The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-08-28
the BEECHER SCANDAL.
Moulton Tells What He Knows
About the Ugly Matter.
Documentary Contributions from All
Parties Concerned.

anu SO-DetWeen OF Beecner ana lltOn, NAB "a
last unsealed his lips and given to the worlC
all that he knows about the famous or in
famous scandal, together with all the CORE
spondence bearing upon this ugly matter
which was intrusted to him. The statement
is precisely the same document that was pre-
pared for the Plymouth Investigation Com
mittee but which, upon second thought he
concluded to withhold for time. 1t was
published in the New York papers OF the 22d
of August.
Moulton states that Tilton was first induced
TO make charges against Beecher by Bowen,
who promised Tilton to sustain charges and
to adduce additional evidence TO prove them
whenever REQUIRED. 1t was on Bowen's de-
mand that liton addressed the following
openletter to Beecher:
BROOKLYN, Dec. 26, 1870.
Henry Ward Beecher
''SIR: / demand that, for reasons which
you explicitly understand, you Immediately
cease from the ministry OF plymouth Church.
and that you quit the city of Brooklyn as a
residence.
(Signed) THEODORE 1nToN."
Tilton explained that the words, :" for
reasons which you EXPLICITLY understand"
were informed at the request OF Bowen.
But Bowen afterward changed his mind and
demanded silence on the part of Tilton,
threatening that if he should say to Beecher
what he (Bowen) had told him concerning his
(Beechers) adultery. he would dismiss him
from the Independent and the Union Tilton
told him he had never been influenced by
threats, and he would not be lii the present
case and subsequently received Bowen's let
ter of dismissal.
Ia July, 1869. Mrs. Tilton confessed to her
intimacy with Beecher, which confession her
husband destroyed. subsequently Mrs.
Tilton, fearing that. If Bowen's accusa-
tons against Beecher we're made public, the
whole matter would be known and her own
conduct with Beecher become exposed,
renewed her confession in her own hand
writing. This later confession Beecher OBJ
tanned from Mrs. Tllton, and also recanta-
ton and denial OF any improper conduct by
Mr.. Beecher toward her. At an interview be-
tween Moulton and Beecher, in which the for
mer demanded this paper Beecher admitted,
with grief and sorrow, the fact of his sexual
relations with Mrs. Tilton, expressed some
indignation that she had not told him that
she had told her husband, and that, in conse-
quence of being in ignorance of that fact, he
had been walking upon a volcano.
Here follows letter addressed by Mrs.
Hooker to her brother, Rev. Thomas X.
Beecher of which the following is an eX-
tract
please return this letter to me when you have
done with it,
HARTFORD Sunday. Nov. g. 1872.
DEAR BROTHER Tom: The blow has
fallen. and hope you are better prepared for
teryiew wrote a single line last week,
thus Can l help you and here is his re-
ply: If you still believe in that woman, you
cannot help me-"
She incloses 10 him letters from the Wood
hull and from Henry Ward Beecher In the
iatters letter the following sentences occur:
" Probably you and / are nearer together than
any of our family. / cannot give the reason
now. l am clear, still you will follow your
own judgment l thank you for your letter
g. n f1nr oil ,r;l 10
talked with. For love and sympathy L am
deeply thankful. The only help that can be
grateful to me, or useful is silence, and
silencing influence on all others. A day may
come for converse. 1t is not now. LiUiilg or
dead my dear sister Belle, lore me, and do not
talk about me or suffer others to in your
presence
The understanding" says Mrs. Hooker sis
his own, and when l read in that horrible
story that he begged few hours notice that
he might kill himself, my mind flew back to
this sentence, which suggested suicide to me.
The moment | read it Living or dead, dear
sister Belle, love me-, and l believed oven
that. Now, Tom, can't you go to brother
Edward at once and give him these letters of
mine and tell him what told you and when
YOU have counseled together as brothers, you
should counsel me also, and come to me If
you can. 1t looks as If he hoped to buy my
silence with my love. At present, OF course,
l shall keep silence, but the truth is dearer
IMAM al tulDBb else. dnu II he Will not speak
IL in the same way, l cannot always stand as
consenting to d lie. God help us all"
Rev. Thomas X. Beecher replies to this let
ter of his sister under cate of November, 1872.
in which he says, among other things, that
the Woodruff is only carrying out Henry's
philosophy, against which he had recorded his
protest twenty years ago, when he parted low
ingly from him, saying they could not work
together. He continues: " In my judgment,
Henry is following bis slippery doctrines OF
expediency, and, in his cry OF progress and
the nobleness of human nature, has sacrificed
the clear, exact, ideal integrity. Hands off
until he il down, and then my pulpit, my
home. my church, and my purse and heart are
at his service. OF the two. Woodruff is my
hero and Henry my coward, as at present adj
advised but protest against the whole batch
and ali its belongings.
Mr.. Moulton quotes from letter from Mr..
Hooker to his wife to show that all this mat
ter had been discussed between the two long
before the Woodruff publication.
After Beecher had seen these letters OF
his sister" says Mr.. Mouton, "he came 20 me
in trouble and ALARM and handed me all the
letters, together with one under date of Nov.
81 with an inclosure cut from the Hartford
Times to which he alluded The clipping
alluded to referred 20 conversation between
Eli Perkins and Thomas Mast, regarding the
latters offensive caricatures of Horace Gree
lev and in which he remarked that the peo-
pie were fooled with Beecher aud predicted
his downfall. Mr.. Mouton continues
Beecher was exceedingly anxious that Til
ion should repudate the statement published
by Woodruff, and denounce her for its publ
cation and he drew up upon my memoran-
dum-book the form of a card &c be published
by Tilton over his signature, and asked me to
submit it TO him FOX that purpose. 1t is aa
follows:
'In an unguarded enthusiasm hoped well
and much OF one who has proved utterly un-
principled. / shall never again notice her
stories and now utterly repudiate her state
ments concerning me and mine"
In February, 1871, +, Il. Perkins, nephew
OF III. w. Beecher. addressed a letter to, his
uncle charging that Tilton had been justify
ing or excusing his recent intrigues with
women by alleging that Beecher had been de-
tected in the like adulteries, the same having
been hushed up out of consideration for the
parties. Beecher replies by saying that
whatever AIr. Tilton formerly said against
me, and know the substance Of it, he has
Withdrawn, and frankly confessed that he had
been misled by the statements OF one who,
when confronted, backed down from his
charges III the papers do not NEEDLE, this
Islander will fall stIll-born, dead as Julius
Caesar II q sensation should be got up, OF
course there are enough bitter enemies to fau