The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-22
By H. w. L. DANA.

ISdu Oh d SlSH tic NOIu eildC l3N
been already imprinted on my mem
ory: "Villafalletto."
Often during the long seven
years of his Imprisonment, Bartolo-
meo Vanzetti used to describe to
me his native town. 'Villafalletto
rises on the right bank of the
Magra in the shadow of beauti-
full chain of hills" he wrote and
added, "The deep green of the north
Italian valleys is a living thing in
my mind today" Shortly before he
was put to death he wrote to me
urging me, if ever I were in Italy,
to go and visit his family. Now
at last l was able to do so and had
come to see the surroundings in
which he had grown up and which
had always meant so much to him.
Twenty Years Ago.
AS l got off on the platform, l
realized that it was here at this
same railroad station that Vanzetti
had said goodbye to his family
twenty years ago when he had left
home being, as he put it, drawn
to America by my love of freedom"
The freedom for the working class
which he had not found there, he
had fought to give America, and
America had given him death.
From the railway station it was
more than a miles drive up to the
hill town of Villafalletto itself. l
got into a covered wagon crowded
with villagers who had returned by
the train and the wagon made its
way slowly up the winding road to-
wards the little town among the
foothills. Already the sun had set
behind the mountains and the night
was fast coming on.
Villafalletto and Dedham.
At length we ratified across the
little bridge over the Magra and
passing through an old gateway
like that of a castle entered the
town of Villafalletto. The one cen
trail street with the stream of watt
er flowing through the middle of
ii at which the women washed their
clothes offered striking contrast
to the wide lawns of the bourgeois
estates in the town of Dedham
Massachusetts,, where Vanzetti hac
been condemned to death. thought
once more of the contrast in the
courtroom between the bronzed fig
ure of Vanzetti himself and the
shrivelled form of the New England
Judge. In the two towns as in thu
two men, Italian labor and Ameri
can capital seemed face to face.
AS l alighted then from the car
riage and set foot in this town,
found myself trembling with shame
and Indignation for my own coun
try. Here was l from Massachu
sets, venturing to come here. Al
the inn, said to be the Oldest ir
Italy, l asked for Vanzetti's home
I was conscious at once of pene-
trating glances and yet a warm
sympathy. There had been around
the whole world great rending
cry at the execution of Sacco and
Vanzetti-the voice of an "inter-
national of justice" such as the
world had never heard before.
In Czechoslovakia in one of the
cities the central square that had
ten years ago been christened evil
son Square" has now been renamed
"Sacco and Vanzetti Square" In
Moscow there is "Sacco and Van
zetti Theatre" with large portraits
of them on the facade. Instances
of this sort can be found today in
every country showing that their
memory is still alive.
Gentle, Thoughtful"
Yet the inhabitants of this little
town of Villafalletto seemed I'M
aware of the world importance their
Bartolomeo Vanzetti had come to
hold. They pressed around me with
questions about the trial and the
execution in America and volun-
teered all sorts of information about
Vanzetti's life at Villafalletto. One
old woman remembered him as the
most gentle and thoughtful boy
their town had ever known. One OF
his schoolmates told me of his bril-.
lance in his studies and of his un-
quenchable ardor for reading. One
and all in Villafalletto were con
WINGED of his complete innocence Of
the crime attributed to him. But
l found in them a sort of mute &C
ceptance of injustice which | came
to feel characteristic of poor work
ers like these under a fascist re-
gime.
They pointed out to me across the
darkened street the yellow lights
from the windows of Vanzetti's
house. There 1 found his family
warm-hearted in their hospitality
through all the anguish of their suf.
fering. l came to see in them the
very traits I had learned to love
in him. His two sisters, Luiga and
Vincenzina, were kindly thoughtful
and alert in interest. His younger
brother, Ettore, was shy but
friendly lad. The father, fine old
Italian with face that seemed