, there is a growing consciousness that Mex- ico may be able not only successfully to resist the encreachments of im- perialism but to build for itself a sound, independent economic founda- tion in the process, and at the same time to lead Latin America along the path of unified resistance to the lords of Wall Street. Mexican catholicism has no part.in all this. As usual, it stands in open opposition to what is plainly the only program on which a truly independent Mexican nationalism can be embodied. By MANUEL GOMEZ. CHAPTER IV. Conclusion. RIEF tho our study of the history of the catholic church in Mexico has been, the conclusions to be drawn from it are inescapable. The social basis of the church has been medievalism, peonage and domi- nation by a bloated and futile land- owning aristocracy. As an integral part of this social order in the past the church piled up great wealth for itself, while it sought to maintain its authority by inquisitorial methods and by keeping the masses of the —_ in abysmal ignorance. és By Voze As a religious institution the chureh is a purveyor of gibbering superstition for the mental enslavement of the aBasses+,But we have seen that it is ridiculous to speak of the Roman cath- olic church in Mexico or anywhere else as a religious institution. The clerical organization seeks to per- meate every phase of economic and political life. Defense of church privi- leges on the grounds of “religious tol- eration” is therefore entirely specious —even if the mere mention of tolera- tion by the institution responsible for the holy inquisition were not in doubt- ful taste. As a political institution the church The Present Conflict. The present conflict between the Callés” govérnment and, the: catholic hierarchy is not a religious struggle, but a struggle between the revolution and reaction. The fight to nullify the nationalrevolutionary constitution of 1917 has been going on for a long time. It was first waged around the anti-foreign and agrarian provisions of article 27; then it shifted for a time to article 123 (containing labor pro- visions); it was again concentrated on article 27 when the new oil and land laws were adopted in the spring of “VARIETY.” 8S I write I am still under the spell of this film. One feature after another crowds my mind to beg to be mentioned, to break the space limita- tions of a scant two columns, A brief few words pay mo full justice to ‘“Va- riety;” they are but the chirp of an humble critic to add to the deluge of deserved praise it is receiving. The story is simple. A beautiful little creature comes into the life of “Boss” Huller, a full-chested Hamburg carnival performer, He deserts wife and child, and with a great trapeze artist, they form a trio that becomes a theatrical success. ‘The Great Mar- tinelli,”” with whom they have joined forces, wins the girl away from “Boss” Just that and no more. The pictorial narrative is every- thing. No unnecessary scenes or sets mar the film. Every picture, every flask is trimmed to center full atten- tion on the story itself. It grips you from the beginning and you follow it thru it’s full development until the crashing end. It rolls up to this point with force and conviction, ever larger like a rolling snowball, until it hits a wall—and the spell is broken. The picture is German made. The direction of Dupont is the work of an artist. Emil Jannings, he who played the king in “Passion,” that splendid picture that brought Pola Negri to America and success, plays the part of “Boss.” It is a brilliant characteri- zation. This truly fine actor is coming to America this fall and American pic- tures are going to be the better for it—if the producers will only give him an opportunity. And then there is Lya De Putti. This girl is already in American films. She's here, but she will never be given another such me- dium to act in. Her work in the pic- ture, the directing, scenario, photogra- phy—and the capable performance of Ward, an English aétor, are all com- plimentary to the great acting of Emil Jannings. Together they make “Va- riety” pictorial art it is seldom our good fortune to see. “THE SONG OF THE FLAME.” A PEEK EACH WEEK AT MOTION PICTURES is a pillar of reaction. It has been ex- posed as a defender of feudal and .semi-feudal privileges, an irreconcila- «ble enemy of Mexican progress, an ac- @omplice of the imperialist designs of foreign capital. The Record of History. From the foregoing chapters the reader will have note@ that the history of the Mexican people since the Span- ish conquest records three great for- ward movements: (1) The struggle for national inde- pendence (1810-21); (2) the great pro- capitalist reform movement led by Be- nito Juarez, culminating in the reform _laws, the Constitution of 1857 and the long-drawn-out combat with Maxi- milian’s foreign-implanted empire; (3) the Mexican revolution ‘which began in 1910, overthrowing the military- aristocratic dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, sweeping aside Victoriano Huerta, gradually incorporating the diverse demands of bourgeois demo- crats, land-hungry Indian peasants and organized industrial workers in a battle against native aristocracy and foreign imperialism. What the role of Mexican catholi- cism has been in each of these his- toric upheavals has been made clear to us. In not one of them has the church played a part of which it dares to boast today, A consistent foe of progress, the church “cannot lay claim to a share in a single of the great liberating tradi- tions cherished by modern Mexico, This is a terrible indictment of any institution. The history of the Mexi- can people as a whole supplies the best touchstone