Bartolomeo Vanzetti Seven months before his death, Bartolomeo Vanzetti wrote this letter to Alice Stone Blackwell. "Things are going from bad to worse," he told Blackwell, a frequent correspondent of Vanzetti's, about his view of the world. Blackwell was an early pioneer for womens' rights and became chief editor of the Woman's Journal, the publication of the American Woman Suffrage Association, which was founded by her mother. Blackwell was also a prolific translator and crusader for civil rights, and helped found the Massachusetts League of Women Voters. Vanzetti describes other executions in the prison and rails against the political will of Governor Alvan Fuller. "The justice and the injustice have a common source; the man's respect of himself and of the dignity of the human person," Vanzetti tells Blackwell. "If from these two loves and respects innate in man, follow plans and deeds of equalities in production and distribution, consideration and rights, that is justice." Months later, in the final letter Sacco and Vanzetti wrote from their cells before they were put to death, they thanked their supporters for standing by them. "We have no hope," they wrote. "Be all as of one heart in this blackest hour of our tragedy. And have heart." January 10, 1927. Charlestown Prison

DEAR COMRADE BLACKWELL:

I believe that I have answered to your good wishing card of Christmas. This year I received many presents and a lot of correspondence and money for Christmas and New Years. After, I received The Life of Debs and later, Essays on Revolt by Jack London. . . .

For the last six Christmases we have had moving pictures and a good dinner, after which we remained locked in our cells 'til the next morning. That was my sixth Hell-Christmas in prison. I look back; the past was bad enough, I thought, but the worst is yet to come. A bitter Christmas it was. On the morning of the first day of the New Year, the Clives Company recited the comedy A Pile of Money here, for us. It has been very amusing. Mr. Clive comes once yearly to entertain us. It is very good of him. After the comedy, we have had a full hour of yard. Then we got a good dinner with rice pudding, and were locked until the next morning. This, I thought, is my seven years of imprisonment, for the two crimes of which I am entirely innocent. How many other years will I have to drag in chain before the death will deliver me? A black self-query, I tell you.

I know perfectly well that within four months, Massachusetts will be ready to burn me. I know that the magistrature first, then the State, can do with me what they please and choose. Well, when I mentally put myself in their place and them in mine, I find myself embarrassed to choose of the two things; either give him life or electrocute him. Everything considered, there are many reasons pro and con to both of them. "To electrocute him" it may be unsafe, though it would free us of further troubles; to give him "life," that too has its inconveniences. That Massachusetts is predetermined to deny me the last right, and to kill me in one way or another, I am positive of it.

So every hope to get reparation and freedom has been killed in me by each and all the words and deeds of Massachusetts' black gowned, puritanic, cold-blooded murderers. On the first day of the 1927, I formulated the wish, that I may get out within this year, no matter if alive or dead. And I hope with all my force that this will come true. By it, I do not mean suicide.

Very often I turn around my mind's eyes to see, contemplate and study the world even and mankind. The spectacle is extremely repugnant and heart tearing. At it, one does not know if to love or if to hate, if to sympathize or if to despise humanity.

Things are going from bad to worse. War in China, Nicaragua, revolution in Java, Mexico, Brazil; the Balkans on foot of war; France and Italy mobilizing one against the other; England, United States, France and Japan in a crazy rivalry of armament; South America and United States in danger of war; Italy under the fascist dictatorship; Russia under the Bolsheviki one; scandals, corruption, crimes, diseases, de- generation, greed, hatred, unconsciousness, prejudices, and insanity sweeping the earth. I wonder how it all will end. There is but one system, one philosophy through which I can explain to myself the causes of this universal tragedy and the possible remedies, which of course, should be prompted by the human voluntarism: It is the Philosophy of the Miseria by Proudhon. I have not yet read this book in whole, but only some fragments of it here and there, now and then, in our journals. But having translated selected pages of The War and the Peace by Proudhon, I can understand the former book because the latter is based on the same criteria and theories as the first. Always and everywhere we find that pauperism is the first cause of war. The first of the rights is the right of the force, all other rights spring from it as branches from a sapling. That is the reason why, whenever and however is created a situation unresolvable by any or all the other rights, the single and the collectively recur to force. "Equality is the condition sine qua non of justice." The justice and the injustice have a common source; the man's respect of himself and of the dignity of the human person. If from these two loves and respects innate in man, follow plans and deeds of equalities in production and distribution, consideration and rights, that is justice. If we, because of these loves and respects are led to establish privileges for us and those whom we love more at the expense of other, that is injustice.

The destiny of man on earth, is poverty. To live little, to work hard, to always learn; the passion for the justice and the philosophy, to sustain and abstain, such is our destiny. We have war because we are not sufficiently heroic for a life which does not need war.

Sublime, the Proudhon pictures of the consequences of pauperism and of wealth; both fatal. But I believe that the translation will not be published. I tell too much truth.

In the first 30 minutes of January 6th, the Massachusetts State killed three men in the electric chair....

