ACT II
SCENE II
Scene: The court room with the court in session. Judge Vail is on the bench; the jury sits back opaque and weary; Gluckstein waits nervously; Salter is examining Mrs. Lubin, who is on the witness stand; Macready and Capraro sit in irons, with guards on either side; Rosalie, Suvorin, Bartlet and Mrs. Lubin’s son wait to be called as witnesses. Attendants right and left of Bench Sergeant at door left.
SALTER. Now from that point will you tell the story in your own words, Mrs. Lubin?
MRS. LUBIN. From the time I went to the window?
SALTER. Yes.
MRS. LUBIN. I was looking out and I noticed there wasn’t much traffic for a Saturday afternoon, and—
SALTER. Go on.
MRS. LUBIN. Then I noticed there was a train on the track and the gates were down, but the engine was backing up again—well, there were only two automobiles south of the tracks and they could have gone on, but they didn’t because there was some kind of a fight there. One of the cars was a Ford and the other was a larger car, a Buick, I thought—
SALTER. Open or closed?
MRS. LUBIN. Open. Then there was a shot and I saw a man jump into the large car. He was carrying something I couldn’t see. And then the car went up the street around the corner. But the Ford stayed there and people came running.
SALTER. You say there was a shot, Mrs. Lubin. Did you see who fired that shot?
MRS. LUBIN [looking down]. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Who was it?
MRS. LUBIN. Macready.
SALTER. Where was he when he fired the shot?
MRS. LUBIN. At the steering wheel.
SALTER. And the other man, the one that jumped into the car, do you know who it was?
MRS. LUBIN. No, sir. His back was toward me.
SALTER. Do you see Macready in this room, Mrs. Lubin.
MRS. LUBIN. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Where is he?
MRS. LUBIN. He is one of the defendants. The tall one.
SALTER. Thank you, Mrs. Lubin.
[Mrs. Lubin starts to rise.]
JUDGE VAIL. Does the defense wish to examine?
GLUCKSTEIN. I do.
JUDGE VAIL. You may take the witness.
GLUCKSTEIN. There is one point in your story which I wish you would explain in greater detail, Mrs. Lubin. You say you saw this shooting from the front window of your apartment on the third floor?
MRS. LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. On which side of the railroad track were these two cars when the shooting occurred?
MRS. LUBIN. On the south side.
GLUCKSTEIN. Now isn’t it true, Mrs. Lubin, that there is a signal tower between your apartment windows and the tracks which entirely shuts off your view of the street south of the railroad?
MRS. LUBIN. Not entirely.
GLUCKSTEIN. Almost entirely?
MRS. LUBIN. Not so much as that.
GLUCKSTEIN. You have a son, haven’t you, Mrs. Lubin?
MRS. LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you see him in court?
MRS. LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Had you expected to see him here?
SALTER. I don’t see what that has to do with it!
GLUCKSTEIN. One moment.
MRS. LUBIN. No, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Has your son ever visited you in your apartment?
MRS. LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Is he familiar with the details of it?
MRS. LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Now, Mrs. Lubin, can you look your son in the eyes and say again that it was possible to see that shooting where you said it was—?
SALTER. I object to that. She answered that!
JUDGE VAIL. Objection sustained. Strike out the question.
GLUCKSTEIN. Very well. That is all. [He sits down.]
JUDGE VAIL. Call the next witness.
[Mrs. Lubin leaves the stand.]
SALTER. Jerome Bartlet.
ATTENDANT. Jerome Bartlet will take the stand.
[Bartlet goes up to the stand.]
ATTENDANT. Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
MACREADY. Ha! Ha!
[The Judge raps for order.]
SALTER. How old are you, Mr. Bartlet?
BARTLET. Twenty-four.
SALTER. Where are you employed?
BARTLET. At the mill. The planing mill on Front Street.
SALTER. Where were you at four-fifteen on the afternoon of April second of this year?
BARTLET. I was going home from work along the docks along Front Street.
SALTER. And did anything especial occur on that afternoon as you were going home?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Tell us what it was, please.
BARTLET. Just before I got to the railroad track I heard a shot and I thought I’d better get out of the way, so I—
SALTER. Tell us what else you saw.
BARTLET. I saw a man fall over a wheel in a Ford by the tracks. The Ford was standing still because the gates was down. And then I saw a man jump away from the Ford and get in another car—
SALTER. And then what—?
BARTLET. Then the gates was coming up, so the car went up Front Street and turned off, and then I saw a policeman jumping in a car—and it went after them—
SALTER. And the Ford stayed there?
BARTLET. Yes, sir, the man was shot.
SALTER. Did you see who did the shooting?
BARTLET. No, sir.
SALTER. Did you see the face of the man who jumped into the other car after the shooting occurred?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Have you seen him since?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Did you identify him?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Who was he?
BARTLET. I said he looked like Capraro.
SALTER. Oh, he looked like Capraro. How much did he look like him?
GLUCKSTEIN. I object to that.
JUDGE VAIL. Overruled.
SALTER. Would you say it was Capraro?
BARTLET. It was the dead image of him.
SALTER. That is all, your Honor. The prosecution rests.
JUDGE VAIL. The defense may take the witness.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where did you say you were, Mr. Bartlet, at four-fifteen on the afternoon of April second?
BARTLET. I was—I was watching the—robbery. I was going home from work.
GLUCKSTEIN. And how do you fix the time in your mind? How do you know it was four-fifteen?
BARTLET. I get out of the mill at four—on Saturdays, I do.
GLUCKSTEIN. And how do you know it was April second?
BARTLET. Well, it was the day the murder happened, because I saw it.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where were you standing when you saw it?
BARTLET. Right near the gate to the pier there.
GLUCKSTEIN. Were you on the south or the north side of the tracks?
BARTLET. The south side.
GLUCKSTEIN. On which side of the tracks did the murder occur?
BARTLET. The south side—where I was.
GLUCKSTEIN. You say you heard the shooting and then saw a man jump into a car which drove away?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you see the shooting or only hear it?
BARTLET. I heard it.
GLUCKSTEIN. And you saw this man who jumped into the car?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. And you say he looked like Capraro?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you say he was Capraro?
BARTLET. No, sir. It was the dead image of him.
GLUCKSTEIN. Oh, it was not Capraro. It was the dead image of him?
BARTLET. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. What do you mean by the dead image of him?
BARTLET. Well, it looked like him.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you mean it was a dead image that looked like him?
SALTER. Objection.
JUDGE VAIL. Sustained. You need not answer that question.
GLUCKSTEIN. Your Honor, this witness quite evidently has no notion of the meaning of the phrase “dead image.” It is my belief that his use of it will mislead the jury unless we hear an explanation of it from his own lips.
JUDGE VAIL. You must allow the jury to decide what he means, Mr. Gluckstein.
[Gluckstein bows.]
GLUCKSTEIN. When you identified Capraro as the man who leaped into the murder car, Mr. Bartlet, what was the procedure followed? Were there other men in the room, or was Capraro there alone?
SALTER. Objection.
JUDGE VAIL. Sustained. The method of identification should not concern us here. We assume that every precaution was taken by the police against the possibility of error.
GLUCKSTEIN. I do not assume that, your Honor.
JUDGE VAIL. Then you have not properly prepared for the question. We are not investigating the methods of identification customary in this state.
GLUCKSTEIN. Your Honor, my point is that the methods of identification employed by the State in securing evidence for this trial were arbitrary, unusual, and deliberately pre-arranged to incriminate the defendants.
JUDGE VAIL. You have witnesses to that effect?
GLUCKSTEIN. The prosecution is well aware that every possible hindrance has been put in the way of my obtaining such evidence!
SALTER [on his feet]. If you have evidence of anything like that!—
JUDGE VAIL. The objection is sustained. You may proceed.
GLUCKSTEIN. I enter an exception. [The Judge bows. Gluckstein turns to Bartlet.] What do you mean by dead image, Mr. Bartlet?
BARTLET. I mean it looked like him. Short and dark.
SALTER. Objection! I object to that! That question has been answered!
JUDGE VAIL. You are a little late, Mr. Salter, nevertheless the objection is sustained. Strike out the question and answer.
GLUCKSTEIN. May I point out to your Honor that his second answer does not tally with the first—
JUDGE VAIL. The second question is not admissible in the record. Proceed.
GLUCKSTEIN. In that case, I have finished with the cross-examination.
JUDGE VAIL. You have a number of witnesses to call in rebuttal, I understand?
[Bartlet leaves the stand.]
GLUCKSTEIN. Yes, your Honor. Harry Lubin.
ATTENDANT. Harry Lubin to the stand. [Mrs. Lubin’s son comes forward. He is a young countryman of twenty-two or thereabout.] Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
LUBIN. I do.
GLUCKSTEIN. How old are you, Mr. Lubin?
LUBIN. Twenty-two.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where are you employed?
LUBIN. I’ve been working on a farm up north.
GLUCKSTEIN. Are you the son of Mrs. Lubin, who testified a few moments ago?
LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Have you lived at your mother’s home recently?
LUBIN. No, sir. Not since I can remember. I’ve always lived on my uncle’s farm up-state.
GLUCKSTEIN. You have visited your mother in the apartment she now occupies?
LUBIN. Yes, sir. Quite often.
GLUCKSTEIN. How often?
LUBIN. Maybe once or twice a year.
GLUCKSTEIN. And she has lived there how long?
LUBIN. About ten years.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you find anything strange about your mother’s testimony?
SALTER. I object to that.
JUDGE VAIL. You will reframe your question.
GLUCKSTEIN. Have you ever looked out the front windows of your mother’s apartment on Front Street?
LUBIN. Yes, sir. Often.
GLUCKSTEIN. Is it possible to see the street south of the tracks from those windows?
LUBIN. Very little of it.
GLUCKSTEIN. In case you were looking out from the front of that apartment and the gates were down across the tracks, would it be possible to see the face of the driver of a car on the south side of the tracks.
LUBIN. Not usually.
GLUCKSTEIN. It would sometimes?
LUBIN. Yes, sir. If a car happened to be standing at the far side of the street.
GLUCKSTEIN. Would it be possible to see the face of a driver of more than one car at the same time?
LUBIN. I’ve never been able to.
GLUCKSTEIN. You have tried it?
LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. When?
LUBIN. After my mother identified one of the men in the robbery.
GLUCKSTEIN. And did you ask her how she happened to be able to see the face of the man in the car?
LUBIN. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you remember her answer?
SALTER. Objection. This court is hardly interested in hearsay.
JUDGE VAIL. The question is relevant, Mr. Salter. Answer the question.
LUBIN. At first she said the car was on the far side of the street—but it couldn’t have been there because that was where the Ford was standing, so she finally—
GLUCKSTEIN. Yes?
LUBIN. She finally said she didn’t see the robbery at all. She said she looked out after the shot was fired.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you ask her anything else?
SALTER. Objection!
JUDGE. Answer the question.
LUBIN. I asked her why she identified Macready if she couldn’t see him, and she said she had a reason she couldn’t tell me. And then she said—
[Mrs. Lubin is sobbing quietly.]
SALTER. Your Honor, will you allow this to continue?
JUDGE VAIL. It is quite relevant.
LUBIN. She said she’d take it back—she wouldn’t identify him in the trial.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you know why she has changed her mind again?
LUBIN. No, sir. I can’t understand it.
GLUCKSTEIN. Thank you, Mr. Lubin. That is all.
JUDGE VAIL. Has the State any question?
SALTER. No questions.
JUDGE VAIL. The witness is excused.
[Lubin goes back to his place. His Mother looks up at him, then looks away. Lubin puts his arm about her for a moment. Then sits.]
GLUCKSTEIN. Call Miss Rosalie Suvorin.
ATTENDANT. Miss Suvorin to the stand. [Rosalie comes to the witness chair.] You understand the value of an oath, Miss Suvorin?
ROSALIE. I do.
ATTENDANT. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
ROSALIE. I do.
GLUCKSTEIN. I have only a few questions to ask you, Miss Suvorin.
ROSALIE. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where were you on the evening of April second of this year?
ROSALIE. The Lyceum restaurant on Laden Street.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you during that evening see either of the defendants?
ROSALIE. I saw both of them.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you have any conversation with Mr. Macready?
ROSALIE. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Will you give us the substance of what was said?
ROSALIE. We talked about where he had been that afternoon—and about—whether it wasn’t foolish for him to get mixed up in strikes.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did Mr. Macready tell you what part he had taken in the strike that afternoon?
ROSALIE. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you know what Macready did with the gun he took from the car?
ROSALIE. He gave it to me.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you look at it?
ROSALIE. No, sir, I put it in the cash drawer.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you know whether any of the chambers had been fired when he gave it to you?
ROSALIE. No, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Now, I’m going to ask you a personal question, Miss Suvorin, because if I don’t ask it, it will be asked by the prosecution. What were your relations with Mr. Macready?
ROSALIE. We—are engaged to be married—
GLUCKSTEIN. You are still engaged to be married?
ROSALIE [looking at Macready]. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you encourage him to take part in the strike?
ROSALIE. No, sir. I asked him not to. We quarreled about that.
GLUCKSTEIN. Was it a serious quarrel?
ROSALIE. Yes, sir. I told him I wouldn’t marry him. But I would now.
GLUCKSTEIN. Have you seen him since that evening?
ROSALIE. No, sir. They wouldn’t let me.
GLUCKSTEIN. Why not?
ROSALIE. They said I was a material witness.
GLUCKSTEIN. But you are still engaged to marry him?
ROSALIE. I think so. I’m—I’m in love with him. And I’m telling him now because it’s the only chance I have—
SALTER. Objection.
GLUCKSTEIN. Quite right. I thank you, Miss Suvorin.
JUDGE VAIL. Has the prosecution any questions?
SALTER. A very few, your honor. I also, Miss Suvorin, have only a few questions I wish to ask you. Were you present, Miss Suvorin, on the evening of the robbery when Mr. Macready was arrested?
ROSALIE. Yes, I was.
SALTER. As you remember it, what was Mr. Macready’s attitude toward the arrest?
ROSALIE. His attitude?
SALTER. Yes, did he resist the arrest?
ROSALIE. No, sir.
SALTER. There has been evidence here, my dear, that Mr. Macready struck a detective. You don’t remember that?
ROSALIE. Yes, but the detective had pretended he was an I.W.W. He’d been in the strike with them.
SALTER. Then Mr. Macready did strike the detective?
ROSALIE. Yes, sir.
SALTER. Then he did resist arrest?
ROSALIE. He didn’t want to be arrested.
SALTER. No. Certainly not. Now, is it true, Miss Suvorin, that you ran to him and took part in the struggle?
ROSALIE. I don’t remember. I think so.
SALTER. Were you trying to save him from something when you did that?
ROSALIE. Yes, sir.
SALTER [menacing]. Were you trying to save him from death in the electric chair for the murder of Kendall?
ROSALIE. No, sir.
SALTER. Mr. Macready had come to you and given you this weapon and asked you to hide it.
ROSALIE. He didn’t ask me to hide it!
SALTER. Then why did you say you knew nothing about the weapon when the police found it?
ROSALIE. I was afraid.
SALTER. What were you afraid of?
ROSALIE. I was afraid they wouldn’t believe what he’d told me about it.
SALTER. You mean that you two had made up a story about this weapon and that you were afraid it wasn’t good enough?
ROSALIE. No, sir—we hadn’t made—
SALTER. Yes or no is enough.
ROSALIE. No.
SALTER. Do you mean to tell this court that you come here to give unbiased testimony in favor of the defendants?
ROSALIE. I’m telling the truth.
SALTER. Did you tell the truth to the detectives about the gun you had in the cash drawer?
ROSALIE. No.
SALTER. When did you make up your mind to change your story?
ROSALIE. I don’t know.
SALTER. You’re in love with Macready, aren’t you? You’d say anything to save him?
ROSALIE. I—
GLUCKSTEIN. I object to that!
JUDGE VAIL. Strike out the question.
SALTER. That’s all.
JUDGE VAIL. Will you call your next witness, Mr. Gluckstein? [He looks at his watch.]
GLUCKSTEIN. James Macready.
[Macready is led to the stand by an officer.]
ATTENDANT. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
MAC. Now just for a change from the prosecution’s witnesses, I do.
GLUCKSTEIN. Will you tell me, Mr. Macready, where you were at four-fifteen on the afternoon of the murder of Kendall?
MAC. I was walking north along Front Street.
GLUCKSTEIN. You left the scene of the rioting?
MAC. Yes, sir. After I got away with that gun I thought I’d better not go back. They knew I had it, and they’d have pulled me for having it.
GLUCKSTEIN. How far was the scene of the rioting from the tracks where the crime was committed?
MAC. All of a mile.
GLUCKSTEIN. The time of the rioting has been fixed by many witnesses at about four o’clock. Would it have been possible for you to reach the scene of the crime by four-fifteen?
