University Daily Kansan Tuesday. April 26,1955
Sacco-Vanzetti: Justice or Murder?
On April 15, 1920, a shoe factory employee and his paymaster were shot down on the main street of South Braintree, Mass., and robbed of a $15,000 payroll by two men described as "Italians." Three weeks later Nicola Sacco, 28, a shoe factory employee and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, 34, a fish peddler, were arrested and the murders.
Vanzetti, who was a student and prize scholar at a Catholic school in Italy, contributed frequently to radical papers after he came to America.
Sacco was one of the best workers in the shoe factory and had earned the praise of his boss. He, like Vanzetti, was active in radical groups and attended radical meetings.
What happened to these two men should be judged in the light of the anti-Red opinion that prevailed in the period at the end of World War I. An additional strike against them was the fact that both men had been active in labor disputes.
The severe grilling by the prosecutor, some rather prejudiced remarks by the judge, and weakness in the evidence, combined to create a belief that the defendants were being tried for radicalism rather than for murder.
The nature of the case immediately grasped the attention of millions of people throughout the world. In Paris the case was discussed before the Chamber of Deputies and a bomb attempt was made on the life of the American ambassador there. A general strike in Uruguay was attributed directly to the Saco-Vanzetti case; threats were made against American consular officials in Peru, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, and Japan; and in the United States liberals of many shades hastened to the defense of the two Halians.
Great demonstrations were staged to delay the execution and to beg for mercy while it was being charged that Judge Thayer had denounced the defendants and then ruled that he was not prejudiced against them.
All during the trial, Sacco and Vanzetti heated edly protested their innocence and furnished alibis for the day of the murders.
Walter Lippmann, moved by the analysis of the trial by Felix Frankfurter took an entire page of the New York World for a spirited editorial attacking prejudiced action in the case entitled "Doubts That Will Not Down."
The more the case was attacked the more obstinate was the reaction. A commission headed by the president of Harvard university examined the evidence and gave the court a clean bill of health. The governor of Massachusetts refused to intervene and finally even refused to listen to pleas of petition.
One of the last desperate steps to save the condemned men was an appeal to Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, who held that he could not stay the execution for want of jurisdiction.
From Vanzetti's cell came this statement:
"If it had not been for these things (the murders) I might have died unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure This is our career and our triumph. Never could we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, and for man's understanding as we do by accident. That last moment belongs to us—that agony is our triumph."
To the last, Sacco and Vanzetti protested their innocence and the efforts of many who thought them guillless were proved futile.
As the two doomed men walked to the electric chair, the six years' legal battle on their behalf continued but in vain.
In a small room close to the execution chamber in Charlestown, Mass, state prison assigned to the reporters, there was a bedlam of confusion as the hour of execution neared. Had there been a last minute reprieve? Might there be one now? Nerves were at the breaking point.
Warden Williams Hendry was almost overcome by the executions as Vanzetti shook his hand and thanked him for his kindness. The Warden was barely able to whisper the formula required by law:
"Under the law I now pronounce you dead, the sentence of the court having been legally carried out."
The evening of the execution the police broke up a meeting of nearly 500 Italians in Salem street as they threatened to hold a demonstration in front of the Bunker Hill monument and also threatened to hold a protest meeting before the State House.
Farther down the street 200 Sacco-Vanzetti sympathizers had congregated to parade past Bunker Hill and unmounted police were unable to control them.
Charleston prison was armed and garrisoned as if to withstand a siege. Five hundred officers were employed in addition to the usual prison guard and were armed with machine guns, tear gas, and riot guns.
The executions touched off a wave of bitter demonstrations throughout the world which became more violent as the hour of death drew near
Impartial law students who examined the voluminous case record agree that Sacco and Vanzetti had been convicted on insufficient evidence, that the presiding judge was guilty of gross prejudice, and that the inquiry into the investigation had been conducted in a one sided manner.
