The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-09-03
THE BEECHER SCANDAL.
Report Of the Investigating Committee
Mr.. 8eecher Declared Innocent Of
the Charges Preferred
Against Him.

2oth to listen to the report of the Beeche
Investigating Committee, which was read
in substance as follows:
In conducting the investigation the committe
state that they had faithfully endcavorcd TO max
i thorough and impartial, and to obtain sucl
facts as were relevant to the inquiry from al
| attainable sources OF evidence For this purpos
they requested the attendance of large humble
Of witnesses, most of whom had testified befor'
the committee one notable exception being Mr.
Francis B. Carpenter.
Mr.. Moulton had promised to testify fully, bu
had failed to do so. He had submitted thre,
short statements in writing to the committee
consisting chiefly Of the reasons why he declined
to testify at the call Of the committee.
In addition to the evidence of the persons who
had testified, they had examined number Of let
tcrs and other documentary evidence which were
supposed to relate to the subject matter OF tho
inquiry.
The committee state that the ofensc as alleged
by Mr.. Iilton during some four years, and unit
otherwise, was an improper suggestion or solie
tation by Mr.. Beecher to Mrs. Titon, but as time
passed and purposes matured this charge was en-
larged to that OF adultery.
The committee state that, after having given
the evidence the most careful consideration they
find therefrom that in 1851 Mr.. Beecher became
Independents and during this relation were warm
and intimate friends, Mr.. Tilton urging Mr.
Beecher to visit his house. A very
friendly relation !, sprans up between the
continuing down to December, 1870. These
friendly relations were understood and cordially
approved OF by Mr.. Tilton. Some years before
any open trouble appeared between Messrs.
Beecher and Titon, the lattcrs doctrines as set
forth in the ladependenf of which he had become
editor, aroused so much Indignation and opposi-
AdUdnce newspaper in Chicago. He (filton) had
come to deny the inspiration Of the Scriptures
and the divinity of Christ, and his So
cial views had changed IN the direction
rp ipin nd n ha1l ups IN
the part Of her husband being sources Of great
grief and sorrow to Mrs. Tilton. Mrs. Titon vol
unfairly sought her pastor for counsel ana sym
pathy and set forth in strong terms the suffering
her husbands course was causing her. Ii ap-
pears that during these years Mrs. r. had become
strongly attached to Mr.. Beecher, and in July,
1870 confessed to her husband an over-shadow-
ing affection for her pastor.
On or about the 10th of December 1870, Mrs.
Tilton separated from her husband, going with
her children to her mothers house She sent
Tor Mr.. Beecher. and made To him statement OF
her suffcrings, and the abuse which she had re-
ceived at the hands OF her husband, which
ceived permission to send to Mrs. Tilton his
wife. whose Judgment in such matters he con-
sidcred better than his own. Subsequently he
agreed in advising with his wife that it was de-
sirable that Mrs. Tilton should separate
from her husband. Mr.. Tilton, however,
subsequently forced his wife to return TO his
house by sending for. and obtaining possession
Group, during Mrs. TiIton's temporary absence
from her mothers house. The next day after her
return, on the 2ith, she suffered miscar-
riage, which resulted in serious Illness. contn-
ning until after the lst Of January, her physician
being III daily attendance on her from the 21th to
the Goth Of December inclusive. Early in Deccm-
bcr, this year, owing to the marked change in Mr..
Iiton's religious and social views, Mr. Bowen
felt constrained 10 give him notice that his
ices as editor Of the Indcpendeatwould terminate
At a day named in the notice. Subsequently to
this notice, and on or about the Goth of December
MI. Bowen entered INTO "a contract with MIR. Ill-
ton, by which he was to be the editor of the Brook
lyn D0Hy Union aud chief contributor of the
IndepeBdem for five years: but within Il few Gays
after making this contract Mr.. Bowen received
such information Of Tiltons immortality as
alarmed him and led to an interview between
himself Tilton and Oliver johnson. at the house
of Mr.. Bowen, on the 18th day Of December, 1870.
At this interview Mr.. Tilton sought to retain his
place and Mr.. Bowcn's confidence by Offering to
Join Bowen. in an attack on Mr.. Beccher,
ten and signed by Mr. Tilton demanding
that Mr. Bcecher leave Plymouth pulpit and
Brooklyn. On reading this letter. which was dc
lvered by Mr.. Bowen Mr.. Bccchcr expressed his
astonishment at the receipt of such a letter, and
denounced the writer Mr.. Bowen then derdcd
the letter, and gave him so4ne account of the rea-
sons why he had reduced Tilton from the editor
ship of the I0dependem to the subordinate
position of contributor, saying that Mr.. Til
tons religious and social views were running the
he could consistently retain him as editor Of the
Brooklyn Union OF chief contributor of the Iade-
pendeat.
They conycrsed for some time, Mr.. Bowen
wishing Mr. Bccchcrs opinion, which was freely
given. Mr. Bccchcr said he did not see how Mr..
bowen could retain his relations with Mr.. Tilton.
