The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-09-05
THE REEnHERACQUITTAL.

. Of the Becchcr.TiltOn Scandal, like OF III
making of books, there is no end Sine
our last the investigating committee hav
made their report to Plymouth Church, com
6 pletely whltcwashing Mr.. Beechcr and paC
ing him back in his pulpit in shining robes
, and the entire church and congregation
amid demonstrations of the widest cnthusi
asm, endorsed the committees report
Yet the scandal won't dowa. Among III,
three thousand persons who were in I'll,
church on Friday evening of last week arC
heard the report read, but one had the cour
age TO express dissenting voice. On The
vote 10 adopt the resolutions Of the committee
acqu!tting Mr. Beecher, Frank Moulton alone
voted NO" Then Mr.. Rossiter Raymond
made a speech (this was at prayer meeting
in which he scored the said Moulton, and
said "he mad tried TO poison the minds OF
men against Beecher." MoultOn said, you
are a liar, sir" Then the prayer meeting be
came Wild with rage, and the choir having
struck up the doxology,
Praise God, from whom all blessings how,"
the mob mingled the singing with cries OF
put him outn kill him." etc, until the pi-
Gus Halliday poured oil on the troubled wa
tiers and Mr., Moulton got out whole under the
protection Of half a dozen of policemen.
But Moulton is not done with Beecher yet.
The incident has stirred up his bile worse
than ever, and now the mutual friend" says
he will make other and further revelations
in reference to Mr. Beecher that shall FILL
the air with evil odogs" The affair with
Mrs. Tilton is but leaf cut of big book
full of the amours of the Brooklyn Nesthider.
.Tllton also joins in gathering the new load
Of garbage, and soon a worse stink than ever
is to be discharged from Brooklyn We shall
see.
Meantime the committee have made an
able, ingenious and plausible report Their
chief attention is directed to the apology"
really the only apparently conclusive piece
Of testimony against Beecher, and it must be
admitted that they come very near demolish,
ing it. Moulton and Tlton interpret the
apology" TO haYe direct and sole reference
to Beecher's confession Of adultery with Mrs
Tllton, while the committee show that Meth.
afterwards had any offence except improper
advances" been charged against Beecher by
Tilton, Mouton or any one.
While, however, the committee succeed
moderately here, there are many things which
they suspiciously ignore. They fail even to
allude to, much less explain, the hundreds of
fearful sentences of selfcondemnaton that
run through Beecher'S letters, his own au-
thorship of which no one questions; such
expressions as his hanging on the ragged
edge of despair" his threats of committing
suicide; his willingness to be sacrificed with
out hesitation il thereby Tllton and his wife
and children can be saved from disgrace,
&c, &c.
Besides, the committees report loses all its
force as a conclusive or even plausible acquit
tai from the fact that the committee was
avowedly made up of Beecher's warmest
personal friends, and like some Of Stanton's
court martials, was appointed 10 acquit II
had the aid Of all the ingenuity of four astute
lawyers to suggest means Of acquiual, while
no prosecutor was allowed to be present to
witness or raise single OBJ
lection. No wonder the committee thus fail
ed to call some of the most dangerous wit
nesscs, among others the artist, +. B. Carpen-
ter, who, no less a man than DR.. Patton, of
Chicago, says, told him that Mr.. Beecher had
confessed to him tCarpenter) his
guilt, and in whose behalf Carpenter, for that
sole reason, labored hard 20 establish daily
paper in New York, with Beecher as editor,
so as to enable him gracefully 10 slide out Of
the Plymouth church pulpit, which Beecher
admitted himself to be unworthy TO occupy.
We are sorry the report of the committee
is liable TO such damaging criticism and So
really inconclusiye. We had honestly hoped
il might be the means of giving US a rest"
from this whole unsavory business.