The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-05-22
THE SCANDAL.
Confirmation of porter,s Argument.

spring crowd 10 DAY. Judge IOrterS speeou
is proving to be better, that is to say, more IN
teresting, than was expected and in the invec-
tive line especially the veteran counsel IS justly
considered to have achieved decided success.
Beecher smiled pleasantly as he entered the
| court room and found it crowded with Ply.
mouth church people Mr.. left, a lawyer and
| friend of Beecher, sat beside the defendant.
Judge Porter resumed his speech for the de-
| fence by reverting to Bowens testimony. He
| said Seecher testified that at the interview at
| which Bowen presented to him Tilton's letter
| demanding that he should leave the pulpit,
| Bowen told him stories injurious to the moral
| character of Tilton and that Beecher believing
| in these stories, had declared him an immoral
man unfit to guide religious paper and con,
veyed to Bowen what he had recently learned
| from Mrs. Tilton and Bessie Turner Hilton
| cunuingly used his rhetorical art, inserting the
| wood Screaming" in Besse's letter denying
| that be carried her from her room to his. The
| devses were found in various papers pre-
| pared by Tilton, although there was no
| doubt Beecher told that story to Bowen. Bow
| en- says Beecher did not advise him to dlspllss
| Tilton from the Independent, but Beecner
| does not swear that he cid. Bowan says that
! Beecher did not mention the name OF Bessie
| Turner; Beecher does not say that he did
| Every one of the similar questions put to BOW
| en- on direct examination raised talse issue.
Then came the csOss-eXaminatlon and Bowen
acknowledged that Beecher told him stories
| about Tlton's mmoralities, and spent half an
| hour recountng such stories, in which he men
| toned the names of persons, and that nl9ht on
returning to his house Bowen mentioned to his
associate, Dr. ESgleston, that Beecher had been
| telling him stories, and thus Beecher's evidence
| SO far from being contradicted is corroborated.
Where was that interview held? If Bowen
meant to betray Tilton no grass grew under
| his feet and he fastened with that letter TO
Beecher If his purpose was hostile he is not
| the man to make needless delay. He went to
deliver letter which if Beecher were guilty
would have paralyzed him. When wen
started with that letter he didn't know the
truth, but he knew that Beecher was charged
with improper advances 1t Beecher was
| guilty such a message as Bowen brought would
have scorChed his very eyeballs. He was asked
| by Bowen what about that letter? Why, says
| he, the mau is mad. Bowen says Beecher got
| to talking about Tilton and about his immor.
| ality, and there was something about improper
| conduct towards female in his own house.
Bowen is mistaken in saying he sent his son at
2 o'clock to make an appointments with Deacon
Freeland for meeting Beecher that afternoon
| for that day Moulton made a memorandum at
315, ct. Z. informs me that he had just sent
Beecher by Bowen, letter demanding his
| resignation" That day Tilton had been warn
| ed of his intended dismissal by Bowen. lie
| was made the instrument, unwillingly it might
| be- of striking the corner stone of that fabric
of conspiracy of lies Triton had been put on
the defence OF his fame and Torture by one re-
lentless as a red Indian. Hence Beecher was
| the subject of these attentions on the part OF
IllJOu. Iu6 poor llGb0 WOmdu LiVlDSotouO
street. Mrs. Tilton, is held responsible for every
| thing that week. Tilton and Moulton, that
reckless intrguer who considers the high est
diplomacy is the highest culture of the art OF
| lying and deceit planned a campaign which
was to end in the downfall of Beecher, and
Moulton was the field marshal.
Tilton felt that unless Bowen gave him some
proofs to substantiate that insolvent demand
on Beecher he was ruined. Had he no proofs
himself? He would see. Yes, one time when
la ri, |, isl o, 1,a frrpa to
| Mrs. Tilton and said "What pretty house you
have" He certainly made improper propos-
ais. There was the necessity of silenc;ng
| Beecher and turning him against Bowen Dec
10th, 1870, document was gotten up by Tilton
with the aid of his friend Carpenter, which
was to be sent by Mrs. Tilton to the Rev. Dr.
