This is an early fiction film of strong social comment. Through use of parallel editing, the film contrasts the harsh life of farmers and the poor, who depend on the price of bread, with exotic luxury indulged in by the wheat speculator. Griffith anticipates the modern freeze frame in a posed shot of the poor waiting in the bread line, and adds a lyrical note with the repeated image of the farmer sowing wheat, slow shots with a gradual fade to dark.