Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-03
NASHVILLE, TENN, FRIDAY, JULY 8. 1874.
TILTON-BEECHER.
Theodore Retires from the Golden
Age.
Another Chapter on the scanda

TiItou wants 10 Defend Himself with.
out Adding Paug TO Beecner fo1'
tured Heart,
New YoRk, July 2.-ThsodoIe Tilton
and ex-DIstrict Attorney Samuel u BIOS
sis, of Brooklyn, had conversation wnich
lasted two hours in District Attorney
Winslow's private Office yesterday. IL Is
net Known if the great scandal was under
discussion
The Golden Age of SATURDAY next viii
contain tie valedictory OF Tilton, who re-
signs its charge to Mr.. W. Clark. u viii
also contain further article on the Tilt0nT
Beecher scandal, which those who have
seen it interpret as quite a letting down on
TiltOn's part. The following are the Inn
portant parts of this second remarkable
paper which The Golden Ace saye ls written
10 correct the misapprehenSions created by
the letter to DIR. Bacon.
He had been asSailed by DIR. Bacon, who
was LED to beiisse THAT be was = scandal
mOnger and falsifier, who had tried 10 rtiin
the most beloved Of ministers. Mr.. Til
toms character and standing as man
among men Mere insoitsd. Silence onhis
part was a tacit acknowledgment Of III.
Baeon's aspersions and the correctness of
the erroneous statements by which they
were supported. One sentence from Mir.
Beeciier's lips or pen would have drawn
the poisoned arrow snd healed the smart.
Mr.. Tiison called NJ. BeeCheTs attention
to the offensive statements, and in the
presence of two witnesses told him unless
lie corrected the misrepresentation in his
way, it would be necessary for himself to
correct them in his own way, which would
be severe. Weeks T5sscd sud no
correction was made. Longer 81
lence on his part was impossible.
Mr.. Tilton is accused ofintending TO strike
Mr.. Beecher a staggering if not q fatal
blow. Whoever reads MS letter with care
will see that he studiOdsly rdrained from
striking any blow az all except at the thick
net work Of calumnT and misTetTesenta-
tiOIs that has been adrOitiy woven for his
ENHANCEMENT and ultimate destruction.
His sole purpose was 10 save him.
self after wears Of silence and
endurance, and when longer silence and
endurance would have been fatal, and he
refrained from mentioning hr. Beecher at
all except as il was necessary to do so in
| srisr 70 set hii+selE right. His re.iCsnce
| in this respect deserves commendation. If
in order TO vindicate himself he was
obliged to lift the curtain aud expose a Sc
ries of diSingenuOus and ineXcUSable tran
| sactiOns, il certainly was not his fault.
II Mr.. Reecher wishes - evcuipate him
| self, if Plymouth Church wishes 10 vindi-
| cate the character of the pastor, the way is
open and the world will await the Issue
| with anxious solicitude. But so far was IL
frUm being Mr.. TiltOn's purpose to injure
! Mr.. Beecher In any WAY, his sole hest
! tation 70 publish Vas the fer the i
! might iniure Mr.. Beecher. He
said TO personal friends who urged its publ
cation that he shrunK from saying one
word that could add pang TO Mr.. Beech
! er'S already pierced and tortured heart.
He saidi i would not lay 20 much as
. finger on that sad aud sorrow ing head.
/ would not rise by his ruin ii | cCuld." This
has been Mir. TiltonS prevailing temper Of
mind and way Of speech.
| He regretted nothing so much as the
necessity which forced him to say anything
| about the matter whatever. If Mr.. Beech
CT IS snltten ne has only himself and
his friends to blame for the blow. But the
essential point in this whole controversy re
mains untouched. With
The Scandal Itself
| We have nothing to DO. That is a matter
for Plymouth Church and its pastor 10 deal
with.
Ifthere is a skeleton in their closet. they
! viii p.O5a5ly hasten 10 open the door and
let daylight shine through its dark place.
| Webster said that suicide, under the
weight Of an accusation, was con-
feSsiOn Of guilt. There are circumstances
| under = hicl; the Sentence is praisewOrthy,
But one thing in this whole mater is 80
! e'Jrs3'iCSoJS AMI grand that 1t deserves a
notice il has not received. We refer to the
liberation, the sympathy, the sOlicitude of
the American people for 4 great and useful
man under 4 cloud Of suspicious, thick and
heavy enough 10 crush an Ordirafy CHAR
| acter beyond recNyerr Had this
thing happened twenty-five years ago
Mr.. Beecher would have been dragged before
an ecclesiastical tribunal for trial in less
than a month after the accusations were
4 Inade, 'and II he. tried ic rreach before
a trial he might have been mObbed. There
is scarcely a man or woman but hopes he
is innocent Of any wrong and tries TO be-
iieve him SO in spite Of circ,,uistantial efi-
dence confirmed by his own course, His
name is a precious household word. He
had the
Sympathy Of Fifteen Millions PeopIe,
Who bend Forward 20 aave aud bless hin,
There is something almost sublime in the
spirit and attitude Of the American people
who refuse to condeIiin and degrade a great
and useful man even r. IN some moment Of
temptation or under the heat of an impulse
Of The strongest nature, he did what he
ought not! 1T least until cUiiipelled
10 do, so 10y the necessities Of the
case. They see the terrible Justice
Of weighing life Of uncq;aled service and
ableness against a mOInentary infractiOn,
and throwing thiIty-five years of conse-
Grated effort for the highest ends utterly
away for what may have been done in til
Of frenzy; and If they oOIideIhn him ut all,
it will be for efforts TO evade and conceal
what should have been frankly ackIowl-
edged to his Own people at the least. and
his willingness TO shield himself by
allcwihs tie itindcent ia suffer for
his offense.
His greatest mistake has been inuOt trust
| ing himself to a people who are proud OF
his fame and Jealous Of his reputation by
| courageous statement of the facts when il
was found the air was full Of run0rs and
surmises. An ounce of sincerity is worth
a world of cunning. All that Mr.. TiltCn
asks for himself and all his friends
i
| Conce3is nothing that duty 10 otiieis and
the natural delicacy of his manhood does
not require him to lock in his own breast.
He has been guilty Of nothing but too great
confidence in unworthy peODle. and mis-
takes of judgment that were prompt
ed by an impU'5ive temperament. The
act for which he has been most severely
blamed was prompted by desire to save
and help others, and was done under the
heat of a general impulse which made it
impossible for him to count the cost to
himself He
Frankly COnfesses n Mistake
for which has paid full dear. lie asks neither
liberation nor sympathy, but simply for that
Justice which is so natural to the heart of
the American people aud which inthe long
run they are sure to render to whoever
coniides in them without cOncCalment or
double dealing.