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I
i
The Flanders Field
Poppy
“Poppies in the whe^* fields, < p
the pleasant hill of FRANCE,
Reddedning in the ium in br3>-e
that bids them nod and dance."
So sang a soldier poec of tbe
A. E. F. that blazing summer of
1918, when an unleashed Americau
army was writing Victory into our
history. He sang of the poppies
because it was through machine
gun raked fields of them that the
doughboys plucked them and wore
them on their helmets as they forg
ed ahead; and we wear them to
remember—
"Poppies in the wheat fields, how
still besides them lie
Scattered forms that stir not when |
the star shell burst on high; !
Qently bending over them beneath
the noon’s soft glance
Poppies in the wheat fields on the ’
ransomed fields of FRANCE.’
Reddening in the summem breeze!
that bids them nod and dance.’’
So sang a soldier poet of the A. E.
F. that blaging summer of 1918,
when an unleashed American army
was writing Victory into our his
tory. He sang of the poppies be-,
cause it was through machine-gun
raked fields of them that the dough
boys plucked them and wore them
on their helmets as they forged
ahead; and we wear them to re
member—
"Poppies in the wheat fields, how
still beside them lie
Scattered forms that stir not
when the star shell burst on
high;
Gently bending over them beneath
the moon’s soft glance
Poppies in the wheat fields on the
ransomed fields of FKANCL. ’
The Flanders poppy which pro
vided cheer to the marching soidiers
and gently watched over the fallen
heroes, grew amidst complete de
vastation on the battlefields oi
France—beween abandoned trench
es and even in No Man’s Land—thus
typifying the courage of the men
who fell. Because immediately aft
er the war where the battle had
been the fiercest and the bloodshed
the greatest the poppies grew most,
profusely, the French women tell
you today that the poppy is signifi
cant of the sacrificial biood of the
men who fell. It is because oi
this close association to the su-.
preme sacrifice made by the men j
who fell in France, that the poppy
oas become the memorial flower of
the American Legion and the Am
erican Legion Auxiliary, and is sold j
annually by these organisations to1
raise money to aid those for whom
the war is not yet over.
On Memorial Day poppies or pop
py wreathes will be reverently placed
by these two organizations upon the
graves of the comrades who gave
their lives that we might live. On
the tomb of the Unknown Soldier
will bd placed a wreath of thous
ands of poppies sent from every
State and also from the Alaska De
partment. The Petersburg Unit
sent its share and is represented
in this wreathe. It is also doing its
bit in this work of earning money
to help the disabled soldiers. The
ladies of the local Unit ordered 500
poppies wrhich they are offering for
sale this week at 10 cents a piece.
Many of the business houses are:
purchasing a number of them to
use in their Memorial Decorations.
The poppy has a double mission—
it reminds ihe public that the war
is not yet over for many, and it helps
to raise funds for relief work for
the disabled sodliers and their fam
ilies. All over the land Memorial
Day the little red poppy of he Am
erican Legion and Auxiliary will
breathe you its message:
BUY ML: 1 stand for service. 1
enable 1 cent to be earned by a dis
heartened service man in the hospi
tal needed it, and all of you pay
tor me goes for service for those
whom the war is not yet over.
BUY ML.
WEAK ML: 1 represent the sa
criiicial blood of the men who fell
iu inlanders Fields. 1 am a Mem
orial to all who died in service. In
reverence and understanding, WEAK
Me!
. PULITZER URIZE EDITORIAL. .
The Advisory Board of the Pulitz
er School of Journalism made the
annual award for the best editorial
to F. Lauriston Bullard, “We sub
mit—” published in the Boston
Herald, October 26, 1926.
The editorial is herewith printed.
In our humble opinion Nicolo
Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti
ought not to be executed on the
warrant of the verdict returned b>
a jury on July 14, 1921. We do
not know whether these men are
guilty or not. We have no sympa
thy with half-baked views which
they profess. But as months have
merged into years and the great de
bate over this case has continued,
our doubts have solidified slowly in
to convictions, and reluctantly we
have found ourselves compelled to
reverse our original judgment . We
hope the Supreme Judicial Court
will grant a new trial on the basis ,
of the new evidence not yet exam- j
ined in open court. We hope, the
Governor will grant another re j
prieve to Celistino Madeiros so that
his confession may be canvased in j
open court. We hope, in case our
supreme bench finds itself unable to
legally authorize a new trial, that
our Governor will call to his aid a
commission of disinterested men of ■
the highest intelligence and charact-!
er to make an independent investi- j
gat ion in his ebhalf and that the;
Governor himself at first-hand will
participate in that examination if, 1
as a last resort, it shall be under
taken.
We have read the full decision in
which Judge Webster Thayer, who >
presided at the original trial, rend
ers his decision against the applica
tion for a new trial, and we submit
that it carries the tone of the advo
^at rather than the arbitrator. At
the outset he refers to “the verdict j
ct a jury approved by the Supreme
Court of this Commonwealth” and
later he repeates that sentence. We
The Supreme Court never approved
lUat verdict. What the Court did
is stated in its own words thus: “We
have examined carefully all the ex
ceptions in so fa? as argued, and
finding no error the verdicts are to
stand.” The Supreme Court did not
vindicate the verdict the verdict.
