Sixty Years of Progress in Publishing the Third Angel's Message
UNDER this title the secretary of the Publishing Department of the General Conference has prepared an interesting summary of the growth of our publishing work, including with it some statistics concerning other parts of our work. On the first and second pages of the leaflet containing this information there is printed a facsimile of the first two pages of the first paper ever published by Seventh-day Adventists, The Present Truth, issued at Middletown, Conn., in July, 1849, nearly sixty years ago. These two pages we reproduce on pages 4 and 5 of this number of the REVIEW, in connection with the matter which accompanied them. They will be interesting souvenirs of early days, and the article on the time of the institution of the Sabbath is “the present truth” now, just as it was when it first appeared. We commend this record of remarkable growth to the consideration of any who may have been harassed by the fear that the trying experiences through which we have been passing during the past five years has tended to paralyze our aggressive efforts in the spread of the message. It is an assuring testimony to the vitality of this advent movement that during the very time when it has been struggling to free itself from a teaching, which, if given the opportunity, would have perverted this message into an evangel of the New Theology, the most gratifying results have been attained in establishing upon a sure foundation the original truths as opposed to a spiritualistic philosophy, and in planting these truths in many hitherto unentered fields. The record of this experience, so far as it pertains to the publishing work, is given in the leaflet already mentioned, and runs as follows:— Reports of progress are healthful tonics. The story of God's providences is one of the mainsprings of courage and enthusiasm. The history of the rise and progress of our publishing work is an inspiring story. Let it be told over and over again. Our publishing work may be said to have had its beginning only a few months after the great advent movement of 1843-44. In the spring of 1845 Elder Joseph Bates published a tract, containing about forty-five pages, on the Sabbath question. The pioneer workers were greatly assisted during the first two or three years of their work by this tract, which they distributed through the mails, and wherever they could find persons who would read. The periodical work began in July, 1849, when Elder James White published, at Middletown, Conn., the first number of The Present Truth. The story of that earnest, devoted effort by Elder and Mrs. White to publish the truth is thus told in a letter by Mrs. White:— “My husband then began to publish a small sheet, at Middletown, eight miles from Rocky Hill, Conn., and often walked this distance and back again, although he was then lame. When he brought the first number from the printing-office, we all bowed around it, asking the Lord, with humble hearts and many tears, to let his blessing rest upon the feeble efforts of his servant. He then directed the paper to all those who he thought would read it, and carried it to the post-office in a carpet-bag. Every number was taken from Middletown to Rocky Hill, and always before preparing them for the post-office they were spread before the Lord, and earnest prayers mingled with tears were offered to God that his blessings would attend the silent messengers.” Six months later, in November, 1850, the first number of the Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald was printed. This took the place of The Present Truth, just described. The publishing committee was composed of four persons—Joseph Bates, S. W. Rhodes, J. N. Andrews, and James White. Below the title was inscribed that scripture so familiar and so precious to every Seventh-day Adventist, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” The First Effort to Sell Our Literature
Previous to the year 1855, all publications printed in behalf of the third angel's message were paid for by donations, and the tracts and pamphlets were given away to interested persons. It was not supposed, up to that time, that it would be possible to sell to the general public literature dealing with a question so unpopular as the third angel's message. In the year 1855, Elder J. N. Loughborough, while holding a short series of tent-meetings in Rochester, N. Y., conceived the idea that our publications4could be sold. The total retail value of a copy of all the tracts and pamphlets published up to that time was thirty-five cents. Elder Loughborough was rather ridiculed by some for attempting to sell literature dealing with the third angel's message, but he believed it could be done, and made the attempt. Many things can be accomplished if we only believe. He secured a supply of what tracts and pamphlets were then published, did them up in thirty-five-cent packages, and at the close of his meetings on each of three successive Sundays, offered them for sale, and sold fifty dollars' worth each day. From 1855 to 1879 our publishing work consisted largely of publishing and distributing tracts and pamphlets. Those that were sold were chiefly handled by ministers from the desk, and by our people in their home missionary work. In 1879 the sales totaled for the year approximately thirty-two thousand dollars for the entire denominational work. The First Subscription Book
