Orciani arrived on his motorcycle about half past four, the elusive Boda in the sidecar. Boda told them he had telephoned the garage man about his car; they could pick it up that evening. After the four ate supper, Orciani and Boda left on the motorcycle, having agreed to meet Sacco and Vanzetti at Elm Square in West Bridgewater.
Sacco and Vanzetti caught the 7:20 streetcar for Brockton. There they found they had to wait for the Bridgewater car. It was growing dark. Vanzetti went into a store on Main Street and bought several cigars. Then the two men had a cup of coffee in a lunchroom. While they drank it Vanzetti took out a paper and pencil and began to write the notice for the Sunday meeting in Brockton.
He continued to work on it after they boarded the Bridgewater car. Just before they reached West Bridgewater he gave the notice to Sacco and told him it was ready for the printer. At the Elm Square they waited a while under the street light by the Johnson brothers’ garage, which was shut. Then, after starting toward Bridgewater, they turned back, recrossed the square, and walked in the direction of Brockton. As they reached the railroad bridge they saw the solitary beam of a motorcycle headlight snaking toward them.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] According to his teacher, no one in Milford ever believed Sacco was guilty of murder. After his arrest the Italian community ran benefits to raise money for his defense. It also contributed to his funeral expenses.
[3] The most sensational of the anarchist criminal groups in this century was the Bonnot Gang of Paris. In December 1911, the members attacked two bank messengers on the street, shot one, grabbed their bags, and made off in a waiting car in what was apparently the world’s first motorized holdup.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE PLYMOUTH TRIAL
The first of the East Boston comrades to visit the Brockton police station was Professor Felice Guadagni, a graduate of the Institute of Naples and editor of the Gazzetta del Massachusetts. He was proud of being an educated man and in spite of his anarchism liked to call himself and have others call him Professor. He found that his two friends did not seem to understand the reason for their arrest. Vanzetti told him with a shrug that even if they were going to be deported now, they would at least go to Italy at Uncle Sam’s expense. The point of Katzmann’s opaque questioning was suddenly clear when Guadagni explained that they were being held, not because they were anarchists, not for running away to Mexico during the war, but because they were accused of murder.
When the news of Vanzetti’s predicament reached Plymouth, Vincenzo Brini gathered his friends together to decide what to do. Like most aliens they felt confused when faced with governmental authority. Whenever such difficulties came up in North Plymouth—troubles with police or courts or town officials—the Italian community turned to Doviglio Govoni. Govoni, the Plymouth court interpreter, was also the local fixer. He knew English, he knew the judges and the district attorney and the sheriff, he knew the routine of the town hall and the heads of the various departments, most of whom he called by their first names. Whether it was a tax abatement, a couple of boys caught robbing a fruit store, a matter of filing first papers, or getting a runaway son out of the Navy, Govoni was the man to go to.
After Govoni had listened to Brini and the others, he told them straight off that they must get rid of their lawyer, Callahan. What they needed was a good smart lawyer, like Judge John Vahey of the district court. Not only did Vahey know his way around Plymouth, but his brother was a big Boston attorney who might come in handy in case things didn’t turn out right.