Coolidge, out of a false fame of a good strike breaker has formed his political "horse of Troy."

Fuller, to be president, will burn us all; all 7 of us. I would like you to read his "Why I Believe in Capital Punishment" edited in Success of December 1926. You will see that he claims to have freed Massachusetts of criminality and that he believes to appear as a saviour in merit of the then-future executions.

On January 5th, I learned that the 3 men will be killed immediately after midnight. Because the participants and witnesses of the execution use to eat after it, at the warden's house, three hams had been cooked in our kitchen, and they were carried to the warden's house on January Sth. So we knew. I wished and tried to keep awake that night to attend to the execution from my cell. But, I fell asleep against my will, and at my awakening I was told of the triple murder. Three pair of eyes for one pair, three lives for one life. Massachusetts, Fuller that preaches to the children, the golden rule and the Sermon on the Mount, practiced a pre-Mosaic custom. What a chapter I could write -- maybe I will write it -- on this triple cold-blooded murder.

But one must be crazy or shameless to boast himself of having saved Massachusetts from criminality, when criminality has never been so wide spreaded, bold and terrible as it is now. Just after the execuction, an orgy of crimes took place in Mass. Two days after in Quincy, Mass., two children, 13 and 15 year old girls, held up a woman. In Middleboro, a convict cut the head of a guard. Then came the battle of the hijackers. These are but few of the many crimes of every nature committed in this State after that triple execution -- 5 days.

Now, after that, everybody said that Sacco and Vanzetti will go. Most of my fellow prisoners were glad of it, and you should have seen how they looked at me the day after the execution. The friendly ones have not had the courage to look into my face. It is my belief that Fuller refused to commute the sentence of the Carbarn slayers and of the negro, previously burnt, in order to give no reasons or excuse to our friends, who would ask for his "grace." So, the negro, 1, went, the 3 boys went, Madieros will be the 5th, Jerry the Pole the sixth, then will be our turn: total 8 men burnt.

Jerry was convicted without evidences. Two days after, two young boys killed and robbed a grocery man. So we have another three candidates for the electric chair. Someone said that if Fuller will be convinccd of our innocence, he will go to the limit in our behalf. I understand that Fuller does not want to be convinced, and who can convince a man who refuses to be convinced? They must kill us to save the dignity and honor of their Commonwealth. But out of love for himself, Fuller could "grace us" if he will deem it good for himself -- if not, not.

These are my uncharitable opinions, beliefs and expectations. I am ready and willing to recognize my wrong -- were I wrong, and to ammend for it.

Two weeks ago, Comrade Donovan was here, and told me that you wish me to write of my mother. Well, I know it. I am far from a proper condition to write of my mother, and I would never be satisfied of what I may write of her, even if I could write it in the third rhyme with the ability of Dante. Yet, I have decided to write you of my mother, for you as a token of my affection and gratitude to you -- it will be my present to you for the new year. Please accept it heartily.

I will try to be as brief as possible. But my mother has lived in an environment totally foreign to you and, fortunately, also, her life experiences have been very different from yours. Therefore, I shall write you very much of her, in order to give you a clear presentation of my mother.

The following is the final letter Sacco and Vanzetti wrote to their supporters, two days before they were executed.

August 21, 1927. From the Death House
of Massachusetts State Prison

DEAR FRIENDS AND COMRADES OF THE
SACCO-VANZETTI DEFENSE COMMITTEE:

After tomorrow mid-night, we will be executed, save a new staying of the execution by either the United States Supreme Court or by Governor Alvan T. Fuller.

We have no hope. This morning, our brave defendder and friend Michael Angelo Musmanno was here from his return from Washington, and told us he would come back this afternoon if he would have time for it. Also Rosa and Luigi were here this morning, and they too, promised us to return this afternoon. But now it is 5:30 P.M. and no one returned yet. This tells us that there is no good news for us, for, if so, some of you would have hurried to bring them to us. It almost tells us that all your efforts have failed and that you are spending these remaining few hours in desperate and hopeless efforts to evitate our execution. In a word, we feel lost! Therefore, we decided to write this letter to you to express our gratitude and admiration for all what you have done in our defense during these seven years, four months, and eleven days of struggle.

That we lost and have to die does not diminish our appreciation and gratitude for your great solidarity with us and our families.

Friends and Comrades, now that the tragedy of this trial is at an end, be all as of one heart. Only two of us will die. Our ideal, you our comrades, will live by millions; we have won, but not vanquished. just treasure our suffering, our sorrow, our mistakes, our defeats, our passion for future battles and for the great emancipation.

Be all as of one heart in this blackest hour of our tragedy. And have heart.

Salute for us all the friends and comrades of the earth.

We embrace you all, and bid you all our extreme good-bye with our hearts filled with love and affection. Now and ever, long life to you all, long life to Liberty.

Yours in life and death,
BARTOLOMEO VANZETTI
NICOLA SACCO

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