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Testimonials on Press Work

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 2, 1915

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 43.

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Testimonials on Press Work

By W. L. BURGAN.

CONFERENCE presidents throughout the North American field are cooperating with the Press Bureau in a most encouraging way toward giving the message through the secular press, and encouraging their workers to use this agency in connection with their public meetings. Quite a number of highly interesting testimonials have recently been received from conference presidents and other laborers telling how they feel toward the newspaper work. It is truly gratifying to receive these expressions, as they indicate that the Lord has wonderfully blessed in this particular feature of the Advent movement. Some of these expressions follow.
C. F. McVagh, president of the West Michigan Conference: “We have five tents in the field in the West Michigan Conference, and so far as I can learn they are all making an effort to get good reports in the papers and are succeeding in a measure. I believe we are getting some results from the newspaper work.”
A. C. Gilbert, president of the Saskatchewan Conference: “We have been doing something along this line, and have had fair success. I believe it is a very essential line of gospel work, and should receive greater attention by our workers and lay brethren and sisters who are qualified for this kind of service for the Lord.”
T. G. Bunch, president of the Southern Oregon Conference: “I am interested in this work and anxious to get the message before the public by this means, and will do all I can to cooperate with the Press Bureau.”
N. P. Neilsen, president of the Central California Conference: “While we have succeeded in getting many and favorable articles into the different papers in our conference, I feel sure that there is still much for us to learn, and that we may do much more than we have yet done in this respect.”
J. Adams Stevens, president of the Northwestern California Conference: “You will be glad to know that we are endeavoring to make the most of the opportunities offered to us to present the message through the public press. As a rule our workers are quite successful in getting articles into print.”
R. W. Parmele, president of the Louisiana Conference: “We are awake to the advantages of newspaper publicity, and do not fail to use the columns of the press whenever possible.”
G. W. Wells, president of the Minnesota Conference: “I will be glad to encourage the tent companies in any way possible, to utilize the public press. This is being done to some degree in our conference, and we will cooperate with the Press Bureau in this important matter.”
P. A. Hanson, president of the Wisconsin Conference: “I know that great good can be done by the press.”
F. W. Stray, president of the Southern New England Conference: “This is the day of our opportunity, and we shall continue to write for the papers. We started our tent effort in New Haven on July 18, and had a number of articles printed in several dailies, taking advertising contracts with three papers; and in the one local Sunday paper, we had our article as a feature which was advertised on the first page of Friday’s and Saturday’s editions, free to us, with a full quotation of Luke 21:25, 26.”
This particular article spoken of by Elder Stray was more than half a page in length, and had the following headline stretching across the width of the paper: “European War Omen of End of the World, Say Seventh-Day Adventists in Tent Here.” These are the kind of articles that attract more than ordinary attention, and our workers should visit their home editors with the purpose of having display accounts published in the Sunday editions on the most strikingphases of the glorious advent message. These display reports are becoming more frequent among our workers, but much more could be done if personal visits were made to the newspaper offices, and our doctrines brought to the attention of the editors.
A worker in Virginia is meeting with success after having had reports refused several times by the editor of the papers in his home city. He says concerning the refusal: ‘I concluded to persevere. I prayed, and so the Lord opened the way for me to come into close touch with a leading Baptist minister, who is the editor of the papers here, and he has already published several of my articles. First the minister reads my articles, then he passes them to his son and daughter to print. I am glad that God can send the truth to this minister’s heart. Jesus will use fishers of men, and show us how to catch men.’
A brother in West Virginia says he has succeeded in getting several articles on the truth published, and also stated that his neighbors reminded him of having seen them in print. Then he says: ‘They [the neighbors] seemed to think the arguments expressed are all right, and seemed anxious for more light.’
In a letter received the latter part of July from Elder A. S. Booth, who has been laboring in Ogden, Utah, he said that the newspapers in that Mormon stronghold have been doing quite well toward advancing the message. Up to that time more than fifty articles had been published, averaging over nine inches each in length. Elder Booth said that the editor of one of the Mormon papers told him frankly that no more of his reports would be published. ‘I made the best of the matter, and after having a good talk with him about the work, he consented to let me continue to send in contributions. In a few days he was doing better than the non-Mormon paper.’
E. R. Allen, secretary of the Home Missionary Department of the Kansas Conference, says: ‘The little that has been done has demonstrated that there are great possibilities in the newspaper work in giving the message. Many thousands have read a portion of the sermons who did not attend the meetings. These reports are helping the meetings.’
One of our lay brethren in Chicago writes: ‘I have been writing articles on present truth for our local paper for nearly one year. This paper has a circulation of 7,500, with many interested readers on this particular subject. About two months ago I received from the president of our conference a series of articles for the papers, which has simplified matters very much. It has helped out wonderfully. You would be surprised to see the interest manifested. The editor and his wife and their father and mother are so much interested that they are seriously contemplating keeping the true Sabbath.’
W. L. BURGAN.