In the year 1879 the word of the Lord came to the leaders in this movement, through Mrs. E. G. White, stating that the time had come for advance steps to be taken in the publication of the message; that larger books should be prepared, illustrated, and put up in popular form; and that they should be sold from house to house by agents. Two years later, in 1881, at a camp-meeting held in the State of New York, plans for the development of the subscription-book business were arranged by Brother George King, our pioneer canvasser, who recently fell with the harness on in New York City. Elder J. N. Loughborough tells of having seen this dear brother going from one to another on the camp-ground, with two little black cloth-covered books under his arm. They were the first copies of “Thoughts on Daniel” and “Thoughts on the Revelation,” by Elder Uriah Smith, as they were first bound up separately and sold as trade books. Brother King urged that these two books be bound together in one volume, and illustrated, and sold from house to house by agents; and he guaranteed, or offered to guarantee, to sell five thousand copies of the work, if the Review and Herald Publishing Association would undertake the enterprise. Elders White and Loughborough heartily co-operated with Brother King, and the Review and Herald undertook the work of publishing our first subscription book. That was only twenty-five years ago. It is not probable that these men, although they were men of faith and prayer, imagined what a world-wide work would develop from this humble beginning. During the past sixty years, since Elder Joseph Bates issued the first tract on the Sabbath question, the publishing work has been the great pioneer means of the gospel for this time in carrying the truth around the world, and to nearly every nation under heaven. There are now twenty-two Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses, in which are employed between four and five hundred persons, devoting their entire time to the manufacture of our literature. According to the latest statistics, we now have 697 tracts, containing 8,042 pages; 99 periodicals; 174 pamphlets, containing 15,212 pages; and 215 bound books, containing a total of 69,167 pages. These publications are printed in fifty-one languages; namely, Bengali, Bohemian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Danish-Norwegian, Dutch, English, Esthonian, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Laplandish, Lettonian, Livonian, Mandarin (China), Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Santali, Servian, Slovakian, Spanish, Swedish, Urdu, Welsh, Zulu, Fijian, Icelandic, Japanese, Rarotongan, Tahitian, Arabic, Basuto, Armenian Greek, Cantonese (China), Amoy dialect (China), Greek, Hawaiian, Kaffir, Maori, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, Tongan, Turkish-Armenian, and Yiddish. Best of all, there are now more than one thousand persons devoting their entire time to the sale of this literature, and they are making the publishing work self-supporting, thus leaving the tithes for the support of the gospel ministry. During a period of about thirty-seven years, from the time Elder Bates published his first tract, in 1845, until the beginning of the subscription-book work, in 1882, the total sale of our publications amounted to three hundred thousand dollars. As an illustration of how rapidly this cause is spreading and growing, as it works its way among the many nations of the world, note carefully the following figures, showing the expansion of the work for the past seven years: The total sale of publications during the year 1901 alone amounted to about $300,000, or an5amount equal to the total sale of publications during the first thirty-seven years of our work. During 1902 the sales were $430,027.71; in 1903, $477,714.98; in 1904, $436,600.68; in 1905, $547,067.03; and in 1906, $824,027.69. During the year 1907 the sales will doubtless total more than a million dollars. The strong hand of our God has been working with similar manifestations of power in the other departments of his cause, as will be seen from the following facts:— Of educational institutions there are fifty-eight colleges, academies, and intermediate schools, with an enrolment of 4,123, and 255 teachers employed; there are 434 primary schools, having an enrolment of 7,784, and employing 498 teachers. There are about sixty-six sanitariums and about fifty treatment rooms. The total assets of all denominational institutions engaged in the three lines mentioned aggregate $3,754,440.58. The last quarterly summary of our Sabbath-schools shows that we have in the United States and Canada 2,332 schools, with a membership of 52,224. In foreign fields we have 1,063 schools, with a membership of 24,507. Total number of schools in the world, 3,395; total membership, 76,731. For the quarter ending June 30, 1907, our Sabbath-schools gave to missions $17,805.43. The past year they gave $57,915.71—more than $1,000 a week—for the work in foreign lands. During the past twenty years, $513,849.35 has been given by our Sabbath-schools for missionary work. Most all our schools are working toward the plan of giving all their donations to missions. These statistics are not given in any spirit of boasting, but as items of information and encouragement to the reader. To the Lord belongeth praise, for through him has this work been wrought.