"The tragedy of the Sacco-Vanzetti case," wrote Morris L. Earnst, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, "is the tragedy of three men—Judge Thayer, Governor Fuller of Massachusetts, and President Lowell, who examined the evidence of the trial—and their inability to rise above the obscene battle that raged for six long years around the heads of the shoemaker and the fish peddler." —Gordon Hudelson
"Splendid, Miss Jones! You found reverse all by yourself."
To quote the fire chief of Sharon, Wisconsin, "A television set in itself is no more dangerous than any other electrical appliance, if it is properly handled. But a TV set has within its working parts high voltage electricity, from 5,000 to 75,000 volts, depending on the size of the set."
A problem that has particular pertinent in this city of overcrowded apartments has co me across the UDK editorial desk. It's the problem of TV sets vs. apartment wiring.
TV Sets Put Load On House Wiring
Just a reminder, but you married students who do have television would do well to make sure of your apartment's wiring capacity.
-Ron Grandon
In other words, TV sets require special wiring-a precaution conspicuous in its absence in most Lawrence apartments.
Relays visitors, Jayhawk Jubilee guests and an Engineering Exposition, with a tipping of 2100 Boy Scouts. Did anyone ever stop to think how busy this old campus was last week end. Next week we study—if it weren't for that conference we said we'd visit.
---
Triangle wins first place in the fraternities' division of the Relays parade. Those engineers and their technical training.
... Letters ...
University Daily Kansan Lawrence, Kansas
Staff.1
I do not see how you could have possibly been nicer to me and I am grateful to you. I love your praise and I will try not to inhale it.
Dear Staff:
O course, the best part is that you represented me as having succeeded in telling how deeply I admire John Ise and how greatly I am indebted to him.
Bless you, my children.
—Doris Fleeson ('23)
The movie industry today has been placing much emphasis on religion—its history, famous leaders, and present day meaning and application. In such pictures as "Quo Vadis," "The Silver Chalice," "I Confess," and "The Robe," religion has been the subject. Even "On the Waterfront" had its religious elements in the priest who tried to "reform" the ruffian workers.
'Man Called Peter' Seen As Top Movie Drama
And again a word of praise should be given to those in the motion picture field for their production "A Man Called Peter." Unlike many religious movies which try to inspire the viewer from head to toe, "A Man Called Peter," is a simple story of a man who gave to others the feeling and meaning that he had for his faith. Throwing away out-dated traditions and opinions of the church, he brought religion up to the present, strongly feeling that God was guiding him in everything he did.
Peter Marshall had not always wanted to go into religious work. He loved the sea, and as a boy, planned to be a sailor. But a fall which almost resulted in his death, made him aware of the presence of God. It was then that he felt his place was in the church.
Although many of these pictures were poorly done in such respects as acting or production, credit should be given to the movie industry for making people more aware of the evolution of religion and the part it can play in people's lives today.
Richard Todd, as the "Man Called Peter," has turned in an excellent job in his portrayal. The part is done with sincerity. The various sermons in the picture held the audience's complete attention. The viewer could only wish that he had known such a man as Peter Marshall. Jean Peters as Catherine Marshall, his wife, also did a fine job, but perhaps was overshadowed by Todd's dynamic personality.
The picture is not just a religious movie. It is a story of a minister and how he attracted persons until his congregations grew so large that those who could not get into the church would even stand out in the rain just to hear what he had had to say. It is the story of a man who had a purpose for living and could transfer that purpose to others. It neither preaches nor does it seek to inspire by playing upon emotions.
It simply tells the story of a man—Peter Marshall—and that is all that is necessary to make it one of the top movies of the year. —Nancy Neville
Daily Hansan
University of Kansas Student Newspaper News Room, KU 251 Ad Room, KU 376
News Room, KU 281
Member of the Inland Daily Press association. Associated Collegiate Press association.
Represented by the National Advertising service, 420 Madison ave., N.Y. Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 a year (add $1 a semester if in Lawrence). Addition to Kans., every afternoon during the University year except Saturday and Sundays. University holidays and examination periods. Entered as second class matter. Sept. 17, 1910, at Lawrence, Kans., post office under act of March 3, 1879.