Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1874-08-28
THE GREAT SCANDAL.
fco,t;,,,,od f,o,n First Page.)

though he sought it carefully WIN Iears; ouC
have one abiding comfort. L nave KNOWN you,
and found in you one who has given new mean
ing to friendship :, u,. ...
in the fall of 1871, or thereabouts, on board of
passenger on the Hudson River Kallroad,
Mrs. Beecher being also passenger IN the same
car Mr. Tilton says in the letter:
Mrs. Beecher sits in the next seat. we are
almost elbow to elbow in the palace car she Is
white-haired and looks a dozen years older tnan
when last had near view OF her my Hea[t t 4bs
been full of pity for her, notwithstanding the
cruel way in which she has treated my good
name. Her face is written over with many VOL
umes of human suffering 90 81 not .l mn he eno
has been aware of my presence for she mas oee a1
absorbed in thought. II am eyer
to be indicated from the Islander which
she has circulated, or which Mr. Bowen
pretends to have derived from her and Mrs.
Morse, why would it not be well to get rom
her and Mrs. Morse statement, under oath'
by such a process as last evenlng-docu-
ments made easy and harmless-of the exact
variations which they made to him and to oth.
ers? 1t would be well to have them say what
they said before he gets chance to say what
they said to him. - MY sullen neighbor
keeps the dark and lurid past wildly before my
mind If she actually knew the conduct which her
priestly husband has been guilty OF, bel!eve she
would shed his blood or, perhaps: sparing MIN
she would wreak her wrath on his victim"
After the publication of the tripartlte covenant
was made Tilton deemed, from the comments
from the press, that the statement reflected upon
him, and he desired that in some way Beecher
should relieve him from the imputation OF having
circulated slanderous stories about him without
justification, for which he had apologized, and
by advice of friends he prepared card for M NJ
MoultOn to submit to Mr.. Beecher for him (Mf
3D. to sign and publish in his vndication:
Mr.: Beecher felt much aggrieved at this clam al n
on him by Tilton feeling that the matter nad nag
been all settled and adjusted, and he answered
Tilton's application in this regard oy ieffer Nm
der date ofJune 1, 1873, published in full in Mr..
Beechers statement, and beginning My Dear
Frank: The whole earth is tranquil, and the
heaven is serene' Meanwhile charges were
preferred against Tilton for the purpose OF hay
Ia :. f,o1
action, which seemed to threaten the discovery
of the facts in regard to the troubles between
Beecher and Tilton, annoyed people very much,
and Mr.. Moulton feared that serious difficulty
would arise therefrom. Upon consultation with
Beecher and Tilton, Mr. M suggested plan by
which that investigation would be rendered I'M
necessary, which in substance that reso-
luton should be passed by the church amending
it's roll, alleging that Tilton having voluntarily
withdrawn from the church some four years be-
fore, therefore, the roll should be amended by
striking off his name. This course had been
suggested by Mr., Tilton: In a letter to Mr.
Moulton, dated Dec. 81, 1871, Mr. Beecher says
to press action in the case would only serve to
raise a proftless excitement; there were already
complexities enough. He suggests that . if
letter is written it had better be very short,
simply announcing the withdrawal, and, perhaps,
with an expression of kind wishes, etc"
But wnen the meeting of the church was held
for that purpose, it charged there that Hilton
had slandered the pastor. Tilton took the stand,
and said, i'll substance that if he had uttered any
ISLANDERS against Beecher he was ready to answer
on stated that he had no charges to make, ana
the matter was dropped. But when the resolu-
ton was passed. instead OF being put so as TO ex-
onerate Tlton it was declared in substance, that,
whereas, certain charges had been made against
him, and as he pleaded to, those charges non
memberships" his name be dropped from the
roll This action of the church very much eXas-
perated TiltOn, who thought Beecher should
have prevented such a result and that he
might have done so if he had stood by him fully
and fairly agreed In that, however, Moulton
believes Tilton was mistaken, because Mr.. Will
lam f. West, who preferred the charges against
Tilton, did it against the wish of Beecher and
without any consultation with him. MEANWHILE
through the Intervention of Dr. Stors and 9TH
ers, an Ecclesiastical Council had been called
The efforts of this Council in attempting to dis
fellowship Plymouth Church were very dlspleas-
ing to Beecher, and caused him much trouble es-
Pec tne ac1n 81 Df otoT 9o wn deed Ne
25 1874 in which he says: Il am indignant be-
yond expression. Storrs' course has, been an
sbip for Theodore he has turned against him in
the most venomous manner, and it is not sim
cere. His professions of faith and j., affec-
Eev o are me mer eTe acea ana His obee
is plain. He is determined to force con.
hict, and use one of us to destroy the other, if
possible. That is his game. By singing Theo-
dore he believes he will be driven into course
which he hopes will ruin me. If ever man be-
trayed another; he has. am in hopes that Theo-
dore, who has borne so much, will be unwilling
to be fail in Storrs' hand to strike at friend.
