Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-06-21
The Picture o. Betsy Ross


spapcr of June 13 requires some cor
: rcction, which ask you to make. The
\ article Is under a two. column title and
a cut .5"Savior Of Betsy Ross House to-
be- honored on Flag Day"
All due respect to the old gentle
man it refers Co., but he is not the
savior. The gentleman casually re-
fcrred to us a member of the i. .. 5.
If \. who would have n performance
is tho one and only man deserving Of
ut It was for Charles II. Weisgerbcr
to conceive the plan and all the work.
ings connected with it. 1t is his pic
ture, child of his talent, that has
made the membership certificate attrac-
tive and the enlargement of the same
picture the prize that has made peo.
pie work to help the, cause. =,
The same picture was shown and won
distinction at the Chicago Exposition in
1893. 1t is the very first picture ever
painted on the subject and is the only
authentic picture Of Betsy Ross. No
photo being in existence, he made n
composite picture of living descendants
out of which came the picture ns we
sce it. The descendants avowpd, it, q
wonderful likeness and indorscd it us
the authentic picture Of Betsy Ross.
The picture itself being Il master
piece and the subject one close to every
American heart was in demand. Up
until the time he withdrew 1t to place
wholly to the cause of saving the
'house" he received hundreds Of dollars
n month for the use Of the picture for
exhibiting purposes alone.
For the last twenty five years he
has turned his back, heart. and talent
TO his calling, to personally supervise
the work, hiding under the title of
secretary and manager, never mention
asking and hoping only that the city
will some day awaken to its response
bility and give the glorious old house
the setting it deserves and preserve It
for posterity. II.
Philadelphia, June Is. 1922.
18th Amendment Here to Stay
To the Editor Of the Ercnino Public Ledger:
Sir-Your recent editorial headed
''Prohibition Is Fiction: The United
States Is Wet" was rather an astound-
ing statement to make In view Of the
existence of the Eighteenth Amendment
to the Constitution of the United
States, .s..
The Volstead act binds all the citi-
zcns of the United States, though not
the Government itself; and this on the
theory that the Government is supreme
and, therefore, not answerable to any
one for its own acts Under this line
Of reasoning. Schlesinger's opinion to
the chairman of the Shipping Board
, upon the far-fetched doctrine that the
Volstead act only applies to the United
States territory on land and not upon
the sea,
Mr.. Lasker has the audacity to say
that business expediency requires the
sale Of liquor on the vessels controlled
by the Shipping Board. l admire his
courage. At least he is frank in his
position. Why stop here? There arc
quite a number Of things which are of
value from q dollar and cents point of
view, but prohibition was created be-
cause liquor is a destructive instrument
to the wcll-being of the human race.
TO this may add the sale of narcotics,
which In itself was formerly very val
liable industry, that Is, from a CONNER
cial law viewpoint, but because of its
disastrous results the Government has
seen fit to prevent its sale and consump-
tion, and the country at large Is none
the worse of from such restrictions.
1t Is an established fact that liquor
has caused considerable misfortune and
in many instances has destroyed the
very family life itself---the very es-
sence of our social structure--and. be.
cause of such tendencies the Govern
ment has advisedly seen fit to prevent
the sale of such alcoholic liquors. 1t Ii
measure for the best interests of the
majority of the public at the expense Of
ihe smaller number. The lesser part OF
the community must suffer for the well !
being of the majority. The difficulty
seems to lie in the fact that the change