The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1921-07-07
Nicola Sacco Says He
Made Mistake In Com
ing to America
HIS PATRIOTISM
WAS ATTACKED
Under Protest By the De-
Tending Attorney at
Dedham

Dedham, Mass, July THE flight OF
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzet-
ii to Mexico with FIVE other men to
avoid the military draft in 1917 was a
subject of further testimony to-day
when Sacco went under cross -examina.
tion at the trial of himself and Van
zetti for the murder of South Brain
tree paymaster and his guard.
The defense objected to the line of
questioning on the ground that the
state had no right to attack Saeoo's
love of country. District Attorney
katzmann maintained that questions
which tended to attack Saceo's credi-
bility as witness and to attack his
direct testimony that he loved a free
country were competent. The court
reserved decision.
Cross ss-examination of Saeco had be-
gan during the forenoon with the dis
trict attorney questioning Sacco's trip
to Mexico with Nanzetti
Sacco, after lengthy deliberation,
hhia lttL NHG 1hlLtu 5NhhtS
the last week of May, 1917, when he
started for Mexico. He did not believe
in war, he said, and considered that in
going to Mexico to avoid the draft he
was doing 4 brave thing.
The district attorney asked him why
he didn't stay in Mexico and Sacco
replied that he couldn't get work at his
shoe trade there and didn't like the
food or the manner Of living.
Asked by the district attorney what
he meant when he said he loved a free
Sacco made ten minute
speech from the witness stand, When
he came to this country, he said, he
found it was not what he had thought
it. His work in Italy was not as hard
as that in this country. and he had bet
ter food and clothes there than here, he
asserted.
He had thought mer were free in
seen some Of the best men in this
country sent to prison. He saw one
man dead because he was a Socialist,
he added, explaining that "this man
was put in prison because the cap
Ifalist class was against him"
Sacco said he did not believe in any
more wars for killing young men so
hat when the time came for a father
% get something out of son, cap
talists could send him to war which
was for the business of millionaires
md not for the country.
Sacco was uninterrupted during his
'peech when he finished by saving:
"That is what | don't like about |
his country, at one time | thought
vas free" .-
In his direct testimony Sacco ex-
,lained the possession of an sutomat
C pistol when he was arrested. He |
aid his wife was cleaning house and
ie took the weapon with all the car.
ridges intending to discharge them in
he woods. He denied that he had ever
hot anybody at South Braintree.
Continuing his testimony under
ross examination, Saoco said that at
he time of his arrest he was afraid
e might be deported from the Unit
d States because of radical views. He
ad in his home about three dozen an
rchistic books and anarchistic litera
ure Of other descriptions, he said.
He said he would not destroy the
ooks because he loved them. He would
ot say that his views on anarchy
-ere the same as those Of anarchists
tho had been deported because that
as a delicate question,
The district attorney showed the
ickel- plated revolver found on Van
ETH and asked him il he had taken
from the body of Alessandro Berar.
clio, ore Of the murdered men. at the
'ene of the crime. Sacco denied il.
e admitted that he had lied to the
Istrict attorney when questioned by
i'm at the Brockton police station aft
his arrest He identified his own
Itomatic pistol, found on him when
rested.