Mr. Beechcr spoke strongly of the threatening
letter and the revelation he had just had con-
cerning Mr.. Tiltons domestic affairs.
Mr.. Bowen read the threatening letter and said
he would stand by Mr.. Beccher, and he told Mr..
Tilton the next day of the conversation he had
had with Mr.. Beccher and Of his Bowen s) intcn-
tion to stand by Mr.. Bcecher.
Mr. BccChcr though he had no doubt that Til
ton would have lost his place. saw that his ntlu-
throw.
II now appears tnat on the 29tn of December,
1870. Mr.. Tilton having learned the advice Mr..
Ilcccher gave Mr. Bowen, and which was likely to
bring him face TO face with loss of place and po-
sition, extorted from his wife. then lying i'll of
miscarriage, document duplicating Mr.. Bcechcr
"A document evincing her love for her pastor and
accusing him of having made an improper solicita-
ton. On the following day he sent Moulton to
Bcccher, requesting an interview with Mr. Bcccher
at Mr. Moultons house that evening. Mr.. Beecher
met Tilton at Moulton's house. Til
ton received him with memorandum in his
hand and proceeded to charge Mr.. Becehcr with
being unfricndly to him, with seeking his
down aSwna HIM sprddaalng injurious bim and runners
vising Bowen to- dismiss him: injurng him in
his family relations joining his GTiton's)
reproducing discord in the house,
advising separation, alternating his wifes aflcc-
tion from him, with gaining her love more than
any living being, with corrupting her moral
virtue, with teaching her to be insincere. lying
and hypocritcal, and ending by charging that he
had made wicked proposals to her. Titon then
produced written paper purporting to be
of a confession made in July
previous to HIM by his wife of her love for Mr..
Bcecher, and that he had made proposals to her
of an impure nature.
The committee say 1t is clear that on the Goth
day of December. when the so-callcd memoran-
dunn Of confession was procured from Mrs. Tilton,
the chief melting cause of that step, on Titon's
part was his belief that Mr.. Beecher
had caused him the. loss of place, bust
charge of impure proposals fell upon him like
thundcrbolt. At Mr.. Titon's request Mr.. Beecher
repaired with him to his house, where Elizabeth
was waiting for him, and learned from her lips the
truth of the stories SO far they concerned her.
This interview resulted in written rctracton Of
the charges by Mrs. Titon, who, in sort of
to the retraction. denied explicitly that
Mr.. Becchcr had ever offered any improper solic-
itations to her. The next evening Mr.. Moulton
called at Mr.. Beecher's house and expostulated
with him for having obtained the retraction.
that Mrs. 7. had already recantcd the retraciion,
and that Mr.. 7. had destroyed his wife's first
paper Of confession. Mr.. Moulton claimed that
an difficulties could be settled without such
papers, pa and that Mr. Beecher ought to give up the
one he had. He (Moulton) made no threats. but
displayed pistol and laid it on the bureau near
which he stood. The paper was given up.
Mr.. Beecher saw the peril of being even falsely
accused. While in a morbid state OF mind pro-
duced by these distressing difficulties Moulton
again called on him, and. though his manner was
kind and concliatory, professed to believe that
Mr.. Beccher had been seeking Mr.. Tiltons down.
fall; had leagued with Mr.. Bowen against him.
Mr.. Beecher expressed many regrets ut the mis-
fortunes of Mr., Titon's family and Mr. Moulton
caught up some of these expressions and wrote
them down. saying that If Tilton could see them
there would be no trouble in procuring recon-
1871. was intrusted by Mr. Beecher TO Mouton's
keeping without reading it, nor was it read to
him. This paper, sometimes called the apollo
gy," and sometimes 1.-The confession is in no
proper sense Mr.. Bcechers production or a cor
rect report of what he said No man will be-
Iicve. for instance. that Beecher said: Il hum
Bile myself before him cTilton) as do before my
Godn Another sentence: "Her forgiveness I
have Mr. Beccher states it was not It, nor the
of it.
The committee now proceed to show from the
evidence before them that the original charge
was improper advances, and that as time passed
and the conspiracy deepened it was enlarged into
The statement that the charge in the
first instance was adultery, and that Mrs: Tiltons
original confession to that effect, is denied
BY Mr.. Beccher and Mrs. Tilton. The statement
that Mr. Beecher confessed the fact Of adultery is
also denied, and such alleged confession is
traction given to Mr.. Beecher. If Mr..
Beecher had already confessed to the charge Of
what service cOulO the retraction do
him. and why procure one % at alls The retraction
nothing else. Is it likely. If the main ofense had
been charged, Mr.. Beecher would have been
satisfied with anything short Of a retraction Of
that?
The committee say further on this point that
Mr.. Tilton in the last four years has many times
said, verbally and in writing, that the charge
was the lesser offense. This is important under
the rule that where a complainant has made diff
fercnt and inconsistent statements of an uflense
which he alleges, his credibiity is damaged, and
in most cases destroyed. In manuscript pre-
pared. by Mr.. Tilton, which he called the . true
stOry.ts and which he was in the habit
Of reading to newspaper men, personal
friends and To nfhers Mifhnuf il would