The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-07-08
The Tilsoa Scandal,

ut Of the court which he convened by his
WIN yociferous cries. He announces this
yeek in his newspaper, the Golden Age, i
he interesting fact that he had "extricat-
d" himself from the ownership and edi. |
orship Of that journal, leaving q friend
md associate" to get along. with the estab-
ishment as well as he can. Ii the extra
ordinary communication by which week |
.go Mr.. Tilton set the whole country dis |
,ussing his domestic relations and the
character of the Rev. Henry Ward Beech
er was simply an advertisement Of the
journal he was then about to turn over to
another person, or . part Of the stock and
goodwill of the concern, his utter failure
to follow up with proofs the scandalous in
nuendOus and insinuations contained in
that communication is explicable enough.
The transaction was completed when the
goods were delivered q week ago. But il
that communication was intended either to
"yindicate'' Mr.. Tilton from the imputa-
ton put upon him, as he alleged, by many
of his brethren in the faith, of being a
tale-bearer and caluminator. or to win for
him the ear of the American public as a
trustworthy witness against the good name
and fame of one Of the most distinguished
Of those brethren, his willingness to leave
the innuendous and insinuations contained
in that communication, as he has now left
them, unsupported by syllable Of direct
and Ineligible evidence, throws him final
" beyond the pale of public consideration.
With him and his words we need no more
concern ourselves now.
But although the influential journals Of
the country, as a rule, have dealt with this
disgusting matter from the first as the
present attitude of the chief offender shows
that they ought to have dealt with it, it
has been taken up here and there, In a
hasty, inconsiderate way, as if it really
were a serious, deliberate and intelhglble
apocalypse of moral weakness and wicked
ness on the part of conspicuous public
teacher of morals.
One western journal, for example, stands
aghast at the fall of Mr.. Beecher from
his great eminence," and, to use his own
language feels as il some gigantic mountain
peak had been swallowed in the Jaws of
IAN earthquake, and as if the clear and star
''ry armament of heaven which it seemed
''to support had fallen with it in huge col
lapse of the order of nature into chaos. "
Notwithstanding this somewhat emphatic
way of putting the case, the journal from
which we quote goes on to express what
appears to be an honest, if not very in
telligent or necessary, sympathy with MIR.
Beecher in what it calls the "saddest
moral catastrophe which ever befel a no
BILE Ife." For the sake of such journals
as this, which doubtless represents the
real impressions and the real feelings
caused by those impressions in the minds
of thousands of such worthy and rightly
disposed people as go to make up an aver
age Jury, it may be worth while for us
brihy to recapitulate the points Of the case,
and to leave it precisely where it stands
left to- day by the person who for his own
purposes has thought fit to trouble the
public with it.
Nearly two years ago. in November,
1872, a woman of notorious character, Mrs.
Woodruff, published in scurrilous paper
conducted by herself a downright charge
against Mr.. Beecher Of adultery, commit
ted as she alleged, with the wife Of Mr..
Theodore Tilton Mr.. Tilton had previous
" identified himself publicly with this wo-
man, and she declared that the charge she
made was based upon information given to
her by him. OF course most decent PEG
pie outside of the pale of ecclesiastical fra
ternity with any of the parties gave the
story a wide birth. Within that pale, how
ever great controversy sprung up over
it, which finally led, in April or May, 1878,
TO the publication of IA tripartltc agreement
signed in April, 1872, six months before
the publication Of the charge made by Mrs
Woodruff, by Mr.. Tilton, Mr.. Beecher,
than dubious reputation, long engaged in
the publication of weekly newspaper, the
value of which had been seriously dimin-
ished by the withdrawal of Mr. Beecher
from all connection with it, and by his
transfer of his pen to a rival newspaper,
the Christian Union. From the tripar-
tite agreement three things appeared: /.
That Mr.. Bowen had not only given Gre
dit without due consideration to tales
and innuendoes respecting Henry Ward
Beecher" but had repeated those
tales and inuuendoes," and that as there.
in he had done Mr.. Beecher wrong, he
now declared that he knew nothing which
should prevent him from extending tc
g Mr. Beecher his most cordial friendship
land confidence. =. That Mr. Tlton had
written to Mr.. Bowen letter reciting, fol
some unexplained purpose, these tales
and innuendoes' put about by MIR. Bower
and now by Mr. Bowen repudiated, and
that out of his friendly spirit toward,
MIR. Beecher' he conveuantcd and agreed
never again to bring up or hint at any
cause of difference or ground of com
plant heretofore existing between the
said Henry G. Bowen and myself (Theo-
'dore Tilton) or the said Henry W. Beech
"er." 3. That Henry W. Beccher deep
"ly regretted the causes for suspicion
Jealousy, and enlargement which had
come between" himself. Bowen and Til
ton; and that if he had said anything
injurious to the repution of either, or had
detracted from their standing and fame
as Christian gentlemen and members of
his church, he revoked it all. "
This agreement was drawn up in April,
1872, six months. we repeat, before the
publication of Mrs. Woodhulrs charge.
1t was published in May, lo73, five months
after the publication of that charge. We
submit that if there had ever been the
slightest foundation whatever for Mrs.
Woodhulls charge, it is simply inconceiv-
able not only that Mr.. Tilton should have
used the language of good will towards
Mr. Beecher contained in this agreement,
but also that Mr.. Beecher should have
ventured to use the language of self-re
specting regret for implied attacks mad,
by him upon the reputation, standin.
and fame" of Mr.. Tilton, contained in it
Two months after the publication of thi
tripartite agreement, in June, 1873, Mr.
Beecher, learning that Mrs. Woodruff, tn,
original mouthpiece of the charge made
against him, was supposed to have in hel
possession letters of his respecting certain