Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-05-28

the room) with having forged the 'Beecher letter
of resignation" The phrase II resign Plymouth
Church" was equal to standing "on the brink Of
moral Niagara" or accomplishing rape by
rdiculed the idea that the conversations reported
by Moulton TO have taken place between himself
and Beecher could ever have occurred. Neither
Tton nor Moulton dare deny Beecher testimony
that every time he entered Moulton'S house Mrs
Noulton saluted him with kiss. Moulton and Ill
ton saw that Bcecher thanked them for telling
Woodruff and Robinson about his crime, ana
thanked Mrs. Moulton for telling 1t to anotner
Robinson, so that Beecher could converse easily
| with those persons about IT, Great laughter a
few words about blsC hhai brought '"e 'fee'n up
to recess.
AT 2l9 Judge Porter again took up the sub
ject of Frank Moutons wickedness. That gen.
tleman. he said, had always ready an explanation
for any phase of his conduct and if one were not
at hand he was even prepared to forge lie, citing
Moultons statement that Tilton's portrait OF Hen
nv Ward Beecher was not IN his Clinton street
house. This falsehood was comparatively nnim-
portant but, oh what a revelation it was Of the
interior of that nest where vipeIs were bred. lie
spoke at length of Moulton's refusal to give up
the scandal papers to Gen. Tracy for Mr.. Beecher,
alleging that Moulton had previously furnished
them to Tilton for publication.
There was no ground for asserting that Mr.
Beecher had in his testimony withdrawn the
charge of black mail. William o. Bartlett, New
York, che of the clcarcstheaded authorities in the
country. whose engagements prevented him from
he;nr One Of the counsel for Tie defense when the
case was presented to him, at once pronounced it
a ca.e of blackmail. Judpc Porter then entered
into a long definition of blackma Technically,
this was rot a case of black mail. Fortunately,
there are so few cases like this that the English
ianrna~e contains no word to characterize it by.
TIC money Wa, not extorted BY menaces but by
mo lie Of y confidence man. Moulton admits hay-
ing extorcd money from Mr.. Becchcr. lie re-
fused to take the $1,000 in check to his order,
and fo,rcd Mr. Beecher to give him the money in
hill lest his agency should be exposed. He did
cve,vthiny to Conceal the recent of the money
Ue Hew into rape at Franklin Woodruff for tell
inc Cen Tracy about it. Later. when he found
that he was to he charged with black mail he be-
came frightened, and temporarily suppress ed his
Iono statement on which he had expended two
week = labor. and substituted the short statement
for the pnpose of cntlapping Mr.. Beecher into
the admission Of an ofensc. When fnaliy the
long statement was published Moulton had inter
iec,ed into If an imperfect account Of the receipt
of the money. aud lame explanation of it as a
little private roguery of his own. Judge Porter
ridicucd the idea that 1iton did not know where
the money came from. Did he think it de scended
that ladder described IN the Woodhul biography,
and bv the hands of one of the free love angels,
who we're constantly ascending and descending
rLaurhter1 Ii it was not black why did
they cover when it was known that they received
the money: why did neither of them make any
entry concerning it why had they not returned
il to this yer, day: [Sensaiion.l There were
two Tiltons-one chivalric lofty, and calling up
on all men to admire him; the other taking 3d. 900
and not knowing where it came from, and strik.
inc a Young Girl TO the ground for rebuking his
brutality to his wife, and then saying. mimick-
ipg1 "Whv. Bessie my dear. you must have
tripped." [Great laughter. After all Carpenters