p. 22 | MISSIONARY LITERATURE

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 26, 1908

MISSIONARY LITERATURE

One Million Dollars' Worth of Gospel Literature a Year

THE history of the rise and progress of the Seventh-day Adventist publishing work is in many respects a remarkable story. Since the publishing of the first tract in 1846, it has grown steadily, under the prospering hand of God, until the total value of the output in all their publishing houses during the year 1907 was $1,035,565.62. The first periodical was published in July, 1849, and the first subscription book was issued by the Review and Herald Publishing Association in 1882.

PRINCIPAL SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST PERIODICALS PUBLISHED IN AMERICA

During the past sixty years, since issuing the first tract, the publishing work has been one of the great pioneer means in carrying the gospel around the world to nearly every nation. 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 production of gospel literature.

According to the latest statistics, these now have 697 tracts, containing 8,042 pages; 109 periodicals; 174 pamphlets, containing 15,212 pages; and 215 bound books, containing 69,167 pages.

These publications are printed in fifty-four languages; namely, Amoy dialect, Arabic, Armenian-Greek, Basuto, Bengali Bohemian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cantonese, Danish-Norwegian, Dutch, English, Esthonian, Fijian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Kafir, Laplandish, Lettonian, Livonian, Malay, Mandarin, Manganja, Maori, Polish, Portuguese, Rarotongan, Rumanian, Russian, Samoan, Santali, Servian, Sesuto, Slavonian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tahitian, Tamil, Tongan, Turkish - Armenian, Urdu, Welsh, Yiddish, and the Zulu.

There are now more than twelve hundred persons devoting their entire time to the sale of large books. About the same number are giving all their time to the sale of periodicals, and there are over three thousand workers who devote part time to working with the periodicals and small books. These, together with thousands of others who are not classed as salesmen, but who circulate a large amount of literature, keep the publishing houses busy, and render these institutions self-supporting. During the period of about thirty-seven years from the time the first tract was published in 1845, until the beginning of the subscription-book work in 1882, the total sale of publications amounted to $300,000.

As an illustration of how rapidly this work is increasing, 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 amounted to about $300,000, or an amount equal to the total sale of publications during the first thirty-seven years. During 1902 the sales were $430,027.71; in 1903, $477,714.98; in 1904, $436,600.68; in 1905, $547,067.03; in 1906, $824,027.69; in 1907, $1,035,565.62. The record for 1908 is yet to be made; but up to the time of this report, we can state that the sale of literature this year shows a substantial gain over last year, in spite of the peculiar conditions brought about by storms, droughts, panics, and political disturbances.

The power of the gospel is the only power which can withstand the vicissitudes of this sin-cursed earth. It is the glory of the gospel that it blooms in the desert, and prospers when beset by the storms of this world.