 The protest march of the "army of the unemployed" in the story was  no doubt a reference to the protest march of the "Bonus Army" in  1932, where veterans of WWI marched on Congress to demand payment of  promised bonuses. They were attacked with tanks and tear gas by the  U.S. Army led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur (qv) on orders of  President Herbert Hoover (I) (qv). William Randolph Hearst (qv),  who railed against that action in his newpapers, saw to it that the  President in this film helped the people. Meanwhile,  Louis B. Mayer (qv), a staunch Republican, delayed the movie until  Hoover was out of office.