National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-28
THE BEE9HgR HNALITE
a sHREwD ANALYSIS OF THE GREAT


gressed far enough to render It obviq5s that two
Tsrdicts-lf the expression Is klioWable-WIll be
pronounced. By tao1s who have no interest in
believing the feverse-And they constitute, by
fAP the larger portion Of the people Of the eOun-
try-Mr. Beeeher will be regarded a. guilty; BY
those who have such an interest, he win be de-
olared innocent. This being the line upon which
the world is divided, the question Of moment is
what, 80 far - Mr.. Beecher is concerned, VIII Be
the ultimate rssultf Calling, for the sake Of
breVtty, the representatives Of the various feel
nEs. interests and prejudioes which circumstances
have enlisted upon the side Of Mr.. BeeehsT By the
name Of the plymouth Collection" and the re-
maInder Of humanity by that Of the "ReIt Of
Mankind, y and assuming that tia two are at
Issue concerning the fate Of Mr.. Besehsr, the
problem Is to ind the basis Of . prediction As to
which will prevail. Upon the one side is the Ply
mouth Collection, united, active jealous, belieT-
ing itself to be resolute, wealthy, widely con-
nscted politically socially and enthusiastically In
luentiAl, and with large measure Of positive
force; upon the other, the Rest Of Mankind, .
mere aggregation Of individuals, with no special
interest to give activity to the common sentiment
and whose force Is purely negative.
All parties alike, adherents to Mr.. Beecher and
non adherents, admit-lndeed the whole matter,
correspondence, negotiations and Investigations,
have gone on under this implied predlcator-that
II Mr.. Beecher is guilty Of the facts charged, he
is entitled to official degradation and personal
disgrace. Now, the solemn belief Of the general
many-Whieh is, without doubt, correct-in opPo-
sIton to that Of the special few being that he is
guilty, hOH1s the problem TO be worked out in
results, so that the end which justice demands
shall be reached and the Nemesis satisfied. The
Plymouth Collection is resolved to uphold its
ator and tuteary divinity and to this the Rest Of
Mankind, in the forum Of reason, has no csllec-
tive objection. It has nothing to oppose but feel
ing-an insticnt which, like an additional weight,
It silently imposes upon the party under eonsure,
on which 1t relies to bring him down to the level
where he and his surroundings will be ct equi-
llbrum, where he belongs.
Although the force enlisted In Mr.. Beeeher's
favor is active and positive and the one upon the
other side Is inert and negative, It does not In
evitabiy follow that In the long copfict the
former will obtain the mastery. This because,
while the one is Spssmodic and liable to diminu-
tiOn from various causes, the other is unremitting
and continuous; and, as between occasional and
persistent forces in all the departments Of nature
and society, the victory is always upon the side
Of the latter. Neither Mr.. Beecher nor his sup
porters will be able to stand up and endure, much
less maintain, their enthusiasm under the steady,
unremitting and memorable pressure Of that
which f. In every respect, entitled to be oon5ld-
cred public opinion, and which, as such, will not
fail to perform the functions assigned TO It in the
social economy.
Perhaps thu most Significant evidence that q
man is passing his point OF elimination and en-
tering upon his path Of deeadSnce is a great in
crease in his apparent magnitude. Like o comet
on its perihelion, the course Of Mr.. Beeoher IL,
Just now, lighted up with blaZes OF enthusiasm.
There is no special good reason why, under
present circumstances, his praises should be sung
in 9 higher key than heretofore; why larger
crowds should gather around him when abroad,
or greater multitudes turn dIsconsolstely away
from the overlooking portals Of the Plymouth
convertible at times when he Is announced TO
discourse. These are not signs Of confidence In
his followers nor Of the increasing admiration Of
the general public They are, on the contrary,
symptoms Of dIstrust in the one, and Of that
prurient curiosity which IA nearly or quite an in
suit In the other. No ranks are more liable to
suffer from desertIon than those which were re-
cruited TO manufacture enthusiasm; and great
moral monstrosity on exhibition at Brooklyn may
draw for q while, and seem to promise the profits
belonging to perpetual popularity but, like other
abnormities, its freshness will soon be gone, and
the public taste, always eapricious, VIII rush
away in pursuit OF some new sensation.
There is no holding ups man whom the law Of
social gravity has decided must 90 down. The
has never been successful Within the last few
months the people Of the United States have wit
messed a signal example OF the ineficiency Of q
special force to overcome an intrinsic downward
tendency. He was q statesmnn-A Christian
statesmau-and Il was resolved that he should not
20 out and DO forgotten. He was feted and
feasted; invited to platforms and to pious eoun-
ellis; his movements were guarded and his sayings
transmitted by telegraph, as If too excellent to
be allowed to await the slower modes Of convey
ance. And yet 50 completely has that individual
gone under that It is not probable his name will
occur to more than . small fraction Of the readers
Of this article. Like ArOeket herOse, sclntillated
as II about to enter upon new and glorified stage
Of existence, and, in moment, his last spark had
faded out into the darkness Of oblivion.
When the first public disclosures Of that which
is now known as the Brooklyn scandal were
made the ideal Beecher was the idol Of the
American people. They who cared nothing fol
his church and thought little Of his religion I'D.
| mired him as the embodiment Of that which
| Americans especially WorThip-S splendid sue
cess He had risen almost above that stratum o.
the social atmosphere where envy expatistes
and was in the enjoyment Of that species Of popu
| larlty which enabled him to create opinion snt
| to profit by the opinion he had created. Against
the casting down of q thing so glorious-a mar
| so endowed and enriched-the public instinelVely
protested. What IL this great light were to be
| extinguished9 It was hard TO think Of humanity
without Henry Ward Beecher In the Plymouth
pulpit Such q state Of things would be created
| by his decadence that they who dread the advent
ofnew states Of things were frightenednt the ideE
of q catastrophe so revolutionary.
These things have gone past. Asths evidences
Of Mr.. Beechers turpitude have multiplied the
public has had time TO measure the actual and
the possible situation. Ths-ideal Beecher has
| faded out into the real. In the place Of maj
! transhgured by innate holiness and reetihed By
divine grace to the last stage Of transpsrency
| We have voluptuary-salscious to an e1traor
binary degree, and uncomfortable in the gratifca
tiOn Of his appetites. The image which passeC
| for gold has turned out TO be one Of common clay
| and the feeling Of the dlsenchanted Borshfper Il
never one OF pure disappointment, but has In II
the ingredients Of resentment and disguTt.
| The world can do without Mr.. Beecher as vel
| as Mr. Beecher can do without the World-bstter
| and Of this fact It is becoming aware. Soctet!
will suffer no ostsolYsmsi the waves will clos
over their foundered Ihip, leaving no scarf tn
tides will ebb and flow, and the sun rise and se
as usual; and, in no long time, the smollisnt poul
tice offorgetfulness will hide from common view
lift does not heal, the social and domestic ulcer
which an unbridled appetite has called into ez
istopce. H. REED.