The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1874-08-20
charges in,,uc ~ illtun.

injured Tilton in his business to keep
peace; and to help the Golden Age
in support of which Tilton was levy
ing contributions on all sides: and that
it was only when Beecher, refusing to
pay a further demand of$5,000, chal'
posure, that Ti1ton, bacAe. ~ .s
ton, made his formal charges. Checks
payable to Moulton and endorsed in
his handwriting, for parts of the
amount obtained in this way, were
exhibited to the Committee.
9. That in May, 1873, after Mr..
Beecher had paid Moulton $4,000 to
help Tilton along with the Golden
Age, anote from Tilton, reading as fol.
lows, was laid on his pulpit stand one
Sunday morning: III. w. B.: Grace,
mercy and peace. T. T."-which
note is now in the possession Of the
Committee.
10. That Frank Carpenter, another
supeserviceable friend of Til
tons, came to Beecher with q
proposal to contribute money
to send Tilton to Europe, but that
Beecher had by this time had his eyes
opened as to what was going on, and
refused to have anything to do with
the scheme Or to talk about it.
These points are irreconcilable with
any theory Of Beecher's. guilt in the
manner charged by Tilton. Nh.
Beecher's statement bears through
out the impress of truth. In
its frankness, it works at times tc
his disadvantage, as showing
him to be in some things childishly
weak and credulous-the unsuspect-
ing victim of a heartless, unscrupul-
Gus, calculating scoundrel, who, aided
by an accomplish wearing the guise Of
a mutual friend" to win condolences
and draw out letters dictated in full
trustfulness by great and generous
nature, fabricates a story of his wife
dishonor that he may trade upon it to
his pecuniary advantage. That Mr..
Beecher was unwise in the choice of
his friends; that he temporized for
the sake of peace and to prevent the
outpouring of a scandal which might
prove injurious to the church, to soci-
ETY. and to other families besides his
,wn and T;l+on'r, wneu ne might Bet
ter have defed the fullest exposure
and that he was given to the use of
exaggerated language, may bereadily
admitted, but that he was guilty of
anything criminal or approaching
criminality we do not believe. A web
Of circumstantial evidence had been
woven about him by the un-
principled husband and the no less
unprincipled accomplish, but the full
and satisfactory explanation given of
his letters cuts through these meshes
and leaves him free. The garbled ex-
tracts from his letters were the only
part of Tilton's arraignment that gave
it any real power for harm, and with
the publication of Mr. Beecher's state
ment, the whole fabric falls. To our
mind, at least, Mr.. Beecher stands be-
fore the world unspotted by the
hands of Theodore Iilton
pure in intention, honorable in &C
ion and in every way worthy of the
great name built up by over thirty
years of noble work.
Mr.. Boccher concludes his state
mont with the following bold chal-
enge:
GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE In
ne note requesting your appointment I |
sked that you should make full investipa-
ion of all sources of information. Youare
witnesses that l have in no way Influenced
= interfered with your proceedings or du-
les. ! have wished the investigation to be |
that nothing could unsettle it's |
esults.
I have nothing to gain by any policy of |
Impression or compromise.
For four years have borne and suffered |
nough, and will not 90 step further. II
ill be free. I will not walk under rod
r yoke. If any man would do me ia
or let him tell all he knows now.
1t is not mine to lay down the law of
onor, in regard to the use of other persons
onfidential communications but in SO far
8 my own writings are concerned there ia
OF letter nor document which am afraid
} have exhibited, and authorize any and
Ill upon any living person to produce and
rint forthwith whatever writing they have
ON any source whatsoever.
1t is time for the sake of decency and of
1blic morals that this matter should be
rought to an end. 1t is an open pool of
eruption exhaling deadly vapors
For six weeks the nation has risen up and
t down upon scandal. Not great war
u revolution could more have filled the
swspapers than this question: of domestic
ouble, magniGed a thousand fold, and, like
sore spot on the human body, drawing to !
'elf every morbid humor in the blood.
Whoever is buried with it, it is time that
is abomination be buried below all touch ,
power of resurrection.
Let Mr.. Frank Moulton, who pro-
ssed to make to the Committee only
partial statement of what he knew,
tusing to produce what is claimed to
mass Of evidence destructive of {
r. Beecher, now bring forward the
tiers and documents held in reserve.
It the whole truth be known; if
ere is any truth in Moulton it should ]
me out. But it will be necessary j.
him to repair his own tattered rep T
alton before he can expect intelligent b
d decent people to be very strongly b
pressed with the reliableness of
en- testimony as he may have to Of.
NO other State in the Union has %
4arod aa r,,,ol G u