The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-25
BEECHERTSM ILLUsTRITED.


Oliver Johnson as One OF lite Practitioners.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir: Mr..
Oliver johnson publishes In the Tribune the fol-
lowing statement respecting his letter OF Juno
1, 1879 to Theodore Tilton;
"Aer my change OF opinion in regard to Mr. Beecher
sun thou mt II my duty IA the interest Of all rites
ton QUIET Assured q Mr Beecher's innocence Of ny
Ss If c4 es Sns" ea sIeIs Tsre eTsS ness
subject him TO great annoyance anu pain. anew also
he had confessed his adulteries knew. further.
more that u he soulI assam Mr. Beecher he woul not
only ruin him-ef I, but smlrch his own household. IN
Thieh h,d oitea 9een familiar ana honored guest
result OF and wicSed at mt upon Mr. Beecher's
good nam aud an uoI ashamed TO confess tiat did
is gmy r,,o. .....,.
sometimes almost VI lent when reminded HIN OF the
silent these circumstances, quite as much for us
FAKE as for Mr. Beechcrs ana not les for he sake Of
Ing I'm tina, no longcr believed his main seeusaii9n
sec mag adm sson that his proyocation as back
as NC ssld II Mas l deait WIN MIN as would with
hLiis. Intimate friends te9E ss'e 70, Drop no
should be reported % him. ana should lose all power
10 restrain hiu from running himself and his family
cour.e my p,rt would expose to misunderst mo-
ing- IN somu quarters but was vi inc 70 Incur this
II ! ~ss wrons IN this, my motive vas uuselnsh and
again, should take the course that in the in
terest of pubic morals and OF all the parties concerned"
This Is square and TO the point. In writing bis
letter Of June 4, Johnson says that be lied. lie
believed Beecher innocent, but yet to prevent
ton from assailinR Beecher, he declared he
knew Beecher TO be guilty. You cannot paint
too bldcAy the Wron0s you hare suG ercd," he
wrote to Triton; "on that point make no plea
in abatement" This Mr.. johnson now says was
deliberate lying on his part and this kind OF
lying he practsed not only toward / lton, whom
he regarded as partially derarRed. hut toward
IitOn's friends VINO we're not derangeu; ana for
lying In this manner, he now says my motive
was unseInsh and pure"
But this explanation does not cover the whole
OF JOhnsons case. On the llth Of June 1879, in
tervew with MIR. Frank h. Carpenter was pub
lished by the Graphic, In which Mir. Carpenter
in the Nice of the Christian linton, admitted
Beecher's adulteTies To me. lie said he knew
Mr. Beecher had been an awful sinner with
women"
came managing editor OF the Christian Union, and
after the time when, as he now SAYS, thinking
TlltOn partially deranged, he took care to drop
no mint OF his own real opinion that Beecher
was Innocent, lest II should be reported to III
ton, aud ne should thus lose all opportunity
OF restraining Tilton. That WIS Johnson's
reason for continuing 20 assure Tllton tn Il he
could not paint too blacklY the wrongs he had
suffered but was this broad declaration that
she knew Mr.. Beecher had been an awful sin
hint that he really believed beecher to he pure
ana spOtless2
But 1t il needless to follow oliver Johnson any
further. On his own showing, nobody can tell
when he Is telling the truth or when he Is lying
Nor pIYMOuTu