The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-04-09
Public Opinion-Fair Play.
ST. Louis. March 10, 1870.

1T. LOUIS, March 10, 1870.
To TIE EdIOr Of tie Demerrat:
am not L partisan Ill the new FAM
OTIS, or infamous, Beechcr-Tilton con-
troversy, although for the honor of
christianity | should be glad, AZ every
good citizen ought to bell Mr.. Bcecher
can tairly he vindicated from the dis
graceful charges laid at his door. Fair
play at the present stage of proceedings
is all that any one should desire.
! protest, therefore,, that it is not fair
play for the public press in the WeSt,al-
most without exception. to indulge in
such boisterous mockery and merrlmcnt
over the course OF Mr.. Beecher's coun =
sci in bringing to light the now evident
scandal Of .s.r. Tilton>S private life
Iilton WIS found 1T WiD,ted, Conncrti-
cut, holding such relations with a young
woman us to compel the belief of their
criminal intimacy. Well, what OF il ?
say the Scoifers. Does that prove Mr.,
Becchcr to be innocent? BY no means.
But it certainly establishes the follow
ing points: s. That Mr.. TiltOn swore
falsely in his testimony when he alleged
that bis companion at Winsted WAS Il
mere school Girl, Il child rs it were, too
youngt to suggest even IN impure thought
to his severely virtuoUS mind The legal
consequence of Il detected perjury in re-
Tard to the WiMSted woman will be to
discredit Tilton'S testimony in all its
parts, from the well known MAXIM in
regard to evidence: FQl<uS it UR0,
taiSuS III 0nrnibuS. ,. The proved guilt
of Tiltoa in rowing and Illicit amourS
DESTROYS The illusion he has sought TO
establish OF Il romantic devotion to his
wife. Such abandoned practices pre-
I,are Il man for the lowest dcgradations
in social life; not only for trampling
his wite'S rights and feelings, but for
d~enouncin~ her honor if the indulgence
of hi, selfish luStS requires such Sacri-
fees. The poet Burns. though only a
sentimental moraIiSt, hit the result of
such Il life exactly when he wrote:
'Iwaiye tht quantum of thu sin,
The hazard uI cyncualinG;
lbut. - it har,iuE> all within
And pctriiro the feeling
5. The indulgence in TiltOn'S laSciv-
ious life required money and Il great
deal OF it. He found his legitimate re-
sources failing. and felt Mr.. Reecher to
he in great part the cause of his power
". Here then we have the case of 4
profigate man, hardened in sin, petri-
lied in feeling. despiSing his wife. hat
ing his late powerful friend, and greatly
needing money, which that hated MAJ
could abuEdantly supply; and, lastly, Il
man that glibly commits perjury i'll try
ING to conceal his sin. Are these not
most valuable facts tor M. B~eechcr's
side? Yes merely as points in Il legal
fight. perhaps will be the answer, but
they do not show Mr.. Bercher's inno-
cence. OF ours not, but how can Mr..
Beecher prove a negative? His counsel
asked Il bin Of particulars. That was
denied to them. Ii it had been granted
the issues would have been greatly linz
tied. For instance, if Mr.. Tiiton had
alleged that ON the 10th day of October,
1870. Mr.. Becchrr had committed an of
tense with Tiltou-S wife. Mr.. Beecher
might have been able t. prove that on
that named dav lie was ont of the State.
or that he was on a sick bed, and the
otfcnSc impossible to have happened
There would have been no room III such
an issue for producing evidence from
WinSJed.
From the very broad and indefinite
mature of Tilton's charges, Mr.. Beech
er's counsel are compelled to make Il
general denial. and attack the CREDIBLE
" Of the witnesses impu-ning him. of
whom Tilton himself is chief. On the
supposition OF Mr.. Beecher'S entire i'll
noccuce, assuming that to be true for
the arguments sake, | do not see how
otherwise his able counsel could do for
his vindication than by pursuing just
the course they have taken.
There has been no Testimony so far
produced on Tiiton'S side that. on the
hypothesis of q matchmaking cOnspira-
cy Oh the part at two or more adrOit
rhcraiirrS. could not very easily have
been provided to meet the emergencies
and sustain the case.
II Ti.ton goes by the board through
evident per Jury, will it not carry much
more than stands with il?
JUSTICE.