The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-14
READ BOTH SIDES !


We see now what a man may come to who
depends entirely upon the New York Tribune
for information. Mr.. Beechers defense of
his course in the marriage and at the funeral
of Mr.. Richardson. and of his very strange
language, prejudging criminal case, decar-
ing the wife and the deceased utterly blame
less, and denouncing the imprisoned husband,
was that he had not read the papers about the
case and depended for his information upon
the editors of the Tribune. Now the editors
who informed him are very honest and worthy
persons, but, like all other human beings,
they are sometimes influenced in their judg-
ments by personal feeling, sympathy or pre-
iudice 1t was at the house of one of the
editors of that paper, it appears, that Mrs.
Mcfarland, while yet undivorced, received
many visits from Mr.. Richardson, and at
that house, still being the wife of another,
she occupied with Richardson adjoining
rooms there being no room between them.
1t was there that she was seen by servant to
put her arms about his neck and kiss him
though still the wife of another. Another of the
editors of the Tribune was the principal wit
| ness in obtaining the divorce, and came from
| New York to Indiana for that purpose. No
blame to her for that 1t was not only right
| it was her duty to testify to the facts. But
| her prominence on that occasion rendered it
quite natural that the sympathies of Mrs. Cal
|
houn who applied to Mr.. Beecher to solem-
nize the marriage. Had Mr.. Beeoher known
that the divorce was obtained in Indiana, sim
| ply because there was not alleged to be any
| ground for it under the laws of New York, he
might have hesitated before speaking SO
strongly as he did. But, as he says, he relied
entirely upon statements made to him by his
friends of the Tribune and with that paper
| Mr.. Richardson was connected. Did it never
occur to the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher that
in such case it would be we'll to hear bott
sides
Not because his informants were not trust
worthy, but because they were partisans in the
nature of the case-because their natural sym
pathies were strong! The informants upor
whom Mr. Beecher relied are indeed mos
honorable persons, to whose statements h'
had reason to give great confidence. Bu
what one Of us all is not liable to be warped
in Judgment by personal feelingI To sa.
that the editors of the Tribune may have been
is not to question their integrity-iti is simpl.
to say that they we're human. Knowing tina
they were human, and knowing their natura
sympathies, Mr.. Beecher would have done
wisely had he insisted upon reading both sides
He did not, and is in trouble
Good people and honest people get int
trouble in exactly the same way every day
They hear one side of story, are conten
with that, and instantly become violent par
: tisans If the truth happens to be agains
> them, of course they suffer. But 1t serve
them right. They ought to have read bot
9 sides No man has any business to shlrk tn
:. responsibility of having an opinion OF nj
a own. If he hears one side only, he accept
: the opinion of somebody else, and suffers nj
. influence to be used as tool by another
Mr.. Beechers possession of large inhuenc
@ imposes on him commensurate responsibility
which he cannot shake off So every man o
! woman who has influence, be it large
E small issbound to direct it by an independeI
opinion, not borrowed from any partisan, br
formed from knowledge of the case. An
the case always means more than one side
the case
It But it is prevailing vice of the times 7
It permit somebody else to do our thinking t(
!, us; to hear one side, adopt that, and not II
}. frequently to refuse to hear any other, VIII
,t fierce bigotry proportioned to the marrow
l. ness of information in which it originate
# Men who hear only one side are always blgot
a. Mr. Beecher would never have blazed out
I, violently against those who criticized him
!. he had known the whole truth Exactly u
/ same spirit is engendered in politics.
Of won't have the nasty thing in my house! sa
Is a radical of Democratic sheet, able and WI
n edited, but yillainously wrong in polite
rs Unhappy mani his was not the radicalism
Dr reason. He borrowed ii of somebody, al
% therefore was afraid TO hear both sides. IL
Is radicals are scarce, we hope, who are guilty
10 such stupidity, but we honestly fear th
% there are few Democrats who read both side