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Show Just a small story . - On April 15. 1920. in South Braintree, Mass., two men with revolvers killed two men carrying a shoe factorys payroll. On May R, the Boston Globe headline proclaimed Gov. Calvin Coolidges veto rf a hill concerning beer. A small story on page WASHINGTON six reported that Nicola Sacco, a shoemaker, and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, a fishmonger, had been charged with carrying concealed weapons. It is 50 years since they died, shortly after midnight, Aug. 23. 1927. in the electric chair in Bostons Charlestown prison. That was the climax of the nations most wrenching criminal case, an American Dreyfus case that gathered and concentrated unpleasant passions on both sides, and scarred a generation. The trial turned on identification of the two men and of Saccos revolver. Today it is widely believed that Vanzetti was innocent and that Sacco may have been. It is arguable that neither was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is certain that the case became a cause, in part because of attitudes that today seem as remote as the passion for free coinage of silver. As often happens, the end of war was an occasion for excess. On Jan. 2, 1920, U.S. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer twisted the Constitution into a pretzel with raids against anarchists and other radicals in 33 cities. The Ku Klux Klan was resurgent. In 1920, an Oregon man was sentenced to 200 days in To hell with jail for his incendiary remark: Coolidge; its only an accident hes President. In the first decade of the century, H. L. Mencken and a Jewish businessman published a book debating the merits of free enterprise. The New York Times reviewer deplored the fact that the American system was being debated by two men without American names. Prevailing prejudices, and abuses of power, Letters from our readers made the moment ripe for a counterattack from And many progressives, who in progressives. ihe best of times have their fair share of prejudices, used the Sacco and Vanzetti case as an excuse to fall upon Massachusetts with angry glee. In the 1920s, Massachusetts was what Arkansas was in the 1950s and Mississippi was in the 1900s. It was the state that people, especially intellectuals, loved to hate. It was considered doubly odious puritanical and aristocratic. The phrase "banned in Boston had entered the language, and Mencken amused himself selling banned books on Boston Common. Vachel Lindsay, who did not participate in the prejudice, made amusing satire or pnpulist resentment of Plymouth RockAnd all that inbred landlord stock. Judge Webster Thayer, who presided at the trial, was the embodiment of granite Yankeeness. He may or may not have told golfing companions, Did you see what I did to those anarchists? But on the bench he certainly had some of the unfortunate traits of Judge Julius Hoffman, the little judge with the short fuse who presided at the 1909 trial of the Chicago Seven. the prosecution involved some prejudice masquerading as respect for law, the protest movement on behalf of the defendants involved much cynicism masquerading as idealism. Communists were disproportionately influential in the movements leadership. They embezzled funds collected for the defense, and hardheartedly regarded the defendants as expendable symbols. The protest movement put Communists on who wanted to be display before progressives sympathetic. The movement was the first disillusioning episode in two decades of disillusionment with communism. Katherine Anne Porter, the novelist, was a protester who innocently remarked to one of the Communist leaders that she hoped Sacco and Vanzetti could be alive in the end. Alive? snapped the Communist, what for? They are no earthly good to us alive. If A4 1977 DESERET NEWS, MONDAY, AUGUST 22, Too congested to add bank WANT TO HEM? A FUN NY RiJ V To the editor: hard to believe the report published in your paper Aug. 17 that business zoning has been granted to First Security Bank on the previously residential corner Foothill Blvd. and 1 - I STUFF IN TVi&FE THAT CAN WIFE OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. FEOP t 4 of 1300 South. This has to already be the most congested areas in the valley due to Foothill Village overbuilding and traffic exiting onto 22nd East continually. FI , cities start just this way, with haphazard zoning and no real planning. You cannot exit 22nd East onto 13th South now without a long wait, and it is risky at best. R. E. Hansen Texas St. ' rlM, ' " sfcar-. j;.' v . Where are the responsible actions the mayor promised so residential areas would be preserved? The ghettos in 1744 j THTlACroVERONTHEHTLLSTOt? THEY SAY IT BtlOHQd V THE CIA ANP that thei?es au. ionps of secret V rj I find it v i ''-- mi 'a'( A lot happens In Salt Lake And its recorded the Deseret News local news section. all in 2 views on Presley To the editor: Your denunciation of Elvis Presley would have been in better taste at a later time. Surely all of us are entitled to some mourning. I believe that the Lord does indeed mark the fall of the sparrow." We may be saddened by a death because we are reminded of happier times when we were younger, enjoyed