Storrs. This document, after referring to her
confession to her husband in July, 1870, that
Beecher made improper proposals to her, goes
| on to say: "Six months alter, her husband,
owing to a conspiracy against him, in which
Beecher and wife were actors, made it nec5s-
sary for him to have an interview with Beech
err" That document would throw light on the
case. Mrs. Tilton was made to believe there
| was conspiracy against Titon by which Mr.
and Mrs. Beecher were to induce Bowen to dis
miss him, and that for the purpose of his de-
fence it was necessary to have some charge
| against Beecher which would paralyze his ac-
ton, and this was the origin of the letter which
| she gave her husband. Tilton felt that his
insolent letter to Beecher was a trap by Bowen
and would be his destruction unless he could
get it back
Judge Morris was wrong in styling Beecher a
coward; he was fearless when he received that
message from a relentless enemy. He went as
usual to his Friday night prayer meeting and
met Frank Moulton for the first time and who
says "Titon desires to see you" On the way
to Moultons they converse. Moulton sa7s
"What treacherous man Bowen s?' Moul-
ton took Beecher along that night not for his
destruction, but for the destruction of Bowen
and the reinstatement OF Tllton in the INDIE
pendent. Mouton and Tilton brought their
machinery to bear on true but simple hearted
man, accustomed to trust his fellow men, who
loved generosity aud like Mrs. TIlton was al
ways ready to take reproach upon himself and
for the next three years he was completely I'M
der their control. How did it happen that
man dishonored was obliged to resort to the
stratagem of obtaining from his wife that let
ter of accusation in order to obtain an inter-
view with the man who had wronged him. No
threat would move Beecher, so they simply
sent word that Tilton wanted to see him. If
Beecher was guilty, if there was shadow of
truth in the story when he was consulted about
the separation of Mrs. Tilton from her husband
would he have sent his wife to her to learn her
story? If Mrs Tilton confessed adultery to an
unsuspecting husband, would he sleep with her
that night? that month? for the next four
years? Would she confess to a man of the ter
rible malice and hate of Theodore Tilton and
for six months permit Beecher and Tilton to
u06G III IuG StIGSGS VI VIC City Ii IL WSIo JIuo
that he lived with her for four years after the
confession of adultery, when the time came for
separation from whom should it come, the hus-
band or the guilty wife? Here it is the guilty
wife after four years time turning her back on
the Innocent husband and wont forgive him
until Tilton sets the example.
Where is there an instance in the whole world
of a husband pardoning an adulterous wife,
living with her four years, having children by
her, getting from her certificate that she COM
mittad Auxiliary Rnt bn did Uatt that
certificate. He got certificate that Beecher
made improper proposals, Base and mean as
many things were that Titon did, he never got
a certificate of adultery from his wife for Moul-
ton to read, and after be had forgiven her if
any proof was wanting, that certificate did not
charge adultery but improper advances. 1t is
furnished by revelations written by the very
hand that wrote the accusation. Mrs. Tilton
had written falsehood and took it back, and
gave written paper to the man she had accus-
ed, in which she recies what the accusation
was and that was "That my pastor, Henry
Ward Beecher, made improper proposals to
me-" and she denied in her retraction that any
such proposals were ever made, and declares
that she wrote the accusation when weak and
sick and wearied by Importantly. She was al
most forced into it. What became of that GER
tificate? 1t was in existence all through 1871,
aud yet to no man did Tilton ever show the
paper from Mrs Titon charging Beecher with
adultery. Moulton, who swore almost in the
spirit of friend. does not pretend to say he
ever read any paper signed by Mrs. Tilton ad-
hitting adultery. Tilton says that paper was
in Moultons keeping. If SO, was it unlikely
that he read it? Even Tilton does not say pre-
cisely what was the character of that paper.
Where were Tilton's short notes of it? Did he
neglect to keep copy of the most important
paper written in connection with that contro.
versy? Moulton, who says he was not such a
fool as to burn Beecher's apology" says he
was fool enough to burn that accusation.
Coming down to the period when what is
called the "apology" was written, counsel said
Beecher he'd been told that he and his wife had
made accusations against the moral character
of Tilton, which were baseIess Moulton de-
manded back Mrs. Tilton's retracton Of the
accusation, saying it was mean to obtain it,
Beecher asked how was it mean to defend HIM
self and his honor? ''Ah, but that paper"
says Moulton, accused Tilton of forcing his
wife to make a false accusation" Moulton
impressed on Beecher that Bessie Turner never
imagined that Tilton meant her ruin until Mrs.
Morse put it into her head, and Mrs. Tilton's
stories about her husband Mrs. Morse made
her believe anything she liked. "Why," said
Moulton, that little woman who accuses her
husband is just as ready to accuse YOU" You
go to work and she retracts it. Tilton does the
same Then he followed up, by persuadIng
Beecher he bad by his ISLANDERS on Tilton de-
stroyed that household, deprived them of S15-
O0Oa year. and poor Mrs. Tilton was nearly
crazV Raecher reflected EWhat am T n Il -