The court certified that, whether
the verdict was right or wrong, the
trial judge performed his duty un
der the law in a legal manner. The
Supreme Court pressed no judgment
whatever as to the validity of the
verdict or the guilt of the defend
ants. Judge Thayer knows this, yet
allows himself to refer to the ver
dict as "approved by the Supreme
Court.”
We submit, also, that Judge Thay
er’s language contains many innu
endos which surely are unfortunate
in such a document. The petition
for a new trial is based in part on
the affidavits o ftwo men, Letherman
and Weyand, connected respectively
with the United States Government
for thirty-six years and eight years,
and both now holding responsible
positions out of the Federal Service.
Judge Thayer says that one of these
men “seems for some reason to be
willing to go the limit in his affida
vits against the Government of the
United States,” and he refers to
“prejudiced aflidavits, which appear
to be easily obtained nowadays.”
The changes are rung on certain
phrases also, as “fraudulent conspir
acy between these two great govern
ments,” meaning the Governments
of the United States and Massachu
setts. The judge asserts a conspir
acy charge which was not made by
counsel for the defense; he asks
“who pumped this curiosity into Ma
deiros;” he compliments the prose
cution and refers slightingly to
counsel for the defense. „
We submit that the evidence, if
any, in the files of the Department
of Justice having any bearing on
this case ought to be examined in
open court, or examined in private
by the United States Attorney Gen
eral and reported upon by him be-1
fore this case shall finally be decid
ed. We have no idea what the files
may contain. Mr. Weyland said in
his affidavit: “The conviction was
the result of co-operation between
the Boston agents of the Department
of Justice and the District Attornty.
We do not know that this is true,
but we know there was coopera
tion; the department and the at
torney joined in placing a spy in the
cell next door to Sacco’s, and the
prosecution admitted the fact in
court.
Now as to Maderios: A criminal
with a bad record, true,and under
sentence of death. But the Govern
ment relied in part on one of his
confessions to convict him of mui
der. His evidence was accepted
against himself when his own life
was at stake. His evidence now is
offered in behalf of two other men
whose lives also are at stake. We
submit that Madeiros should be
placed in open court, facing a jury
and a judge, and subjected to ex
amination and cross-examination.
He may not be lying, but the criter
ion here is not what a judge may
think about it, but what a jury
might think about it. The question
is, Would the new evidence be a
real factor with a jury in reaching
a decision.
We submit that doubt is cast on
the verdict ofthe jury by the im
portant affidavit made after the trial
by Capt. C. H. Proctor of the State
Police. On the stand, testifying as
an expert, his evidence was under
stood by the jury and the judge to
be that the fatal bullet issued from
Sacco’s pistol. Careful examination
cf the record discloses curious facts.
Capt. Proctor did not here reply to
direct questions. His affidavit states
what the record implies, that a de
vice was fixed up in advance for
dodging direct answer to a direct
question. His replies were under
stood to mean that he believed the
bullet came from that weapon. He
allowed that impression to go
abroad. But his affidavit contra
dicts that testimony. Now, when
the Supreme Court dealt with that
point it expressed no opinion as to I
i
whether or not an “ambiguious ans
wer” had been arranged to ‘‘obtain
a conviction.” The court ruled only
that the trial judge had decided
that no such prearrangement had
been made and that the Supreme
Court could not “as a matter of
law” set aside the ruling of the trial j
judge.
For these and other reasons we
hope that the resources of our laws
will prove adequate to obtain a new
trial. Let it be remembered that
the new trial is asked for on the
basis of evidence never before the
Supreme Court previously. The
court has ruled on exceptions to the
,pld trial, never on all evidence for
a new one. If on a new trial the
defendants shall again be found
guilty we shall be Infinitely better
off than If we proceed to execution
on the basis of the trial already
held; the shadow of doubt which
abides in the minds of large num
bers of patient investigators of this
whole case will have been removed.
And if on second trial Sacco and
Vanzetti should be declared guiltless
everybody would rejoice that no
monstrous injustice shall have been
done. We submit these views with
no reference whatever to the person
ality of the defendants and without
allusion now to that atmosphere
of radicalism of which we heard so
much in 1921.
FACING THE TRUTH
“Whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so un
*o them.” Did every man live in
this world as I live, what kind of a
world would this be, is a mighty
fair question to ask oneself each
day upon rising from a night’s r it.
Quality
and
Quantity
For less at
The
Modern Grocery
Buy at Star Bakery and Save Mo /
Fresh Doughnuts, Cup Cakes, ' ’ooS*
and Cinnamon Rolls
Always on Hand Fresh
STAR BAKERY
■■■■■■■■■■MB
AMERICA FIRST arrives in Pe
tersburg Friday morning, leaving
for Juneau via Kake and way ports
about noon.
HAHOW TRANSPORTATION
COMPANY
Cover slips over top-fits tight-won't fall off
Now the new improved
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Here the cover is back on
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This policy of carefulness led Hills Bros, to
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HI^LS BROS
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a new and better can for
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IThis is the way the new Hills
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