The works of the roots of the vines, of the trees, must be destroyed to keep up the price, and this is the saddest,
bitterest thing of all. Carloads of oranges dumped on the
ground. The people came for miles to take the fruit, but
this could not be. How would they buy oranges at twenty
cents a dozen if they could drive out and pick them up?
And men with hoses squirt kerosene on the oranges, and
they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have
come to take the fruit. A million people hungry, needing the
fruit- and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains.
And the smell of rot fills the country.
Which of the following most likely represents the historical context reflected
in this passage?