Loma Linda by Mrs. S. N. Haskell

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 10, 1916

Loma Linda

By Mrs. S. N. Haskell

MANY letters have been received inquiring about the financial standing of our institutions at Loma Linda. We have tried to answer these letters to the best of our ability, but thought a few lines in the REVIEW AND HERALD would answer the same queries in the minds of others who are interested in the work but have not written us.

We have been asked if the report is true that the institution at Loma Linda has increased its liabilities “something like $32,000 since the council met last fall.” We were not prepared to answer this question, and referred it to L. M. Bowen, the business manager at Loma Linda. He replied as follows:—

“It is not true that the institutional liabilities have increased ‘something like $32,000 since the fall council.’ I think this came about by the report rendered at the close of the year, Dec. 31, 1915, in which there was considerable increase in liabilities; but it was for the six months ending at that time, and did not cover the present period. Since Jan. 1, 1916, we have kept a very strict account, and for every dollar borrowed have paid an equal amount on outstanding obligations, or have that dollar in the bank, so that the present six months will show no increase in obligations unless there is an equal amount of money in the bank. In other words, we are not operating on borrowed money. Our operating funds are kept entirely separate.

Loma Linda Sanitarium is one of our largest sanitariums, accommodating one hundred and fifty patients. St. Helena Sanitarium, California, is the only other Seventh-day Adventist sanitarium of equal capacity. While the indebtedness on Loma Linda is large, it must be remembered that its assets are also larger than any other of our institutions—publishing houses, sanitariums, or schools. The assets as given in the statistical report rendered at the council last fall were $431,751, and the present worth at that time was $72,756.

The institution owns three hundred acres of valuable land. The value of this land does not wholly depend upon its proximity to the institution; it is orange-grove land, and will command a good price in the market any day. This land yields both fruit and vegetables for the sanitarium, and for the helpers and medical students,—a family of about two hundred, besides patients. It also affords hay and pasture land for a large herd of cattle, which not only supplies the institution with all the milk it consumes, but furnishes a quantity for the market, which helps to defray the expenses of the dairy.

A number of cottages have been erected in the valley at the foot of the hill; these are owned by the sanitarium, and are rented as homes for families connected with the sanitarium and medical school.

The business manager, L. M. Bowen, is a careful financier, and has had many years’ experience in connection with some of our largest institutions.

MRS. S. N. HASKELL, Chairman Woman’s Committee.