Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-08-21
THE GREAT SCANDAL.
Statements OF Mr.. Boecher and MIR.
MOuIton.
MR.. BEBcHER,s sTATEMENT' VI,

The Following statement was submit
ted to the Investigating Committee by
Mr. Beecher to-day; -..
| GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE-In the state
ment addressed to. the public on the 22d Of July
last gave an explicit, comprehensive and sol
emn denialsto the charges made by Theodore Til
ton against me. That denial now repeat ana re-
affirm. l also stated in that communication that
should appear before, your committee with a
mere detailed statement aud explanation of the
-Four years ago Theodore Tilton fell from one Of
the most prominent editorial positions in Amer
lea, when he represented the cause. of religion,
humanity and patriotism, and in few months
thereafter became the associate and representa-
tive OF Victoria Woodhull and friend of her
strange cause. BY his folles he was bankrupt IN
reputation, in occupation and in resources. The
interior history of which am now to give brief
outline is the history of his attempts to so en-
ploy me as to reinstate him in business, restore
his reputation, and place him again upon the em-
tory 70 The full meaning Of Which have but re;
complications, i followed, until lately, n false
theory and delusive hope, believing that the
| friend who assured me of his determination and
ability to control the passionate vagaries of Mr.
Illton, to restore his household, to rebuild his
Sr.unes , ana TO Xlngieate me wonld pc equal 70
| clear TO me what for long time l did not sus-
pect-the real motive of Mr.. Tilton. My mar
alton does not represent a single standpoint
! only as regards my opinion of Theodore Titon
II begins at my cordial Intimacy with him in his
| earlier career, shows my lamentation and sor-
| the period of his initial wanderings from truth
| and virtue: II describes my repentance over
evils Detailing him, of which was made to be.
| ueve myself the cause; my persevering and
| friendly despairing efforts to save him and his
| family by any sacrifice Of myself not absolutely
| dishonorable, and my growing conviction that
| his perpetual folhes and blunders rendered his
| recovery impossible. | can now see that he Is,
and has been from the beginning of this difficulty,
selfish and reckless schemer, pursuing plan
of mingled good and hatred, and weaving about
me network OF suspicious, Misunderstanding,
| plots and lies, to which my own innocent words
and actA, nay, even my thoughts, of kindness to-
ward him, have been made to contribute. These
successive views of him must be kept in view, to
explain my course through the last four years.
That was blind so long as to the real motive of
| intrigue going on around me was due partly to
my own. overwhelming public engagements,
partly to my complete surrender OF this affair,
| and the papers and questions connected with it,
J into the hands of Mr. Moulton, who was intense
| ly confident that he could manage il success
| fully. / suffered much,, but | inquired little.
| Mr.. MOulton was chary tome Of Mr. Titon's con
| fdences TO him, reporting to me occasionally in
| a general way MIR. TiltOn's words and outbreaks
on passion only as clements of trouble which he
was able to control, and as additional proofs of
| the wisdom of giving it to him. His comment
| on the situation seemed to me at the time com
! plete, immersed as | was in incessant cares and
duties, and only too glad to be relieved from con
siderng the details and wretched complca-
! tiOns, the origin and the fact of which remain,
in spite of all friendly Intervention, a perpetual
! burden to my soul. would not read in the pa
pers about it. would not talk about It, / made
| Moulton for long period my confdant and my
| only channel of information. From time to time
suspicious were aroused in me by indications
| that Mr.. Ttlton was acting the part of an enemy;
but suspicious were rapidly aayed by his own
| behavior toward me in other moods, and by the
| assurances of Mr.. Moulton, who ascribed the cir
cumstances to Misunderstanding or to malice on
| the part of others. 1t is plain to menow that it
was not until Tilton had fallen into disgrace and
had lost his salary that he thought it necessary to
assail me with charges which he pretended to
have had in mind for six months.
