What Our Publishing Houses Are Doing by W. W. E.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 20, 1914

What Our Publishing Houses Are Doing

By W. W. E.

ONLY a few years ago all our publishing houses were doing more or less commercial work; indeed, it was thought impossible to maintain one of our publishing houses without patronage from the outside. But acting by faith upon the direct message from the servant of the Lord that our institutions should eliminate commercial work and devote all their energies to the definite work of the message, our publishing houses have been greatly blessed, and for a number of years have been kept busy in the production of our own literature. Some extracts from recent communications will give an idea of what they are doing at the present time. In a bindery report received from Brother E. L. Richmond, superintendent of the Review and Herald, our oldest institution, we learn that

for the month of June the total deliveries from the bindery were:—

Full leather books .......... 879 Half leather books .......... 820 Cloth books ................. 8,182 Board style ................. 2,662 Tracts and pamphlets ........ 65,324 Total ....................... 77,867

For weeks this institution has had to run its presses night and day in order to take care of its business, and the shipping department is often perplexed to know how to fill its orders on time.

In a letter written by Brother C. E. Weaks, general agent of the Pacific Union Conference, from the Pacific Press, he says:—

“It just does one good to walk out through the shipping and stock room these days. Brother Scott is just ‘snowed under.’ He told me this morning that he thought we would do a two-million-dollar business from the Pacific Press alone, if we could keep up the present rate of sales right through the year. Some orders have had to be held up because the bindery could not turn out books fast enough.”

Speaking of the hard times that exist on the Pacific Coast, Brother Weaks says:—

“These hard times have so affected the leather-binding trade that I see additional help has been called in to help in cutting up goat hides. There was sent to a canvasser in the Pacific Union this morning, forty-two full morocco, one half morocco, and no cloth bindings. It is worthy of note that there is an increasing demand for our books in the best binding.”

From a letter received from the manager of the Southern Publishing Association we glean the following:—

“We are now running our pressroom from half past three in the morning until ten o’clock at night, over eighteen hours a day. Both the pressroom and the bindery are working Sundays. Just now we are hurrying through the new editions of ‘Bible Readings’ and ‘Past, Present, and Future,’ as our stock of both books is practically exhausted.”

These institutions have been established for the purpose of giving to the world the message delivered to John on the isle of Patmos, and the reports already given indicate clearly that they are doing the work. W. W. E.