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"Sunflowers" is the name of the 21st film made

by Vittorio de Sica. This is a story of human des-:

tinies ruined by the war.

Screen-play for the picture is by Italians C.
Zavattini, G. Guerra, and Soviet playwright G.
Mdivani. The action in the film is set in Italy and
the Soviet Union where soldier Antonio, the main
character in the'film (Marcello Mastroyanni),
fights during the war.

The picture has two main feminine parts: Masha
a Soviet woman who saves Antonio from death
(Liudmila Savelieva) and Italian woman Giovan-
na (Sophia Loren). Giovanna keeps looking for
her dead husband Antonio whom she stubbornly
thinks to be alive. When she comes to the U.S.S.R.,
she gets help from townspeople, villagers and
Soviet establishments. _

Camera is by Giuseppe Rotunno, known to
audiences from the film ''Rocco and His Brothers."

The team of Italian cinematographists, having
completed location filming near Poltava, the Uk-
raine, have left for Italy where the remaining
episodes of the picture will be shot.

Sophia Loren on the set during the filming in the

Ukraine.
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 12, 1969—PAGE 10

re

CPUSA

years of struggle

Pe)

This month marks the 50th
anniversary of the founding of
the Communist Party, U.S.A.
Observances are already taking
place in the socialist countries
and among workers’ parties in
other countries. In the United
States there will be meetings,
publications and other observ-
anees throughout the Fall.

To mark the opening of this
period of celebration, we here
present excerpts from the ex-
haustive “History of the Com-
munist Party” published in 1952
by William Z. Foster, long-time
party chairman who died in
1961:

“Various powerful political
forces combined to bring about
the split in the Socialist Party
at the precise time it occurred.
Fundamentally, these ' were pro-
ducts of World War I and the

Russian Revolution. The United
States, under its own specific
conditions, felt the terrific shock
of these basic events’ which
were, undermining the whole
structure of world capitalism.
Among the manifestations of
this shock were the break-up of
the Socialist Party and the
birth of the Communist Party.

“A major immediate factor
leading to the split within the
Party was the acute discontent
among the rank and file at the
way the opportunist Party lead-

ership had met the issue of the -

war. This was directed not only
at the seceding pro-war leaders
of the right, but also at the Hill-
quit group. There had been
great enthusiasm after the St.
Louis convention, with its mili-
tant anti-war demagogy.

“But soon thereafter disillu-
sionment set in among the lefts,
because many of the Party lead-
ers who had voted for the St.
Louis resolution failed to back
it up in practice or came out
in open support of the war. This
course deeply outraged the pro-
letarian membership, who ar-
dently wanted the Party to con-
duct a militant struggle against
the imperialist war.

“Added to this rank-and-file
discontent was an even greater
resentment .of the left-minded
membership at the compromis-
ing manner in which the right-
centrist Hillquit leadership han-
dled the central question of the
Russian Revolution. The mili-
tant membership of the Party
rightly looked upon the revolu-
tion as a supreme Socialist
triumph of the Russian working
class, and they were determined
to give it all the support and
protection they could against
the armed intervention and
other attacks being made upon
it by the capitalists of the Unit-
ed States ..

“Still another factor intensi-
fying the intra-Party tension
was the urgent need to develop
a fighting program to support
the current big struggles of the
workers and te counter the
post-war offensive of the em-
ployers. This was the time of
Seattle general strike (January,
1919), of the Winnipeg general
strike (May, 1919), and of the
great steel strike (September,
1919). Many other strikes were
looming on the horizon. On all

sides, too, the employers were
obviously preparing for an ag-
gressive anti-labor drive.

“The opportunist Hillquit
leadership, to the deep discon-
tent of the rank-and-file, was
quite incapable of developing a
program of militant action
which wquld place the Party in
theavanguard of the tremendous
class struggles which were then
in the process of taking place.

“The left clearly had behind
it a majority of the Party mem-
bership. It drew its strength
from all sections of the Party,
but its main strongholds were
New York, Ohio, Michigan,
Illinois and Massechusetts,- and
especially in the ‘language fede-
rations’. . .

“The National Conference of
the Left Wing met in New York,
on June 21, 1919 .. . 94 dele-

|

ALFRED WAGENKNECHT
Founding Secretary, C.L.P.

CHARLES E. RUTHENBERG
Founding Secretary, C.P.

gates represented the bulk of
the membership of the Socialist
Party.

“The main. purposes of the
gathering, as stated in the call
under which the conference had
assembled, were “to formulate
a national declaration of Left
Wing principles, ferm a_na-
tional unified expression of the
Left Wing (a sort of general
council—not a separate organ-
ization) and concentrate our
forces to conquer the Party for
revolutionary Socialism”. . .

“The Socialist Party conven-’

tion opened on August 30, 1919,
in Chicago. The Hillquit clique
had complete control of the
Party apparatus, and -from the
outset they used this control
drastically. Their Contest Com-
mittee, passing on challenged
credentials, refused to seat de-

1
legates of the Left wing i

dozen states. When John veh
and other left wingers ne
theless tried to take their 5 f

Gert

Executive Secretary :

called in the police to ©
them. i
“At this outrage the left”
delegates walked out.
“The long-brewing div?
between the right and left ¢
had now reached the final ty
of an open organization SP! ;
The Reed-Wagenknecht or
after their expulsion from
S.P. convention at first cla!
to be the legitimate S.P.. Dy
the following day, August
they formed themselves inl?
Communist Labor  Parly i
America. A day later, the be!
gan-federations group ©f8®)
the Communist Party of
rica. ie
“The C.P., containing the of
erations, was much the pe
of the two new parties: ©“
128 regular and fraternal vt
gates and claimed a me
ship of 58,000. The CLP: ig
92 delegates at its conve?
It issued no figures as tO ie
bership, which was mainly, isl
rican-born, but it was ObV!?
very much smaller tha?
ens) 12
“Ruthenberg was electé
ecutive secretary of the Cr fol
Wagenknecht was chose 9
the same position in the ”
“The two conventions: ie
tween them, laid the ore of
tional and political foundé nis
for the eventual Comm),
Party of the United States até
many urgent tasks conff net
this young and split moves (f
The first and most impor'®
these was to bring about wif
between the two Comm jy
parties. There were alsO ” y
left-wing elements. still
assembled, _ including
remaining in the S.P., the © iy
advanced IWW: membel$ 4
militants in the A.F. of by od
other groupings moving
Marxist socialism . .- _- dll
“A unity convention W4y
at Bridgman, Michigan, M yn

1920. As a result, the eri?
Communist Party of ele!”
was born. Ruthenberg w4°

ted executive secretary- i

“The C.P., in turn, nel id
convention of 34 delegates 90)
“underground”) in July, a
in New York City. Ther ca!
much bitterness over the Tal
“unity” proceedings, whl¢
Splitethe-G,P.. as tid’
PiFinally, after much nee {0
tion, the general conven cp.
unify the C.P. and the 1 at
took place in May 192 ‘phe
Woodstock; New York - ° “we
fused organization. waS ,_ off
the Communist Party 9". 0
ca, and its headquarters whet
tablished in New York. * "cet
berg was elected executiv®
retary... ti0

“It was a joyous delegt ot
that completed the arduous oft
of this long and decisiV® | off
vention, Amid the gene! av

: Nive
thusiasm of the convenUlO’Aogs

S

cording to a report in pat!)
munist for July, 1921: age
lines ‘melted away. Com" 0!
who had been separate’ nel
years ‘embraced each “joie
hands clasped hands, the ol
gates sang. the Interna yd |

with as much energy as gee
be mustered after the try ae
hour continuous sessions: