Louis Weichmann

[L Verge]

"Risvold described his editing of the book, which was minimal, in the forward. You can probably contact his descendants and query them, but do you really think he would have intentionally distorted or destroyed historical documents for a buck, which he had plenty of already?"

I re-read the foreword several days ago (and was pleased to remember that he had given great credit to James O. Hall for his assistance). Mr. Hall would have kept him on the straight and narrow in editing, I believe; but there are times when meanings are misconstrued by editors (and the originator is not around for clarification). Back in the early-1970s, publishers also had editors on staff who could delete or rewrite. The original publication was through Knopf & Sons (with whom Hall had a contract), and they were one of the best in the publishing field at that time. We can only hope that their editor(s) were diligent in keeping to the original as much as possible.

In answer to your other question about editorial ethics: I certainly hope that his work was not driven by capitalism (which I support), but once a businessman, always a businessman?

I assume that Louis had rejected his church when he married Annie? They were married in an Episcopal Church. Also, Catholics and societies which operate according to rituals have generally been like oil and water - especially in the 19th and early-20th centuries. For Louis to accept and put up with his wife's devotion to the Knights Templar seems unusual to me. More power to him if he was a man ahead of his times in accepting his wife's ideas. Just a thought: How did Annie justify taking communion in her church when the Episcopalians use wine? My great-grandparents, the Huntts, were members of a similar temperance society known as the Sons of Jonadab, but they were staunch Methodists who preferred communion grape juice.