MAC. Well, the mix-up had been going on about fifteen minutes before I left.
GLUCKSTEIN. Then you started north at about four-fifteen?
MAC. I think so.
GLUCKSTEIN. If you had walked south you’d have been going toward the scene of the robbery?
MAC. Yes, sir.
GLUCKSTEIN. But you walked north?
MAC. Yes. Well, at first I was running, you know; later I slowed down.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where were you going?
MAC. I went to Capraro’s room. We always went there, and I thought he’d telephone as soon as he got loose from the police.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did he telephone?
MAC. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. Do you know why not?
MAC. He was taking care of Nick, Nick Bardi. Nick was shot by the police, died that evening.
GLUCKSTEIN. When did you leave the room?
MAC. About seven I went over to my room to see if Capraro was there. I hadn’t heard any news and I thought we’d have dinner together.
GLUCKSTEIN. Was Caprarao there?
MAC. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where did you go after that?
MAC. I went to Suvorin’s restaurant in the Lyceum and looked in and there were two policemen eating there, so I went and ate at Joe’s. Then I went to a movie to kill time.
GLUCKSTEIN. At what time did you return to the Lyceum?
MAC. About ten-thirty.
GLUCKSTEIN. Why did you go there?
MAC. There was a strike meeting called—and I was one of the speakers. And then I wanted to see Rosalie.
GLUCKSTEIN. For any especial reason?
MAC. No, just wanted to see her.
GLUCKSTEIN. How did you happen to give her the revolver?
MAC. I didn’t want to carry it around.
GLUCKSTEIN. How did that revolver come into your possession?
MAC. A policeman threw it into the car we were riding in, and I grabbed it up and jumped out of the car.
GLUCKSTEIN. And what was your motive in that?
MAC. To prevent the police planting evidence on Mr. Waterman.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you ever fire that revolver?
MAC. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you know, while it was in your possession, that one chamber had been fired?
MAC. Yes, I looked at it in Capraro’s room.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did that mean anything to you?
MAC. Not a thing. It was just a service revolver, with one cartridge empty. Only now I think that cartridge killed Bardi.
GLUCKSTEIN. Were you present at the holdup of Kendall?
MAC. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you shoot Kendall with that service revolver?
MAC. No. I’ve never shot at anybody—at any time.
GLUCKSTEIN. One more question. Are you engaged to marry Rosalie Suvorin?
MAC. She said she wouldn’t marry me because I got into too much trouble. But if she will, I’m certainly engaged to her.
GLUCKSTEIN. Are you in love with her?
MAC [leaning forward]. Why drag that in? From the day it started I knew this trial was a railroad train. I took one look at the jury and I knew what they came in here for. Now I’ve listened to about a thousand phoney witnesses, lying like hell, and my impression is they got by a hundred per cent. It won’t make any difference whether I’m in love with a girl or not—not to them. And at that, it’s nobody’s business but the girl’s.
GLUCKSTEIN. Very well. Thank you, Mr. Macready.
JUDGE VAIL. Does the State wish to question?
SALTER. Yes, your Honor. So you believe, Mr. Macready, that you are going to be convicted?
MAC. If it can be fixed it will be.
SALTER. What makes you so pessimistic, Mr. Macready?
MAC. I’ve been around in this country some, and I’ve seen the courts work. When you get a red or an agitator in court the custom is to soak him.
SALTER. Have you ever been convicted of a crime?
MAC. Well, I’ve been convicted of belonging to the I.W.W. out in California, if you call that a crime.
SALTER. Were you guilty?
MAC. I was of being an I.W.W.
SALTER. What are the principles of the I.W.W.?
MAC. One big union, organized to break the capitalistic stranglehold on natural resources.
SALTER. Does the I.W.W. advocate violence?
MAC. Only when expedient, which is seldom.
SALTER. When does it consider violence expedient?
MAC. Listen, we’re taking up time here. If you’re interested in the I.W.W. I’ve got a book I’d like to lend you. You can read it in fifteen minutes, and when you get through, you’ll know something about economics.
SALTER. Thank you. But do you advocate violence?
MAC. I never have.
SALTER. You would if you thought it expedient?
MAC. I would. So would you. So does everybody.
SALTER. And you don’t think the workers get justice in this country?
