The San Francisco call., 1895-12-31
ALL FRIENDS OF PIERCE
Bishop Wingfeld Denounced
for His Attack Upon the
Minister.
TWO STORIES OF THE TROUBLE
The Benicia Divine Denies That He
Struck Mr.. Pierce a Year
Ago.

PLACERVILLE, CAL, Dec. 3O.-The ex-
citement over the church trouble of yes
terday, when Bishop J. III. D. Wingfeld
OF the northern diocese of California de-
nounced the aged pastor of the local Prot
estant Episcopal Church. as an "unmiti-
| gated liar" has 2ot abated one whit. AL
classes in El Dorado County are
thoroughly aroused and the popular
old man, who has for years carried
on Christian work in this vicinity, is be-
sieged by people who offer him their
sympathy and their services. Rough
handed miners, some of whom, probably,
! have not seen the inside of church in
years. have expressed their willingness to
flight or arbitrate"-in fact, anything
Pastor Pierce may order them to do. A
bandit raid or record breaking gold
strike could not have caused nearly as
much excitement
Rev. Mr.. Pierce is graduate of the
General Theological Seminary of New
York and was ordained in Trinity Church,
New York City, July l. 1860. He came
at once to California, and for eight months
temporarily occupied the pulpit of Rev.
F. G. Ever in San Francisco. He came
to Placerville in 1861, and for five years
held services in the courthouse. In 1866
the present church was built. 1t is a neat
structure, out of debt. The vestry holds
title to the property.
Mr.. Pierce contracted with the vestry
that he be the officiating minister, and his
services were given gratuitously. He is 70
wears of age, goes on foot as a rule to
twenty-four districts in the county and
holds what he calls Gospel meetings.
Here IN Placerville, in the Church of Our
Saviour, he conforms strictly to the letter
of the Protestant Episcopal ritual. In his
travel on foot while in the county he has
covered $4,000 miles. He has grown into
the affections of the people of every de-
nomination.
The origin Of the trouble between Mr.
Pierce and the Bishop dates back to the
Bishops visit here one year ago. While
| showing the Bishop about the town Mr..
| Pierce visited the new Masonic Temple,
looked upon by all as the principal orna-
ment of the city. The Bishop is claimed
to have taken exception to Mr.. Pierce's
/ devotion and time given the lodges, and
is alleged to have struck Mr.. Pierce. This
occurrence was made public by the clergy
! man in the Ell Dorado Republican. but no
! reasons were given. Therefore the Noun
tain Democrat printed the following ed
| itorial on December Is, under the head
| lines, "Church Militant and Masonry:
From our local cotem we get the shadowy
! outlines of what recently occurred in the
lodgeroom of the Masonic Temple between
! two clergymen, whose names are suppressed.
But as the episode thus shrouded in the mys-
teres of church and lodge has been profaned
| by public report, we venture brief comment
of our own:
The Rev. C. G. Peirce, a Christian gentleman
and all-around good man, with characteristic
civility, was showing Bishop Wingfeld, nom
resident dignitary of his church, through the
superb lodgeroom OF the Masonic Temple, when
he was assaulted and insulted, as stated in
the article republished 1t is too late for us to
pose in the capacity of peacemaker, but not of
plug-ugly. The scandalous affair made us long
Tor one day of old Peter Cartwright, the
double-fisted fighting evangelist of Western
notoriety. But the good Methodist frontiers
man. who never struck cowardly blow. is in
! heaven, and high churchman holds the belt
by foul. For the living bruiser neither
/ church militant nor mystic order can have any
use, and they should subject him to dise-
| pline that viii remind him of New Orleans and
make brave old Ben Butler appear to him as
| an angel OF light and blessed memory.
The matter grew to fever heat. The
Bishop wrote the Mountain Democrat re-
! joinder, whereupon the following appeared
| December %, under the caption "The
Pierce Wingfield Controversy:
We have Just received letter from Bishop
| Wingfeld relative to the article copied from
| the Republican of last week and to our com
ments upon it. We respectfully refuse to pub
lish such parts of It as in our opinion are un-
! 1ust to others. But his denals of the angry in
dignities to a brother clergyman imputed to
him in the copied article, and his opinion OF
our editorial comments upon them, are taken
verbatim from his letter.
| OF the article upon which our comments
were based, he says: at is nlanifestly a tale
most absurd on its face, q story ridiculousy
! unlikely, and impossible Again it is
4 characterized as ''baseless and most pre-
posterous fiction of distempered imagina-
/ tion," and again he says, 'The scandalous
affair never to my knowledge had any
! existence.
Although clearly demurrable, these denials
SCENE to raise question OF veracity between
the militant ministers, which we sim
cerely regret Upon this aspect OF
the controversy we decline to dwell.
And without suggestion from us. the Bishop
should revise his exegesis OF our savage COM
ments upon what if true. is admitted by him
! self TO have been "scanda1ous affair" He is
too well grounded in poemics to mistake
charges not made by u.s. For our comments
upon them, however savage, to these and no
more we plead guilty. Here we take leave of
this unfortunate affair.
Unacquainted with Bishop Wingfeld as we
are, and respecting his high calling and Office
as we do, we wou Id treat him with dispasson-
ate fairness, but knowing Mr. Pierce as FL Do
RADIO County knows him, we shall be very slow
to believe that he would wrong any man on
earth.
On Sunday, in accord with the Bishops
announcement to visit this place for
confirmation services, the divine came
to town and took rooms at the Cary House,
] VIII lie the m mister soiournS at the Ohio