The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-07-16
Ideas, Not Murder
Real Crime
OF Vanzetti
Prosecution Thunders Stacker at
Defendant When Life Story is Told.
BY John Nicholas Beffel
Federated Press Staff Correspondent.

Federated Press Stair Correspondents
Dedham, Mass Heavy guns were
fired in the Sacco-V Vanzetti trial on the
twenty-ninth day. The prosecution at
last disclosed its hand. 1t corroborated
the often reiterated charge that the
two Italian labor organizers are being
prosecuted not for payroll murders,
but for their political beliefs. 1t forgot
about crime and began to wave the
flag so that the jury, chosen from
country towns, might be duly impress
sed.
Bartolomeo Vanzetti was on the
witness stand in his own behalf. He
had told his life story freely and
frankly, told of his dreams in Italy,
his dreams and struggles in America,
had traced his tortuous career as a
pick-and- d-shovcl man on the railroads
and construction jobs of New Eng
land.
And then he came to the spring Of
1917 when he went away from Ply
mouth, where he had lived for several
years. He went away, just before
draft registration day, to Mexico. Bit
by bit the story unfolded, under direct
examination by Defense Counsel Jere-
miah McAnarney.
II went to Mexico" Vanzetti ex-
planned, because / didn't want to go
to war as a soldier"
Vanzetti spoke with the tone Of a
man who is sure Of himself. Surprise
swept over the courtroom. Some Of
this surprise was experienced by the
prosecution. Vanzetti's voluntary
statement on the draft question took
some of the wind out of the common.
wealth's sails.
All along the defense had fought
to exclude every reference to Social
ism, Communism, anarchism, the war,
and political beliefs, and had sue
ceeded. The prosecution was planning
surprise; it expected that the de-
tense would coEtinue this senSy-
throughout, and when vanzetti got on
the stand Prosecutor Frederick Katz-
mann would thunder home the big ac-
cusation that Vanzetti had evaded
| going to war.
Defeated in this, Katzmann made
the most of the situation. His red
face flaming, the prosecutor opened
! his cross-examination with d sneer.
$50 you ran away from Plymouth
in May, 1917, to dodge the draft 2"
he demanded. Vanzetti did not flinch..
eyes," he answered in firm tones.
| "And you stayed away till all men
of your class were drawn?"
"Not exactly"
"You were physically fit?"
ut was not matter of psysical
fitness, but Of my civil condition. I
would not have fought if I were in
Italy,"
| Katzmann rang in various changes
on the draft question, making the
walls resound with his thunders. Van.
zetti never hesitated, but answered
each question confidently.
The prosecution witness had identi-
fled Vanzetti as the driver of the
bandit car at South Braintree. Katz-
mann now asked Vanzetti if he hadn't
driven motor truck at Springfield.
: Nobody can prove ever drove an
automobile anywhere" said Vanzetti.
Under direct examination by De-
fense Counsel McAnarnay, Vanzetti
: accounted for all of his time from the
S morning of April l5, 1920, the crime
J, date, up 20 the night of May 5, when
!, he was arrested. Hour by hour he re-
vealed his movements, told who he
i met each day and where he slept.
e "When l was in the Brockton police
i station that night" he said, speaking
|. Of his arrest, "a policeman came to
my cell, unloaded revolver, showed
me the cartridges, reloaded it, pointed
the revolver at me, and said: Tomor.
row you will be lined against wal
and shot,"
He said that the police said nothing
to him about any payroll murders thai
first night, but had asked him abou
his political beliefs. And next da,
when Prosecutor Katzmann examine.
him, he said, Katzmann asked him 1
he was radical, an anarchist or
communist; whether he believed Il
the government Of the United States
and whether he believed in changing
that government by means Of violence
Not until the second night, vanxetl
said, did the authorities accuse hin
Of the murders.
--------0-- =