p. 7 | What Shall Be Done? by A. G. Daniells

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 3, 1908

What Shall Be Done?

By A. G. Daniells

WE are in difficulty regarding our Thanksgiving Ingathering work. In planning for this movement it was necessary for the printers to make arrangements for the necessary paper and office help at an early date. When they called on the General Conference Committee for an order for the number of papers that would be wanted, we had not received many orders from the churches, hence we hardly knew how many copies to order. We ventured to order four hundred thousand. The Review and Herald manager took the precaution to order paper for six hundred thousand.

When four hundred thousand copies had been printed, we had received orders for only two hundred fifty thousand copies. It looked as if four hundred thousand would be all that would be called for. So the printing ceased. But later the orders began to pour in, and we gave the Review and Herald an order for another fifty thousand. The orders kept rolling in and growing larger, until for ten days or more they averaged about twenty thousand a day. Since the presses began working on the Thanksgiving number the second time, they have been running day and night every day except Sabbath, and now in the midst of Thanksgiving week they are still running.

And the orders are still coming in. This week we have received one order for sixteen thousand copies. We now have orders for six hundred fifty thousand copies. We have more than a hundred thousand orders unfilled.

Now what shall be done? Shall we become disheartened, blame some one, and throw up the work?—No, let us go on with the work. No one is to be blamed. The Review and Herald deserves our gratitude for the splendid work it has done. It fulfilled its part of the original arrangement on time. The difficulty has been caused by so many of the churches and conferences failing to send their orders in early. The fact is, the movement has grown beyond what any one expected.

We are profoundly thankful that it has. The Thanksgiving number of the REVIEW will not be out of date when the week closes. It will be good for the purpose for which it has been prepared until the close of the year.

Under all the circumstances it has been decided to extend the Thanksgiving Ingathering two full weeks. We shall fill every order we have received, and all that may yet come in. We earnestly request our people to continue the good work. Do not fail to distribute all the papers you receive. Pray the Lord of the harvest to give you good returns, and to bless the people who get the paper. Who can estimate the amount of good this work will do? Let it continue.

A. G. DANIELLS.