Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-07-02
THE BEECHER SCANDAL.

NEW YORK, June 25-Among the
documents which Theodore Tilton in.
cludes in his long open letter to Rev
DIR. Leonard Bacon on what is known
as the Beecher and Tilton scandal is
the following, under date of May 1,
1874:
HENRY WARD BEECHER: Sir-Mr.
7. 3 Carpenter mentions to me your
saying to him that under certain condi-
tions, involving certain disavowals by
me, sum of money would or could be
raised to send me- with my family to
Europe for term of years. The Occa-
sion compelS me to state explicitly,
that SO long as life and self respect con-
tinue to exist together in my breast, /
shall be debarred from receiving, either
directly or indirectly, any presents or
other favors at your hands. The rea-
son for this feeling on my part you
know so well that / will spare you the
statement of it. Yours truly,
THEODORE TILTON.
Tilton follows this with a reference
to what he declares fact, that altho'
he had received from the clerk of Ply
mouth Church, on the 18th of May, a
communication announcing that his
(Tilton's)ioffer to appear for trial had
been read by Rev. Mr.. Holiday, as
sistant pastor of Plymouth Church and
submitted to the Examining Committee
by whom it had been rejected, Mr..
Holiday had some forty days after
ward emphatically denied, to several
newspaper reporters, that such offer
had ever been received, and branded
the whole story as false from beginning
to end. Rev. DIR. Bacon having in his
speech characterized Mr.. Beecher as
the most magnanimous of men, and
referred to Mr.. Tilton as dog and
knave, leading the public to infer that
the latter was in some way creature
of Mr.. Beecher's bounty, Mr.. Tilton
states he called Mr.. Beecher's attention
to the Offensiveness of the statement,
and insisted on its correction by either
that gentleman or himself.
Mr.. Tilton closes his letters to Rev.
DIR. Bacon as follows: "If the public
have heretofore considered my silence
as inexplieable, let my sufficient mo-
tive be now seen in the just torbear-
ance which / felt morally bound to
show to man who had sent me writ
ten and absolute apology; but my duty
to continue this fOrbearance ceased
when the spirit of that apology was vi
Olated to my injury by its author or
his agents. This violation has been
multitudinOus, and they threaten to
multiply it iin the future, forcing me
to protect myself against them in ad-
vance, particularly against the cunning
devices of the clerk of the church, who,
acting as attorney, appears to be con-
Quoting this business against me, as if
it were case at law. Had the fair
spirit which 1 had a right to expect
from Plymouth church, at least for its
pastor sake, been shown toward me,
l would have continued to rest in 81
lence on Mr.. Beecher's apology, and
never, during the remainder of my life
would | have permitted any public
word of mine to allude to the offense or
the offender, but the injurious meas
ures which the author of this apology
has since permitted his church to take
against me without protest on his part,
involving gross injuries to me which
have been greatly aggravated by your
writings, have put me before my coun-
trymen in the character of base and
bad man, character which 1 trust is
foreign to my nature and lifes Under
the accumulating weight of this odium,
bestowed on me, neither pa
tience nor duty can demaad that /
keep silent"
Mr.. Beecher is now ON his farm at
and to-day the children,
teachers and friends of Plymouth
Sunday School go there to congratulate
their pastor on the occurrence of the
anniversary of his birthday.