MAC. No. Do you? Did you ever hear of a policeman hitting a capitalist over the head?
SALTER. Do you believe in our constitution?
MAC. I believe it was made by a little group of hogs to protect their own trough. Anyway, why bring up the constitution when you don’t even enforce the bill of rights? The whole damn thing’s a dead letter except the eighteenth amendment, and the only reason we make a play for enforcing that is because there’s graft in it! You use the courts and the constitution and the flag and the local police to protect capital and keep the working man in his place! Whenever there’s a law that might be to the working man’s advantage, you forget that one! That’s why you forget the bill of rights! And when some law gets passed by accident that might hamper capital, you forget that! You forgot the Sherman Act till some of you figured out how you could apply it to the Labor Unions! And then, Jesus Christ, how quick you put it on ’em!
[Judge Vail’s gavel falls.]
JUDGE VAIL. Have you no respect for the courts, sir?
MAC. Certainly not. The courts are the flunkies of the rich.
JUDGE VAIL. You realize that you are on trial in this court for your life?
MAC. Do you think you can scare me into respecting you?
JUDGE VAIL. I merely wish to warn you, sir, that in this frame of mind you make an exceedingly poor witness in your defense.
MAC. It’s my usual frame of mind.
SALTER. So you don’t advocate violence?
MAC. No. If I did I wouldn’t work through the unions.
SALTER. Isn’t it true that you and Capraro and a man named Nick Bardi, who was killed, organized the attack on the police on the afternoon of the murder?
MAC. We didn’t attack the police. They attacked us. We did nothing we didn’t have a right to do under that constitution you’re talking about.
SALTER. But you knew there would be violence?
MAC. We knew the police could always be trusted to start something.
SALTER. You had been warned not to try to reestablish your picket lines?
MAC. We had. By a corporation judge.
SALTER. Now, Mr. Macready, isn’t it true that you and Capraro started this riot to draw the police and make it easy to get away after robbing the payroll?
GLUCKSTEIN. I object.
MAC. I’ll answer it. No, it is not true.
SALTER. Why did you resist arrest?
MAC. I hit Spiker because he double-crossed me.
SALTER. Did you make no other resistance?
MAC. Maybe I did. I didn’t like the idea of being arrested.
SALTER. Have you ever heard of such a thing as the consciousness of guilt?
MAC. I didn’t feel it.
SALTER. Why did you turn away from the restaurant when you saw two policemen inside?
MAC. That’s a childish question. What would you do if you’d just been in a brush with the police?
SALTER. When you leaped from the car, you knocked a policeman down. Was that because you don’t believe in violence?
MAC. He was in my way.
SALTER. You have no respect for authority?
MAC. Respect for authority is a superstition. And the sooner everybody gets over it, the better.
SALTER. Where were you during the war?
MAC. I was in Bisbee, Arizona, at the time of the deportations. I was in Everett at the time of the I.W.W. massacre. You heard about that, I suppose? When the gallant business men of Everett came out and shot down wobblies in cold blood?
SALTER. You were a pacifist and an agitator during the war?
MAC. I was, and I am proud of it. What were you in the war?
SALTER. Do you have respect for that flag?
MAC. What does it stand for? If it stands for the kind of government we’ve got in Washington and for you and your kind, all right, I’ve got as much respect for it as I’ve got for the government in Washington—and for you and your kind! Who killed Salsedo?
SALTER. I think I understand you—and I think the court and the jury understand you. That’s all, Mr. Macready.
[There is a brief silence. Then the Foreman of the jury rises slowly, a long finger stretched out at Macready.]
FOREMAN. There’s one thing I’d like to ask. There was a bomb set off under my house last night. Now I don’t want to do anybody an injustice, but I was under the impression Mr. Macready believed in violence. If he don’t I’d like to know where that bomb came from!
[The Judge’s gavel falls.]
JUDGE VAIL. You are out of order, Mr. Schaler.
FOREMAN. All right. [He starts to sit down.]
MAC [rising]. If anybody wants to know who sets bombs in this state—
SALTER [to the guards]. Hold that man.
[The Guards leap on Mac, who submits smiling.]
MAC. What’s the matter, kid? Are you afraid of me?
[They haul him to his chair.]
GLUCKSTEIN. Your Honor, I move to call this a mistrial. The Foreman of the jury has displayed open prejudice.
