Evening star., 1927-08-23
Numerous Appeals Made in
Behalf of Condemned
Radical Leaders.
Hunger Strikes Undertaken
by Sacco on Several 0cca-
Sions-0ther Incidents.
By the Associated Press.

BOSTON, August %3.--The crime
for which Nicola Sacco and Bartolo-
meo Vanzetti were sentenced to die
was a double murder.
On the morning of April Is, 1920.
| Frederick A. Parmenter. paymaster,
and Alexander Berardelli. his guard.
arrived at the factory of Slater &
Morrill, Co.. South Braintree. near Bos-
ton. to pay off employees. They carried
| In satchels $l5.776. AS they were
about TO enter the factory door two
men approached and fired at them.
Both fell. mortally wounded
The two robbers grabbed the
satchels. An automobile, which had
been waiting nearby, sped up to the
| curb. The satchels were thrown in
and the two robbers clambered into
the car. which was driven off at high
! speed.
Armed When Arrested.
The robbery and murders at South
| Braintree had been preceded by SINH
| lar crimes. Police and detectives had
! definite suspicious, and they set a trap
| to catch the owner of an automobile
which was in a garage at Brocton.
On the night of May 5. 1920. Sacco
and VanZetti. with others. appeared
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 garage without taking the car
! and it 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 a Brocton
street car. Both had revolvers in
| their pockets.
| Both Sacco and Vanzetti told con-
| flicting stories 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 the time
! the Department of Justice was active
| in deporting alien radicals, and numer.
Gus 'round-ups' and raids were being
| made, and Sacco and VanZetti had
been advised by lawyer to collect
| literature they had distributed.
Sacco and Vanzetti were indicted
September IL, 1920, and went on trial
| at Dedham May 81. 1921. In the
meantime radical sympathizers had
| taken up their case, and demonstra-
tions intended to aid them were staged
in many countries. Their trial, held
in Judge Webster Thayer's Superior
Court at Dedham, attracted much at.
! tention. Fred H. Moore of San Fran.
cisco was chief of defense counsel.
Their radical activities were brought
out at the trial, and it also was
brought out that both were pacifists
and had gone to Mexico during the
| war to escape the military draft. The
| prosecution, directed by District At
| torney Frederick G. Katzmann, ex.
| plored their radical views, asserting
this was made necessary by Sacco and
Vanzetti asserting this as defense.
Tried to Prove Alibis.
Prior to the murder trial Vanzetti
had been found guilty in Judge
| Thayer's court of a robbery at Bridge
water. and for this he was sentenced.
But evidence relating to this was ex-
| cluded from the murder trial by stipu.
| lation. Sacco and Vanzetti pleaded
not guilty and both gave alibis. Sacco
told of being absent from employment
on the day of the murder to attend
business in Boston, and produced evil
dence to support this. VanZetti told
of being at work, delivering fish. and
offered testimony to substantiate this.
| The State produced witnesses who
| identified them as men they saw at
the scene Of the crime. Expert testi.
many was given to show that bullet
taken from the body of one Of the
murdered men was consistent with
| gave opposite testimony. Both were
found guilty, but sentence was stayed
| pending motions for a new trial.
| A Sacco-VanZetti defense committee
was organized, and financial aid was
sought to help them. The cry was
raised that the men had been found
| guilty because they were radicals.
| About this time the first Of the dem
| onstrationS in their favor was made
by labor committee in Milan, Italy.
In the seven years that dragged out
| before Gov. Alvan T. Fuller made his
decision on the case numerous threat
ening letters were received by men
prominent in the case, and bombs
| were placed near the American EN-.
bassies at Paris and Buenos Aires, the
| American Legation at Montevideo and
other places in Mexico, Europe and
South America.
Demonstrations Occur.
On December 81, 1921, Judge Thayer
denied the first Of the motions for a
new trial. This was met by demon.
strations at home and abroad. Sew
eral supplementary motions for new
trial were made from time to time,
zetti was in the State prison. Sacco
was held in Norfolk county Jail at
Dedham. In February, 1923, Sacco
begun a hunger strike. Alienists de-
clared him sane. and he was forcibly
fed in March. This broke his hunger
strike. While in the Psycopathic Hos
pital at Boston, where he had been
taken for examination, Sacco at.
tempted suicide by beating his head
against a piece of furniture. He did
not severely wound himself.
In December, 1924, the question of
Vanzetti's sanity was raised. and he
was taken to Bridgewater State Hos:
pital for observation. In April of
that year he was declared sane.
Moore withdrew as counsel for
Sacco and Vanzetti in November 1924
He was succeeded by Thomas F. and
n. j. McAnarney. Later they with
drew, and William G. Thompson. emf.
nent Boston attorney, became counsel
for the two men. Thompson argued
before the Supreme Court Of Massa
chusetts an appeal from Judge
Thayer's denial Of a new trial, but the
Supreme Court, prevented by law
from passing on questions Of fact in
murder cases. sustained Judge Thay
er's trial.
Madeiros Makes Confession.
In January, 1926, Celestino Madei
. res, under sentence of death in State
prison for murder Of bank cashier
made a statement. in w.s:.ch he de
clared Sacco and Vanzettf were limo
cent OF the Braintree murders, ant
that gang of which he had once beer
, a member had committed the crimes
The gang Madeiros spoke Of was the
"Morelli gang" of Providence, r. I.
: The defense committee sought a new
, trial on the strength Of this state
ment. Judge Thayer denied this il
, October. 1926. Meanwhile severa
stays halted the execution of Madeiro.
while an appeal was taken from Judg,