for judging the his- tory of the catholic church in Mexico. Where Is the Church Today? But the last word of history has not yet been written. At the present time Sa Te i i pata ie a AG 8 ta TA? (pliner teeesspchesentsmspsinomnseemstetneetaespemisasiesiGenaSnN: .ianeacsapsnnniasiosseanessabcntisseanssatetteeeiipaneatttiinenssntiecfmnenesiany tragic OU are thrown into absolute dark- ness. A strange song is in the air. Then the curtain goes up on a scene that will thrill your aching, boss-ridden bones to their very mar- row. A sea of hands—just hands, gnarled, abused hands of labor—are the only things you see in a stream of light, and the rest is lost in a gradual dimness that fades into black. This is the first scene of “The Song of the Flame,” showing at the Apollo Theater in Chicago, so beautifully un- expected in a “romantic opera” it will thrill you as few things can. It is Russia—March of 1917. And the next scene is “October.” An agitator is in the street—the people are moving, moving—you can feel something big in the air, At this moment you hope and you wonder—is this—can this be—? But no, it’s the American stage, Don’t worry, you won’t be disappoint- ed, The theme is too big for the authors and the producers. It degen- erates into just an operetta that is worth seeing, it is true, but only be- cause it has some good music, cos- tumes and scenery. The big thing you feel for a moment is lost sight of. Its social viewpoint is a hodge- podge.. In the first act “the flame” tells us she is against the czar and nobility, but also against the Commu- nist government-—“against all gov- ernment that preaches class hatred.” So the bourgeoisie is pictured as de- generate, a Bolshevik commissar as a crook (but without whiskers for a change), and the flame as a savior of “the people of Russia.” You'll recog- nize “the people of Russia” as our old friend “the public,” But the singing is something else again. A Russian art choir of some (This final chapter of The History aiken gp sc — 8 final chapter 8 j ‘ve of the Catholic Church in Mexico wiltfare made Ben Rey by eal people. be concluded next week.) You will forget the social aspects of aides this year. - That the general reactionary attack is now concentrated on the anti-cleri- cal provisions of the constitution fol- lows as a matter of course. Since the debacle of Adolfo de la Huerta’s at- tempted counter-revolution, the church is the only important organized reac- tionary force in Mexico. On August 1 the anti-lerical pro- visions of the constitution were to go into effect. The provisions to which the church took particular exception were those prohibiting the church from holding property, requiring the civil registration of all priests, secu- larizing primary education, and deny- ing to ecclesiastical publications the right to invade the field of politics. Against the provision for registration the clergy declared a general strike. With the advice of Rome, an interdict was laid upon the country, All church functions requiring the participation of a priest were discontinued. Twenty- five thousand priests announced them- selves in open rebellion against the revolution. Behind the church was the reaction, Wealthy Mexican aristocrats organ- ized themselves into the League for Religious Defense and declared a boy- cott on luxuries, the announced pur- pose being to paralyze all economic life and thus bring the government, to its knees, However, the rebellion has already been clearly defeated. Its one chance of success was to split the revolution- ary forces and pave the way for in- tervention by U. 8. imperialism. This failed. All that was accomplished was to accentuate the reactiomary basis of church support. a 2 ae, Once before this column has brought attention to this film. Once again, on its arrival in Chicago (Roosevelt Theater), we repeat, see “Variety.” It is such rare film-art as this that gives us a glimpse of what a great art some day the motion picture will become. —W. C. — a TRS LYA DE PUTTI In The Paramount Picture “Variety” te * eR td _Scoaree npnenaecemenm sete Sze Het cn AA A DOZEN IN BRIEF “MOANA’’—Yes! Hs ROAD TO MANDALAY” — “MARE NOSTRUM”—No! No! gee MABEL’S ROOM” — Ah, “MANTRAP"—So-s0. “SENOR DAREDEVIL"'—Stay away. “THE SON OF THE SHIEK’’—Val- entino Panting “LA BOHEME”—Fine! (Congress) “TH? BAT”’—Spooky “TIN GODS’—Renee. Adoree is al- ways worth seeing (Belmont) “THE AMATEUR GENTLEMAN” —Well photographed. “BATTLING. BUTLER” Shen: at home and do some readin NOTE: Only Chicago theaters J showing a program for one week are listed. Pictures of current week changed Monday. the play, you a forgive the comedy (if you're big-hearted), you will over- look even the symbolic last scene, tho you will find it hard to.do this—and you will. wink an eye at most. of it because you will have heard that choir and will have felt that this at least was alone worth the price of admis- sion, The music is splendid. It carries you along and follows yon home. You will hum “The Song of the Flame” and “the Cossack Love Song” and whistle stray snatches of other tunes that tantalizingly stay with you. Jo- seph Urban made the scenery a pretty backgreund for striking costume dis- play....Tessa Kosta plays the flame— she sings well. Guy Robertson is the romantic lover of the. matinee type. You’ve seen the kind before. - If you are provoked by stupidity don’t go. The authors are full of it. But if you can bear part of it pa- tiently you will be rewarded with good song and music~and despite the authora you will feel moving masses, something big, something that some- day, someone of “our” artists will bring to us workers and we will gladly acknowledge as “our own.” W,C, f