The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-28
PASTOR WILSON A SOCIALISM,
BY ALL MEANS. AND THAT AC-
COUNTS FOR THE NEW CHURCH.
IL Is Called tho Peoples Church and Re-
ports Say That the Socialist Dominic
IL Drawing Nearly All the Method 10
Out OF the Old Church INTO His Own.

Uut VI tHb WIN NuuENh hhtO ~ VNu'
RIDoEFIKLp PARK, N. j., April 27.-So-
eialism has split the Methodist Church here
wide open and has added q new church to
the number in this village. The new church
is called the Peoples Church. 1t Ia presided
over by the Rev. A. L Wilson. the former
Methodist pastor here, who was trans
ferred to Staten Island by the last confer
enoo because, as his adherente and he him
Self assert, he has been one of the leaders
h the Socialistic mo vement here.
Mr.. Wilson has refused to 20 TO Staten
Island, has sent in his parchments and
severed his connection with the church he
has served for thirty-five years and has
started the Peoples Church. All but four
or Ave families in the Methodist Church have
left that church and joined the new church.
They attended the first services In the
hook and ladder house on Sunday, while
the new Methodist minister sent to take
Mr.. Wilson's place held services in the
Methodist Church with only a handful OF
o congregation, no choir and hardly any
Sunday school. The faithful Methodlsts
put all the blame on socialism, and Mr..
Wilson and some of his friends say it is all
due to bigotrv and Observation-Disclosures ir
the Methodist Church.
The Rev. MIR. Wilson, or irst plain Mr..
Wilson. with the accent on the Mister"
az the faithful Methodists refer to him, is
an elderly energetic man with era Y hair
and n fine face. He came here three years
ago, pretty soon proved himself to be a
hustler and soon had more people going TO
the Methodist church than ever ven to it
before. He got up entertainments, debating
societies ard scores OF other things that the
place had never known before. He was a
good talker, too, OF the evangelistic sort,
and people began to speak about his ser
mons But he hadn't been Eere long before
folks. good Methodist folks. begau to whis-
pc" that he was a Socialist. Sure enough he
was a Socialist. Mr.. Wilson admitted that
he was a straight out, simon pure Socialist,
who voted for Deb and was glad Of it, and
believed in Carl Marx. He let people have
no doubt that he was a foe of capitalistio
domination. a lreliever in trades unionism,
Il fighter for Government ownership Of
everything the Socialists would nave the
Government own.
Ridgefeld Park never had a Socialist
pastor before. 1t hadn't had any Socialists
TO speak Of either. Those that were there
we're mostly foreigners. The Rev. Mr..
Wilson proceeded to rehabilitate the So
cialist party of Ridgefeld Park. He
formed a branch Of the party there, pre-
sided at meetings in the interest Of Socialism
and got everybody by the ears. He started
in, as he said, to make Socialism respec-
table in Ridgefeld Park and before long
four member Of his church board had
joined the party. But all this time Mr..
Wilson was a popular pastor and his church
filed up with people whose faces had been
missed for many years.
A vear aoO thara waa n row over the new
school here. Charges Of graft were
made and there was q hot campaign for
the election Of school trustees. One OF
the members Of Mr.. Wilson's church board.
was up for reelection. The Socialists at
tackled him for his conduct Of the school
matter and he was beaten. Mr.. Donald
remained a member Of Mr.. Wilson's church,
Wilson. Other members of the church
aided with Mr.. Donald. Last fall Mr..
Donald ran for village trustee. The So
cialists had been growing and at the cleo,
ton cast 81 votes. Mr.. Donald had a hard
fight to get in. That didn't help the feel
WI Wiisd growing among " 'e" against Mr.
Those who are sticking to the Methodist
Church declare that Mr.. Wilson preached
socialism from his pulpit. Mr.. Wilson and
his adherents deny this, but when the con-
ference was held in Jersey City two weeks
ago it became evident that a report of the
Rev. Mr.. Wilson's activity as, a Socialist
had reached the powers of the church.
Some of the church members, friends of
Mr.. Donald, went to the presiding elder
about it. Seven of the members Of the
church board appeared and asked that Mr..
Wilson be retained, They say that they got
a promise at first that he would be retained,
but the day before the conference closed
they got word that Mr.. Wilson would have
10 60. He was sent to a $500 charge on
Staten Island.
When the action of the conference was
made known Mr.. Wilson's friends, who had
liked him az a pastor, held a meeting, &C.
cided to stick by their old rastor and asked
him to stay at Ridgefeld. Mr.. Wilson ac-
copied this call az he terms it, and the
dav after the conference he sent in his
Anderson, who had transferred him. Ridge
field Park had never seen such lines as
followed then. Everybody went around
asking everybody else where he stood.
The Rev. Mr.. Fowler, who had been sent
as the mex rastor, arrived on the scene to
himself without a parsonage. The par
sonage is rented by the church from one
conferences to another. The day, he sent i'll
his parchments Mr.. Wilson hired the house
field Park and You cant rent a house, easily
now. Sc when Mr.. Fowler arrived he had
to I've put in some rooms.
The parsonage is partly furnished by
the church. Last lhllrSOay q moving van
backed MP to Mr.. Wilson'S house and men
came in and removed tho furniture the
church owned and put it in storage to
wait there until the church can get another
arsona GO in which to install its new pas
tor. A lot OF people when they heard of
this action thought that the church might
have waited until the new parsonage was
hired before removing the furniture from
Mr., Wilson'S house. This added to the
feeling. The split came in a day or two.
Over a hundred members, including the
fourteen members Of the choir, formally
withdrew. from the Methodist Church,
placed themselves in the care of their for
mer pastor and agreed to raise among them
selves the 500 salary he had been getting.
Then they looked around for a place for
services.
The Town Hall happened to be engaged.
But there was the room over the hook and
ladder company. Most of the vamps de-
cided to stand by Mr.. Wilson and SO the
first services were held in the truck house.
They drew a crowd, including some believed
to be atheists and a few Jews, The Sunday
school started in with sixty-fve children,
nearly its old strength. At the evening
services there were over a hundred present
and the place was crowded to the doors.
The first collection was donated to the San
Francisco sufferer. People who attended