The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1922-05-26
WITNESS PELZER
ADMITS PERJURY
Newly Discovered Eye Witness of
Crimes Positive SaccO and
Vanzetti Not on Scene
By Eugene Lyons

by Eugene Lyons
BOSTON-The opening gun il
what promises to be a sensational
and far reaching expose of the Sacco.
| Vanzetti case, establishing the limo
cence of the two labor organizers
beyond all question of doubt, is in
| the form of a motion for a new trial
just filed in the Superior Court OF
Massachusetts and based upon two
important affidavits:
l. That of Louis Pelser, one OF
the four Identification" witnesses
against Sacco, who now admits that
his testimony from beginning to end
was false and lying. In effect it is
a confession of perjury by one OF
the states star witnesses into the
stand.
2. That of Roy f. Gould. an eye
witness of the South Braintree
crimes charged against Sacco and
Vanzetti, who was within five to ten
feet of the bandit car. was shot
through his coat, and retains a vivid
memory of one bandit. The position
of this one corresponds to that of
the man whom the commonwealth
sought to identify as Sacco. In his
affidavit Gould swears positively
that neither Sacco nor Vanzetti was
the man.
A report of the Pelser confession
was printed in the labor press of the
United States some time ago, but the
details were not available until the
matter was placed before the courts.
Pelser's testimony in court was to
the effect that Sacco was the dead
image" of the bandit he claims to
have seen for few seconds through
few inches of open window. He will
also be remembered as the witness
who carried his efforts against the
defendants to the ludicrous extreme
of identifying a pin in the alleged
bandits collar.
In the presence of justice of the
peace and several other persons he
repudiated his former testimony in
toto. While on the face of it his
testimony then seemed slim and in
significant, yet it constituted fully
% per cent of all the direct "evi-
dence" against Sacco.
81 couldn't have been in my right
mind. l don't think l was exactly
sane" Pelser says in his affidavit. In
the course of close questioning by
Fred H. Moore, attorney for the de-
tense, he further indicates that he
"must have been forced by someone"
when he perjured himself.
Gould, it appears from his affi-
davit, was known to the police from
the very day of the crime, but for
some mysterious reason was not
called as a witness. The defense dis
covered him in Portland, Me-, after
months of searching. After seeing
photographs of both Sacco and Van
zetti and seeing Sacco in person, he
made the positive statement that
neither was the man he remembers
SO distinctly.
Pelser insisted, in speaking TO
Assistant District Attorney Williams
on the morning before he took the
stand that he had not seen enough
to testify. Williams nevertheless pro-
duced pictures of Sacco and even
sent Pelser to take look at the
prisoner. Still Pelser. according to
his present version, refused to iden-
tify. Williams then sair, "You know
right we'll that's the man." What
finally coerced him to lie on the wit
ness stand and who put the dead
image" idea-which he admits is not
his own--into his mind, he does not
reveal
The motion will have to be ruled
on by Judge Webster Thayer. Other
motions predicated upon other evil
dence-of far more significant i'm
port, according to the defense-will
be filed in the near future.
Nicola Sacco and Bartholomew
Vanzetti face the electric chair as a
result of conviction on capital
charge, robbery and murder at South
Braintree on April Is. 1920. The
evidence on which the verdict was