JUDGE VAIL. I will take your motion under advisement. Meanwhile let us proceed with the evidence. Is it your intention to place the other defendant on the stand?
GLUCKSTEIN. One moment. [He bends over and speaks low to Capraro.] Mr. Capraro will take the stand.
[Capraro does so.]
ATTENDANT. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
CAPRARO. As near as I can.
JUDGE VAIL. There are two possible answers to that question: I do, or I do not.
CAPRARO. You must excuse me. I do.—As near as I can.
JUDGE VAIL. Do you mean that you will tell the truth to the best of your knowledge and belief?
CAPRARO. If you like that phrase better—yes, I do. But I would not wish you to believe that I would know the truth better than other men, for it seems to me that no man would know the truth exactly.
[Judge Vail smiles frigidly.]
GLUCKSTEIN. The court is aware of that, Mr. Capraro. We expect only that you tell the truth as you see it.
CAPRARO. I will try, Mr. Gluckstein.
GLUCKSTEIN. I want you to tell me first, Mr. Capraro, where you were at four-fifteen on the day of the murder of the paymaster.
CAPRARO. I think I was taking care of Nick Bardi.
GLUCKSTEIN. How did that happen?
CAPRARO. After they throw the gun in the car and Mac runs away with it, I am sitting at the wheel while they arrest Mr. Waterman, the lawyer. They seem to pay no attention to me at first, and when they leave me alone in the car there is a great deal of excitement and I just drive away. [He smiles.]
GLUCKSTEIN. Where did you drive?
CAPRARO. I drive around the block and leave the car there. I am planning to wait there until Mr. Waterman will wish me to drive him somewhere—police station—home—somewhere.
GLUCKSTEIN. And where did you go after leaving the car?
CAPRARO. I went back where the fight was and then I saw Nick Bardi trying to get up off the ground. He said he was shot at the first but he didn’t know it was bad till he fell down. So I help and we went to the car and go to his house. When the doctor comes he says to take Nick to the hospital and before long he is dead in the hospital, and I take the car to the garage where Mr. Waterman keeps it. Then I walk to the restaurant in the Lyceum.
GLUCKSTEIN. At what time did you reach the restaurant?
CAPRARO. Maybe eleven o’clock.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you make any resistance when arrested?
CAPRARO. Not much. But I am not used to it. [He smiles.]
GLUCKSTEIN. Were you present when Kendall was shot?
CAPRARO. No, I could not be.
GLUCKSTEIN. When did you first learn that he had been killed?
CAPRARO. In the newspaper, in Suvorin’s.
GLUCKSTEIN. Is it true that after you drove away from the pier you picked up Macready and drove south to carry out the holdup of the paymaster?
CAPRARO. No. To that I can say I am very sure. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. That is all, Mr. Capraro. Thank you.
JUDGE VAIL. The prosecution may take the witness.
SALTER. How much money have you in the bank, Mr. Capraro?
CAPRARO. I do not know. Not exactly. But not much.
SALTER. Do you remember depositing five thousand dollars in the City Bank on April second?
CAPRARO. That was not my money. That was relief funds.
SALTER. You could draw checks on it, couldn’t you?
CAPRARO. Only the committee.
SALTER. Is it true that the holdup occurred on April second and on that same day you deposited five thousand dollars?
CAPRARO. Yes.
SALTER. The City Bank stays open in the evening, doesn’t it?
CAPRARO. Yes, sir.
SALTER. You might have robbed the paymaster at four-fifteen and had plenty of time to put money in that bank the same day? It was possible?
CAPRARO. No, it was not possible for me. I put that money in the bank in the morning.
SALTER. Do you believe in capitalism?
CAPRARO. No.
SALTER. You believe that all property should belong to the workers?
CAPRARO. Property should belong to those who create it.
SALTER. You are a communist?
CAPRARO. I am an anarchist.
SALTER. What do you mean by that?
CAPRARO. I mean, government is wrong. It creates trouble.
SALTER. You would destroy all government?
CAPRARO. It will not be necessary. I would rather wait till it was so rotten it would rot away. That would not be so long now. [He smiles.]
SALTER. You are an anarchist?
CAPRARO. Yes.
SALTER. You are against this government of ours?
CAPRARO. Against all governments.
SALTER. Have you ever thrown a bomb?
