The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-04-16

su"a"b "SANN' ... .... Ks
"Mr, Beechers appearance as witness
is the climax Of the case, When he
leaves Mr.. FulleFIon's hands, his fate, in
the mind OF the general public, will be
decided, And for our parts we retain
the hope that Mr.. Beecher will prove his
innocence, for they are bad lot with
whom he has allowed his good name to
be imiuriously mixed up" iG
Unless some new and unexpected rev.
Citations shall be made by future witnesses,
undoubtedly the "climax OF the case"
will have been reached and passed when
the defendant leaves the stand, To use
stage phraseOlogy, the situation in which
the great preacher is the central figure
has been worked up" to the highest
possible pitch Of dramatic interest, and
when his scene is over tho performance Of
the remainder Of the remarkable com.
pany will be very apt to drag, apd much
Of the fascination which has hitherto sur
rounded those in front Of the curtain
will necessarily evRpOrate. So far
the Times il correct, but we can
hardly agree that "his (BeechCr's)
fate, in the mind or the general public
will bO decided" when he passes through
the fiery ordeal Of his cross-examlnation
and comes ont unscathed, II is not SUR
prising that his testimony should awaken
great interest in the minds Of the Amer
lean public, and in fact Of the whole
world. II would seem strange II II were
otherwise. Mr.. BeeCher ia 80 far above
the rest Of the drGmatis psrSOndC in posi-.
ton, brains and rcnown that they aro
little better than pigmies by comparison.
Upon him all tho world looks with
riveted gaze, waiting with breathless anx-
iety to hear his testimony. His words
come with force derived from q greNt
reputation and carry weight almost In
calculable Again, his testimony Is newer
and fresher than any heretofore given.
The public has grown thoroughly tired
and sick Of reading the oft-manipulatel
stories Of TiltOn and MOultOn. hut
Beecher, after publishing single state
ment maintaineda q judiciOus silence and
when the silence is broken tho effect is
corrcspondingly increased. Mr.. Eyarts
has carefully drilled his client, and his
client in return renders answers with uu-
rivalIed powers Of clocution and unlim-
itcd stores Of pNthos.
But all this cannot and will not obscure
the judgment Of q multitude Of intelligent
persons who are waiting the results tthe
trial for one purpose only-to get at, II
possible, "the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth" These persons
have, Of Courie, anticipated BeeCher's evil
dcncc. They knew that his printed state
mcnt denied in every particular the
charges preferred against him, md they
knew when the timo came for him to step
upon the witness stand, that he must sns-
tain that statement verbatim ct literatim.
A single graveomissiOn in the vcriiica-
tion, under oath, Of each and every item
embraced in that denial, would be fatal to
his course. hcpublishel document aud
the oral statement must stand or fall To-
gethcr. These simple statements though
they may be lost upon the small jury at
Brooklyn, are not lost upon the great tri.
bnnol waiting outside. In tie estimation
of that tribunal Mr.. Beecher is but one
man, u man Of worldwide fame, but
nevertheless only a man, and not
to be, Judged by any other stand
ard than tile rest Of mankind Until
their several and joint testimony is
impcached, Triton, Richards, MoultOn
and Mrs. Mouton are entitled to as
much charity asaBeecher. Because for
tune has not hGralded their fame across
the unknown seas, and has placad
Becchef among The highest ornaments Of
the pulpit, It does not therefore follow
that he has nlOnOpOliacd the truth, and
that they are S!upendons liars. Their
characters are rs dear to them as his is to
him; they have no less to'lOse by COM
miIting perjury than he; their sense Of
moral accountability for heaven.defying
talsehood should be ns acute as his.
Why then should his word go farther
than theirs2 Isall Righteousness wrapped
In lSeecher, and all iniquity centere,l in
Triton, MoultOn, Richards and Mrs.
Moulton? II fame Is able to crush out
those whom fate has never allow
ed 10 attain II, what protection
can the humble Of earth hope
for We can sec none. The public has not
been asleep -Heecher's letters still stand
fast. Explain and qualify as he may, the
strong lucid English Of those letters can
not be shaken. There II is in black aud
white, and memory can not ellace II,
whether the defendant Is acquitted or
convicted. Even II thc.importnnL witness
cs for the plaintiff shall lie hopclc'sly i'm.
peachcd, there are the eloquent letters Of
the defendant and Mrs. Tilibn and Mrs.
Morse. What prcs'ute from without or
within can tlivcst them Of their real mean
ing2 Yet unless these papers are clearly
explained, where must the burden OF sin
and shame ultimately restS
crop Prospects.
CnlcAeo, April i3.-The Time. pub,