The domestic offense which he alleged was very
quickly and easily put aside, but yet in such a
way as to keep my feelings stirred up in order
THAT %ghN nigh hTSTgh e1ds nd be used to
| claim in dispute between them The check for
that sum in hand, Mr. Tilton signed an agreement
I of peace and concord, not drawn by me, but
accepted by me as sincere. The GoideR Age had
been started. He had the capital to carry 1t on
! for awhile. He was sure that ne was to
head great social revolution. With return
| ing prosperity he had apparently no
griefs which could not be covered by his sigma
ture to the articles of peace. Yet the changes in
| represented to me as necessary merely TO relieve
him from the imputatiOn ofhaving originated and
circulated certain old and shameless ISLANDERS
about me- were really made, as now appears, to
| leave him free for future operations upon me and
against me. So long as he was, or thought he
was, on the road to new success, his
conduct toward me was friendly as he
knew how to make il; his assumption
of superiority and magnanimity and his
patronizing manner were trines at which /
could afford to smile, and which bore with the
greater humility since | still retained the pro-
IN the following narrative, that | had been a
cause of overwhelming disaster to BIN,
and that his complete restoration to pub.
lie standing and household happiness was
reparation justly required of me, and
the only one which | could make; but, with q
peculiar genius for blunders, he fell almost at
every step, into new complications and Difficult
ties, and in every such instance 1t his
policy to bring coercion to bear upon my
honor, my conscience and my affections for the
purpose of procuring his extrication at my
expense. Theodore Titon knew me well. He
has said again and again to his friends that If
they wished to gain any influence over me they
must work upon the sympathetic side of my ma
ture. To this he has addressed himself steadily
for four years, usng as lever without seruple
my attachment to my friends to my family TO
his own household, and even my old affection for
himself Not blind to his faults, but resolved to
look on him as iavOrably and hopefully as pOssi-
Bile, and Ignorant of his deeper malice, | abored
earnestly, even desperately, for his salvation.
For four years have been trying to feed the in
satiable egotism, to make the man great as he
conceived himself to be, to restore to prosperity
and public confidence one who, In the midst OF
my efforts in his behalf, patronized disreputable
him 10 separate himself from them, and ascrbed
to my agency the increasing ruin which he was
persistently bringing upon himself, and which |
was doing my utmost to avert. II was hard to do
anything for such Il man. / might well have
tried to fill sieve with water In the latter
stages of the history he actually melted and ere
ated difficulties, apparently for no other purpose
than to drive me to fresh eXertions | refused To
indOrse his wild views and associates. The hest
l could do was to speak well Of him, mention
those good qualities and abilities which | still
believe him to possess in his higher moods, and
keeping silence concerning the evil things which
was assured and believed had been greatly ex-
aggerated by public report. | could not think
him so bad as my friends did. | trusted to the
germs Of good which thought still lived in him
to Mr.. MOuton's power over him, and the power
of my persistent selfsacrifce.
Mr.. MOulton came to first as a schoolmate
and friend of Mr. Tilton, determined to reinstatC
him, always suspected, without regard to my
interests, but, on further acquaintance with me
undertook and promised to serve his friend with
out doing wrong TO me. He said he saw clearly
how this was to be done so as TO restore peace
and harmony TO Mr.. Tilton's home and bring TO
happy end all Misunderstanding. Many thing,
which he counseled | absolutely refused hut
! never doubted his professed friendship for mt
after the friendship had grown up between US
and whatever he wished me TO do did unless Il
seemed to me wrong. My confidence in him wa,
the only element that seemed secure in this con
fusion of tormenting perplexitics To him
wrote freely In this troubOus time, while | fcl
that secret Vaccinations were going on arOunC
me, and echoes of the vilest SANDERS concerning
me were heard in unexpected quarters; Wher
some of my near relations were set against me
and the tattle Of crowd of malicious
women hostile to me on other grounds wat
borne to my ears; when had lost the last rem
r nant of faith In Theodore, or hope for him; wheI
heard with unspeakable remOrse that every
thing had done to stay his destruction had made
' matters worse and worse, and that my attempt Il
: keep him from public trial involving such
I | flow of scandal as has now been let loose haI
been used by him to bring mp new troubles; tina
his unhappy wife was under his dicatiOn, signin,
papers and recantatiOns, and | know not what
D that in short everything was breaking up and th
destruction from which had sought to save tn
family was likely 10 be cmptied on other families
the church, the community, with infinite horror
of woe for me; that my own innocence wa
buried under heaps and heaps of rubbish, and no
Y body but my pTOfessed friend, If even he, couli
Q save us-to his assurances that he could still d
so gave at least so much faith as to maintain
Z under these terrible trials the silence which h.
: enjoined; not until Mr.. 1iltOn, having attempt
g ed through Frank Carpenter to raise money iron
"a my friends, openly assaled me In letter to DIR
: Bacon, did break that silence save by the sim
pie denial OF the slanderous rumors against me
c year before.
On the appearance OF the FIRST open al
= tack nom Mr.. Tilton ] Immediately, withou