CAPRARO. No, I would leave that for the other side.
SALTER. In 1917 you left your home to avoid the draft, didn’t you?
CAPRARO. Yes.
SALTER. You opposed the war?
CAPRARO. It was a war for business, a war for billions of dollars, murder of young men for billions.
SALTER. You broke the law in evading the draft?
CAPRARO. Yes.
SALTER. You don’t mind breaking the law?
CAPRARO. Sometimes not.
SALTER. Who decides for you what laws you will break and what laws you’ll keep?
CAPRARO. I decide it.
SALTER. Oh, you decide it!
CAPRARO. Every man decides for himself.
SALTER. There was nothing to prevent you from deciding to kill a paymaster and putting the money in the bank?
CAPRARO. No, only I. I would decide against it.
SALTER. Do you honor that flag?
CAPRARO. I did before I came to this country. Now I know it is like all the other flags. They are all the same. When we are young boys we look on a flag and believe it is the flag of liberty and happy people—and now I know it is a flag to carry when the old men kill the young men for billions. Now I look at that flag and I hear it saying to me, “How much money have you? If you have plenty of money—then I promise you paradise—I will give you more—I will give you the justice and freedom of your neighbours! But if you are poor I am not your flag at all.”
SALTER. What is your religion, Mr. Capraro?
CAPRARO. I have none.
SALTER. You are an atheist?
CAPRARO. Yes.
SALTER. You are then an outlaw, bowing neither to the standards of God nor men?
CAPRARO. I have committed no crime.
SALTER. And do you expect us to believe that, Mr. Capraro? What, in all solemnity, in the name of God, prevents you from committing crime?
CAPRARO. Myself. My own heart.
SALTER. You set yourself above God, above all law, above all control?
CAPRARO. I have met nobody I would trust to decide for my own soul.
SALTER. Your Honor, we have stumbled here upon a subject more serious than robbery, more serious than murder. If I had known where my questions were leading, I should have hesitated before asking them. Perhaps I should apologize—
MAC. You’re goddam right you should! [The gavel falls.]
CAPRARO. Is there any reason in your constitution why I should not believe as I think? Is there any reason in your constitution why I should worship your God or your flag?
SALTER. That is all, your Honor.
MAC. For Christ’s sake, Amen.
[Capraro leaves the stand.]
JUDGE VAIL. Does this conclude your case, Mr. Gluckstein?
GLUCKSTEIN. No, your Honor. I have one more witness I should like to call.
JUDGE VAIL. Very well.
GLUCKSTEIN. Michael Suvorin.
ATTENDANT. Michael Suvorin. To the stand. [Suvorin rises, seats himself in the witness chair. Sheriff Henry, an elderly, hard-faced man, enters and sits quietly in the rear of the witnesses. Spiker takes a memorandum to Salter, who studies it.] Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? so help you God?
SUVORIN. I do.
GLUCKSTEIN. What is your occupation, Mr. Suvorin?
SUVORIN. I am the keeper of the Lyceum restaurant on Laden Street.
GLUCKSTEIN. How long have you been in business there?
SUVORIN. Ten or twelve years.
GLUCKSTEIN. Where were you at four-fifteen on the afternoon of April second of this year?
SUVORIN. Near the railroad tracks on Front Street.
GLUCKSTEIN. How did you happen to be there?
SUVORIN. It is on the way to the produce markets. I was buying supplies for the restaurant.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you witness the murder of Kendall?
SUVORIN. I did.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you see the men who committed the crime?
SUVORIN. I did.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you see the shot fired?
SUVORIN. I did.
GLUCKSTEIN. Could you identify the bandits?
SUVORIN. I could.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you see Capraro there?
SUVORIN. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. Did you see Macready there?
SUVORIN. No.
GLUCKSTEIN. If they had been there, would you have seen them?
SUVORIN. Yes.
SALTER. I object, your Honor. I wasn’t informed of this.
JUDGE VAIL. Do you wish a postponement?
SALTER. No. I merely wish to call the attention of the court to the somewhat arbitrary methods of the defense.
JUDGE VAIL. Proceed.
GLUCKSTEIN [smiling]. That is all, your Honor.
JUDGE VAIL [to Salter]. Do you wish to question?
SALTER. Well—a few questions. [Haltingly.] Your name is Suvorin?