Comment on the repercussions of the Sacco Vanzetti case in America and abroad are numerous in the editorial columns of the Yiddish press.
The “Jewish Morning Journal,” conservative paper, commenting on the Geneva riots states: “Insofar as the hatred of America comes to the surface because of the Sacco Vanzeti tragedy, this sad event also has a useful aspect. If the first riot which took place in Geneva will have as a result that 10,000 Americans who would have visited Geneva will now avoid it, America will lose very little by it. At any rate much less than Geneva. If a part of the three-quarters of a billion dollars which American tourists spend annually in Europe will remain at home or will be spent in such places where they are not so eager to display hatred and contempt of guests from this side of the ocean, we will be the last to be aggrieved about it.
“The longer the excitement will continue among the immigrants here, the easier will it be for the enemies of immigration to carry through at the next Congress any restriction which they will propose. They feel themselves on certain ground because millions of American workers and farmers remained indifferent. The president of the American Federation of Labor asked for either clemency or a new investigation and in this millions of Americans of all classes agree with him.
“The indignation is limited to such places and such circles where America was not too popular even before. It is an unpleasant event no matter from what side we regard it, but we are sufficiently optimistic to believe that the relations between our Republic and the great outside world will not be greatly influenced by the noise which has been raised or which will still be raised in certain centers.
“So far as we are concerned we believe in the Talmudic rule: ‘After court has acted, there is no complaint.’ And we regret with many others, the ‘threats’ which have contributed to the result more than any other single cause.” the paper writes.
“The Day.” liberal paper, in an editorial entitled. “The Fight Continues” states that the Sacco Vanzetti case has strengthened the belief of those who are opposed to capital punishment.
“We know Governor Fuller did not allow public opinion to dictate to him. He acted in accordance with his own view. This does not prove, however, that the giant, public opinion, is conquered and that the death of the two condemned men has disarmed the giant. Just the opposite, now let the real fight begin, if not for definite persons, it is for definite principles, namely: for the abolition of capital punishment for all citizens and non-citizens alike, for all time.”
The “Jewish Daily Forward,” socialist paper, in an editorial entitled: “The Last Act of the Bloody Tragedy” says: “We should not forget to express recognition and gratitude to the thousands of intellectuals in the country to the millions of the great American masses who have demanded justice for Sacco and Vanzeiti, who have not ceased for seven years in the fight for the two lives and who, at the last moment, made such a desperate attempt to stay the hand of the executioner. We should not forget that the fight for Sacco and Vanzetti has awakened the conscience of the American people.
“On the list of those who demanded a new trial, there are the names of the most prominent Americans, of the most exalted American spirits, and on the list of the newspapers which have applied all their force to obtain justice for Sacco and Vanzetti there are the names of the greatest and most influential in the country. The tragedy of Sacco and Vanzetti has shattered the entire world Certainly the prestige of America, the good name of the country, will suffer greatly. The attacks which are now being made in the press of the world will have their repercussions in one way or another on the political, economic and social relations between America and other countries. This is the price which the entire country will pay for the dead committed in Massachusetts,” the Forward writes.
The “Jewish Daily News,” Orthodox paper, writes: “The great drama is ended, the machinery of justice is satisfied. But the feeling of justice will long remain unsatisfied and doubting. We can only sincerely wish that this feeling of doubt will not be trasformed into a feeling of bitterness and an accusation against the entire American justice, which is not responsible for the justice of Massachusetts.”
The New York “World,” terms the efforts of those who took an unselfish interest in the Sacco Vanzetti case a patriotic service.
Prof. Felix Frankfurter, Professor of Law at Harvard, who wrote a book on the case, is included among those listed by the “World” who were willing to stake their reputations, to sacrifice their comfort, to face danger, in an effort to get at the truth.
“Among those who gave freely, and at great cost to themselves, three names stand out,” the “World” writes. “They are William J. Thompson, Arthur D. Hill and Felix Frankfurter. They failed in their efforts to have the case retried, but they placed indelibly on the record the fact that there are men in Massachusetts now, as in the past, who are ready to uphold the rights of the humblest and the most despised. Those who are prepared to generalize glibly about the conservative classes in Boston and about Harvard might remember these three names. For they stand very high and very honorably in the roster of patriots.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
