The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1927-08-23
TWO MURDERS
COMMITTED BY
TWO RADICALS
Story Of Crime Of Sacco
and Vanzetti and Fight
to Save Them


BOSTON, Aug 23.-The crime
! for which Nicola Sacco and Bal
tolomeo Vanzetti were sentenced
to die was double murder.
On the morning of April Is,
1920. Frederick A. Parmenter, pay
Waster, and Alexander Berardelli
his guard, arrived at the factory
70 Slater and Morrill, Company,
South Braintree, near Boston. to
pay off employees. They carried.
R satchels. Sl5.776. AS they wera
about to enter the factory door.
tw0 men approached. and fired at
them. Both fell mortally wounded
The two robbers grabbed the
sh;chels. An automobile, whish
Aad been waiting nearby. speed
up to the curb. The satchels were
thrown In and the two robbers
clambered into the car. which was
driven off at high speed.
N Trap is Set
The robbery and murders at
South Braintree had been pre-
ceded by similar crimes. Police
and detectives had definite suspi-
cions, and they set a trap to
| catch the owner of an automobile
which was in a garage at Brocton
On the night of May s, 1920, Sacco
and Vanzetti, with others, ap
peared at the garage and asked
to take the car out. The garage
keepers wife slipped into her
house and telephoned the police.
Sacco and Vanzetti left the ga
rage. without taking the car, and
1t was testified later that they
followed the garage keepers wife
to her home when she made the
call and that they acted in a queer
manner Police arrested them on
Brocton street car. Both had
revolyers in their pockets.
Sacco was a shoeworker, and
was employed in Stoughton, whore
he lived. Vanzetti lived in Ply.
mouth, where he sold fish. Both
were radicals" and were active
in spreading radical propaganda
1t was their contention that they
had gone to the garage with a
friend to get his automobile to
collect radical literature in the
possession of other friends, so
that in case Department of Justice
operatives raided their friends
homes such literature would not
be found. The automobile they
sought to use in this work, it de-
yeloped. was not the car used In
the hold.up and murder.
Conflicting Stories
But on their arrest. both Sacco
and Vanzetti told conflicting sta
ries of their doings. They Later
protested they lied to conceal their
radical activities, through fear Of
deportation. and not because they
had committed murder. At che
time, the Department OF Justice
was active in deporting alien radi-
calls, and numerous "roundups''
and raids were being made and
Sacco and Vanzetti had been af-
yised by lawyer to collect the
! literature.
Trial In 1921
Sacco and Vanzetti were indict-
ed September IL, 1920 and went
on trial at Dedham, May 81, 1921.
In the meantime, radical sym.
pathizers had taken up their case
and demonstrations intended TO
aid them were staged In many
countries. Their trial. held In
Judge Webster Thayer's superior
court at Dedham. attracted much
attention. Fred ii. Moore, Of San
Francisco, was chief OF defense
| counsel
Their radical activities were
brought out at the trial. and 1t
also was brought out that both
were pacifists and had gone to
Mexico during the war to escape
the military draft. The prosecu
ton, directed by District Attorney
Frederick G. Katzmann. explored
their radical views. asserting this
was made necessary by Sacco
and Vanzetti inserting this as a
defense.
Guilty of Robbery
! Prior to the murder trial, Van
zetti had been found guilty. in
Judge Thayer's court. Of roo.
berry at Bridgewater, and for this
he was sentenced. But evidence
relating to this was excluded from
the murder trial by stipulation