Biennial Report of the Central Union Conference
By E. T. Russell
THERE is embraced in the Central Union Conference the States of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and the Territory of New Mexico, also five counties of South Dakota which are located in what is known as the Black Hills country. It covers an area of 616,531 square miles of territory, and is located west of the Mississippi River, mostly in what is termed the Great Basin. It has a total population of 9,000,000. About one third of this territory is well adapted to agriculture; one third is semi-arid, and abounds in good grazing lands, and is therefore known as a cattle country. The remaining one third is mountainous, and is only valuable for agriculture in such places as are subject to irrigation. It is a land of mountains, rivers, and fertile plains. In many places the mountains are rich in mineral wealth. In both the mineral and agricultural sections the financial condition of this territory is excellent, and prices are good. The following are its organized conferences: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Colorado; the Wyoming Mission field is also in this territory. Number of churches, three hundred and fifty-five. Total membership 12,042. Number of companies not organized into churches, ninety-six, with a total membership of 1,099. Number of isolated Sabbath-keepers, nine hundred and ninety-five. Total number of Sabbath-keepers, 14,136. At the Oakland Conference the total number of Sabbath-keepers reported was 13,794, which shows an increase in the union conference from Dec. 31, 1902, to Dec. 31, 1904, of only three hundred and forty-two church-members. This small increase is owing to the fact that many names have been dropped from the church records. In nearly all the conferences in the Central Union there is an inflated membership. Many individuals that have made no profession of religion for years, but whose names were still retained on the church roll, have been dropped. We felt that a reform should be carried forward in this respect, or else the Lord could not say, “Well and faithfully done,” to us as churches and as conferences. One church alone during the past two years has dropped from its roll of membership one hundred and thirty-two names. Since the last biennial report there have been organized forty-three new churches, and several have been dropped from the conference records. There are 427 Sabbath-schools, with a total membership of 11,799. There are seventy-six church-schools, with an enrolment of 1,107. During the past two years three intermediate schools and two intermediate industrial schools have been established, and all are doing good work. We have two hundred and ten church buildings, seventy-five ordained ministers, sixty-two licentiates, one hundred missionary licentiates, and fifty-five canvassers. Total number of laborers, two hundred and ninety-two. Total amount of tithe paid in 1903, $114,523.19; in 1904, $112,242.98. Amount appropriated to fields outside the Central Union Conference, $29,804.71. Annual offerings to foreign missions, $18,398.18. Weekly offerings to foreign missions, $12,017.54. Miscellaneous offerings to foreign missions, $27,533.09. Sabbath-school offerings, $18,356.77. Sabbath-school offerings to foreign missions, $12,486.31. Total amount of book sales, $78,708.82. Union College is one of the most important institutions in the Central Union Conference. It is being recognized by leading educational institutions, and also by State educational societies, as an institution which requires of its students a high grade of work. It has connected with its faculty about twenty instructors, and has an average enrolment of from three hundred and fifty to four hundred students. It represents a total value of $163,834.36. Nearly all the industrial departments connected with the institution are more than self-supporting; thus it is enabled from its earnings to meet its operating expenses. The college has enjoyed many tokens of the blessing of the Lord during the past year. The regular meetings have been well attended, and numbers of conversions have been witnessed. Twelve students have been baptized. Brother G. Phillips spent two weeks with the school at the close of the winter term, in behalf of the canvassing work, and was greatly encouraged by the interest which he found. Elder R. D. Quinn held a series of meetings for the benefit of the students, which resulted in a great spiritual awakening. The exact results can not yet be told, but they expect a large baptism soon. The word of God was preached in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. On four or five different occasions the chapel exercises continued from 9:45 to 12:30, all recitations being suspended. The message was complete surrender to God, absolute deliverance from all known sin, and the reception of the Holy Spirit in preparation for service. One result is the desire of many to enter some branch of the work during the vacation. This has led to the organization of a labor bureau among the teachers to find places for those who want to work. Industrial Intermediate Schools
The Iowa Conference has an industrial intermediate school located at Stuart, with an average attendance of sixty-five students. For the short period of time in which it has been in operation, much progress has been made in industrial lines. At the opening of the school this year more than half of the pupils made no profession of religion, and it had more than the usual proportion of students of the so-called undesirable class. By the middle of the year, they did not have a single student who did not make a profession, and, with the exception of two, the professions made seemed genuine. It was amazing in some instances to see wild, reckless boys settling into quiet, God-fearing students in only a few weeks’ time, and this without any revival effort. At the closing service of the year but three students failed to take part.10 Another industrial school has been established at Palisades, Colo., and a good work is being accomplished there. Palisades is located in one of the best fruit-growing sections of that State, therefore is well adapted for industrial school work. During the summer the Colorado Conference expects to establish another industrial school at Berthoud, near Loveland. Intermediate schools are located at the following places: Thayer, Kan.; Hemingford, Neb.; Hygiene, Colo.; and College View, Neb. The following-named sanitariums are located in this