Louis Weichmann

[L Verge]

I agree with Susan and Herb that both Mrs. Surratt and Louis Weichmann knew more than they ever let on. If Surratt lied, why didn't Weichmann sue him for slander and/or libel? And why didn't Weichmann go to a higher authority than fellow worker Gleason to report his suspicions? Anything involving a likely threat against a president warrants that. Is his failure to do either of those things just another example of weakness of character?

And, if Weichmann even overheard conversation pertaining to such a plot, he became a party to the plot. Officials today would tell him, "If you see [or hear] something, say something!" That's the moral of the Lincoln assassination story that we hope our school students take away with them after visiting Surratt House or hearing one of our staff members during an in-school program. We're fighting equally vicious gangs today, and our children are exposed to them more times than we would like to think. It's historical situations such as this that help them to understand the implications of getting in with the "wrong crowd." Instead of arguing over who lied 150 years ago, we should be considering how to turn historical fact into future improvement.