Wide-Awake Newspaper Work in South America by WALTER L. BURGAN

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 4, 1916

Wide-Awake Newspaper Work in South America

By WALTER L. BURGAN

A MOST encouraging account of the way in which the first session of the newly organized South American Division Conference was advertised through the newspapers of La Plata, Argentina, where the session was held, has recently been received from Elder R. T. Baer, president of the Argentine Conference. He says:—

“I must tell you about our press bureau work during the conference. We had taken the matter up weeks before the meeting, and worked up quite an interest. We had a committee of our ministers who attended to this work, but we had the speakers write out their sermons pretty well, and then the committee would get them in shape for the editors. We held forty evening services covering some of the strong features of our faith, and forty reports of our sermons appeared in the daily newspapers of La Plata.

“One of the leading dailies, La Argentina, became very friendly toward us, and gave us liberal space. I have forty copies of this paper containing our reports, more than half of them being a column and a half in length. Pictures of the delegates also appeared.

“When our people called at the newspaper office to get copies to take home, the men in charge said that they were not able to keep many of the papers on hand since the reports of our meetings appeared in print, as the demand had increased beyond their expectation. This interest was not simply on the part of our people, but interested persons from all over the city asked for the papers containing our reports. I think this is wonderful, when one thinks of this being Catholic South America, and yet our doctrines appeared day after day. After the conference had closed, the editors said that they had enjoyed the association of our brethren, and hoped that they would send reports after they arrived home.

“I have a complete set of the papers containing reports, which will be kept on file in the Argentine Conference for reference, and to show what has been done in this line. The workers went home with the determination to write for the press, and thus help to spread the great truths for this time.

“In addition to this publicity, Protestant missionaries sent shorthand reporters to our meetings to get what they could. We did not understand it at first. We thought that the Catholics were sending these reporters, for we had heard of some opposition springing up against us; but we learned that the young men who reported the sermons were interested. Only a few days ago while I was speaking in another part of the city, these reporters were there taking down what was being said. The Lord alone knows what this publicity will bring forth.”

La Plata, where the conference was held, is a city of about 123,000 inhabitants, and Elder Baer describes it as being as up to date as any city of its size in the United States.

Surely, the Lord is going before his servants in opening avenues for a wider proclamation of his message for this hour. This ringing testimonial on what can be accomplished through the newspapers of Spanish Argentina, whose editors, no doubt, are saturated with Catholicism, ought to encourage our workers in the homeland to put forth renewed efforts to give the message through the agency that reaches more people than any other medium we have at our command to spread the light of the gospel.

Now that the tent season is soon to begin in North America, those who expect to engage in such efforts ought to make it a very important part of their program to plan to give the newspapers daily extracts of their sermons, and also let the people know that the meetings are to be held, by submitting news announcements of the program which will be followed during such evangelistic campaigns. Those who are to work in the cities ought to use the advertising columns of the newspapers to arouse the people to become interested in hearing the message, and incidentally encourage the editors to give liberally of their space for the publication of extracts of sermons.

WALTER L. BURGAN.