union conference: the Colorado Sanitarium at Boulder; the Nebraska Sanitarium at College View, the Iowa Sanitarium at Des Moines, and the Kansas Sanitarium at Wichita. The Colorado Sanitarium is the third largest medical institution in the denomination. It was established nearly nine years ago, being dedicated and opened to the public in July, 1896. Its history for the past eight years has been the history of similar institutions which have had to build up a constituency in an entirely new field. It has always had a large summer trade, sometimes being obliged to turn patients away. During the winter months, however, the trade has been very light, entailing a heavy loss in one season in the operation of the institution. Slowly but gradually the general patronage of the institution has been increasing, and the year 1904 was by far the best in its history. An effort has been made to keep the missionary idea prominently before the helpers, so that their income should not be consumed upon themselves, nor upon the institution and the work there, but that other needy fields and other departments of the work, just as far as possible, should share in their prosperity. The past summer was one of the most successful in its whole history. Heretofore they have had to borrow money to carry them through the winter months, but last year their income was such that they paid all their bills when due, and none of their accounts were in arrears. The Lord gives the members of the sanitarium family encouragement from time to time by impressing the guests with the truth for these last days, and in leading some to take their stand for the same. Several during the last few months have begun the observance of the Sabbath, and a deeper interest has been manifested in Bible study and in the Bible lectures which have been given each week. The Iowa Sanitarium has been doing a good work. Twenty-two nurses have been graduated from the institution since our last biennial session, and at present they have twenty-five in training. Several patients have been converted. The work of the institution has grown until the present accommodations are not sufficient to care for the many calls. The physicians of Iowa have recognized in the Iowa Sanitarium a place where they can send their patients with full confidence that they will receive scientific and rational treatment. The nurses’ training-school is conducted on a strictly denominational basis. None but Seventh-day Adventists in good standing are admitted. Some of the graduates are in foreign fields, and others in the home field. The applications for admission far exceed the number that can be accommodated. The sanitarium property is owned and controlled by the Iowa Conference, the Conference Association holding a deed to all property. During the past two years the Nebraska Sanitarium has enjoyed a reasonable degree of prosperity, and much of the blessing of the Lord. The number of patients averages from thirty to forty. The religious interest has been good, and while we do not know that many have accepted the truth, yet we know that many have gone away from the institution with an interest awakened which will sooner or later bear fruit. The sanitarium employs continuously about fifty nurses, either trained or in training, and opens new classes for nurses the first of April and the first of October each year. During the past two years about twenty-five have been graduated from this school. A number of these are engaged in missionary work in foreign lands, while some of them are engaged in private nursing. The action of the Central Union Conference in advising that the Nebraska Sanitarium connect more closely with the Nebraska Conference has recently been carried out, and the Nebraska Sanitarium and Benevolent Association is now inseparably connected with the Nebraska Conference. The Wichita Sanitarium is not quite fully completed, but the institution is now enabled to receive patients. It is a good plant, so built that it is well adapted to the work for which it is designed. In connection with the institution they have about twenty acres of fine agricultural land. We bespeak for this sanitarium a bright future. Health Food Factories, Restaurants, etc.
There are four health food factories, located in the Central Union Conference, as follows: one at Des Moines, Iowa; one at Boulder, Colo.; and two at College View, Neb. These plants are all doing a good business. We also have seven treatment rooms, two private sanitariums, and four or five vegetarian restaurants. While the World’s Fair was in session during the summer of 1904, the Central Union Conference, in connection with the Missouri Conference, carried forward aggressive missionary work in the city of St. Louis. Several workers were located there who did house-to-house work, scattering copies of The Family Bible Teacher. This work was followed up systematically, and, as the result, an interest was created which demanded the labor of nearly a score of Bible workers. At its last annual meeting the Iowa Conference voted to place one half of its tithe and one half of its workers at the disposal of the General Conference. At present it is supporting about twelve workers in other fields. The Nebraska Conference voted to place five of its laborers at the disposal of the Mission Board, and to support them for three years in needy fields. The Kansas Conference voted to give two of its workers for the foreign work, and to support them in the same. Colorado is at present supporting two laborers in Africa, and at its last camp-meeting voted to support two more in other fields. The Missouri Conference also voted to give two of its workers to the foreign work, and to support them for one year. I realize that as a union conference we have not accomplished what the Lord would have us accomplish, as our conference is located in rich agricultural territory, which gives us the advantage of quite abundant resources as compared with many other fields throughout the world. But we do praise God for what he has done for us, and for what we know he is willing to do. And above all we praise him that he has put it into the hearts of the brethren in our conference to respond so liberally to the appeals that have been made for means with which to carry on the work in other lands. Also we are very thankful that God has put it into the hearts of our brethren and sisters to assist the work in the Southern field, and to aid in building up the different enterprises at Washington. E. T. RUSSELL, President.