There are one or two reasons, emphatic, for wait
action. First, that the attack on Plymouth
Church and the threats against Congregational
ism were so violent that the public mind is to be
absorbed in the ecclesiastical elements and
not in the personal. Second, if Plymouth
Church is disfellowshiped, it will consti
tute blow at the church and me far severer
than at him. Third that if the Council does
not disfellOwship Plymouth Church, then I'M
dOubtedly Storrs will go off into Presbyterian
ism. as he, almost without Disguise threatened
in his speech, and in that case the emphasis will
be there. Fourth, at any rate, while the fury
RACES in the Council, it is not wise to make any
move that would be one among so many as to
one can more exactly see what ought to be done
Meantime 1 am as patient as know how to be,
but pretty nearly used up with inward excite
ment, and must run away for day or two and
hide and sleep, or there will be funeral
- While these proceedings were. pending, the
Rev. Mr.. Halliday, the assistant of Beecher,
called upon him and upon Mr.. Mouton to en-
deavor to learn the facts about the difficulties be-
tween Beecher and Tilton, and Mr.. M. told him
he did not think that either he or the church
were justified in endeavoring to reopen trouble
which had been adjusted and settled by the
to il and he THAT it atr shora Se
furnishes letter from Mr. B. in which Hf he
says: Halliday called last night. Tilton's
interview with him aid not satisfy but disturbed
but it the same with Bell, who was
present. 1t tended directly to unsettling. Your
interview last night was very beneficial, and gave
confidence. This must be looked after. 1t is
vain to build if the foundation sinks under every
fort"
Mr.. Moulton here says the anxiety which Mr.
Beecher felt about the stories afOat and the steps
ne took to quiet them, together with the trust he
reposed in him (M) and his ability to aid him in
that behalf, may be seen by the following
letter of June 25, 1873: II have seen
Howard again. He says that it not
but from Carpenter. Is he reporting that
view? l have told Clafin that you would
come with Carpenter if he could be found, and
at any. rate by nine tonight to see Storrs,
but did not say anything about Storrs. l sent
Cleveland with my horse and buggy over to hunt
Carpenter. Will you put Carpenter on his guard
about making such statements? For these bear
the force of coming from headquarters
Meanwhile OIr. Mouton continues) Mr.. Halli
day had had an interview with Tilton, the result
of which, as unsetting the matter between Tilton
and Beecher, was very anxiously awaited by Mr.
Beecher, who was quite anxious that Tilton
should take no steps by which the matter be-
tween them should get into the newspapers or be
made in any manner matter of controversy.
With this view he stated the situation, the
ton, in letter which is without date, and was
written in pencil in great haste, in which
nothing tonight. 1t is that Modelling which
stirs up our folks. Neither you nor Theodore
ought, to be troubled by, the side which you
served so faithfully in public. 2. The Deacons'
meeting, l think, is adjourned. saw Bell 1t
friendly movement 3. The only near next
danger is the women Morrill, Bradshaw and the
poor dear child. If the papers will hold off
month we can ride out the gale and make safe
anchorage, and then when once we are in deep
and tranquil waters we will all join hands in a
profound and genuine tGuS Dec, for through such
wilderness only Divine Providence could have
led us undevoured by the open-mouthed beasts
that lay in wait for our lives. l 60 on the twelve
o'clock train; after a seepless night. | am anx
lous ABOUT Theodore's interview with Halliday
AFTER saying that the committee had all the let
ters ana documents bearing upon the subject
matter OF the inquiry, MIR. Moulton said he de-
sired TO speak of a single collateral matter
Beecher never intimated to him that he thought
there was any desire on Tiltons part to black
mall hlm, and he knew there was no attempt on
Tiltons part to get any more than what he ba
Gn-n lie inS M from III, ~ ~