better health, were filled with hope. If Presleys life only produced froth, what do you say about performers in such shows as All In The Family, Maude. "Happy Days, etc.? They have revolutionized the comedy scene and have set a trend which is harmful to us and our children. Who are you to judge another mans donations to charity? Reassess your own values. The bell tolls for thee. Evelyn M. Shaeffer An entertainer To the editor: Your editorial entitled Elvis Presley: A Sad Saga (August 17) was in itself quite sad. Just what kind of legacy do you expect an entertainer to leave behind? Mr. Presley professed to be nothing more than an entertainer and that he certainly was. He gave a great deal of enjoyment (a major contribution in itself) to millions. Like his music or not, he opened up a wide new field of musical expression. "Heartbreak Hotel will be remembered long after his mistakes are forgotten. Jerry Cassady Fruit Heights 3131 So. 1200 West Drill team overlooked To the editor : As a person who loves sports, I watched the progress (as advertised Basketand reported) of the All-Stball & Football Games with interest. However, I was very disappointed because I think one group of individuals was overlooked and woefully neglected. That group was the Drill Team. I watched and waited, but not once did one word about them appear in the newspaper advertisements or on the TV broadcasts. This upset me very much because they have been practic All-St- ar ing very hard since the first preparing their fine routine. of July The night of the basketball game I happily paid $1 for a program because I knew theyd be mentioned there, but then came the biggest shock of all there was not one word or picture in the entire program about the Drill Team. In my opinion, this was the most unforgivable omission of all. All-St- ar N. Low Club Cir. Jerry 1849 Cottonwood Abortion: for whose sake? could be m your wa Use your Walker Bank Visa or Master Charge cards for Either one is just as good as cash and you get at least twenty-fiv- e interest-fre- e days to pay for your purchases (or by paying some interest, you can stretch your payments over several months). So, dont worry' if youre not ready with ready cash. With Visa or Master Charge, you have ready cash, already! Visa and Master Charge . . . from Walkers . . the personal touch bank. back-to-schco- back-to-scho- l. ol To the editor : A week ago, we got the news. I am pregnant. My husband and I accepted the diagnosis with less than anxious anticipation. We had thought our childbearing days had ended. We have two sons, the youngest just turned one, and is just a baby himself. Besides this, we just bought a house, and need my paycheck as urgently as my husbands. Still, we did accept the news and agreed to tighten our belts and somehow we could make it. Within the space of only four days, eight people asked if I intend to keep it. Three suggested abortion, and when my husband asked for a raise due to the circumstances, his boss just said, Why dont you just get her an abortion? I am deeply saddened. I grew up believing in this country. t. Believing in our endurance and Feeling great pride in the hardships of our forefathers. What has happened? Have we lost our will to try? Has our to endure been so ripped apart that we avoid a little inconvenience at the sake of our children? I recall, years ago, I heard the first arguments for abortion. They were not for convenience sake, or to relieve us of a little financial hardship. I recall phruses like: What if the mother's health is at stake? What if the mother is a rape victim? Have we regressed so far that our priorities place making our car payments more sacred than the lives of our offspring? Did we lose our courage when we lost our morality? We have become experts in the art of MHfRF fDFHAL INSjMANFf CORPORATION If a girl, or husband and wife do not believe they are ready for the responsibility of raising a child, there are plenty of competent, loving people waiting for a child to adopt. And new babies are usually the first go get adoptive parents. Raising children is the hardest thing I have ever tried. The challenge of their g needs is and mystifying. But the rewards are well worth the effort and heartache put into it. I feel sorry for all those mothers who let the challenge slip through their hands. But a deeper sadness goes out for all of the children who will never say, "I love you, Mom. Mrs. Caren Llewelyn Kearns Questions on shopping mall To the editor: Will the proposed new Main St. mall visually and architecturally enhance Main Street? Will the architectural character of the mall reinforce the urban character emerging on Main Street? Will the enjoyment of shopping and strolling on Main Street be heightened? What kind of a building will we have on our hands after the construction jobs created by the mal! have disappeared? Frank and Peggy Ferguson n DESERET NEWS Ab SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Editorial Office, JO E. 1st South Advertising and Circulation 143 S Main St Salt Lake City, Utah 84) 11 Established June 15. 1850. Published each evening. Second class postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah. 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