Review and Herald Publishing Association
ACCORDING to the prescribed legal notice, duly published, the members of the Review and Herald Publishing Association convened in their second annual meeting in the large tent at Takoma Park on Wednesday, May 10, at 9 A. M. On motion, W. W. Prescott was elected chairman, and W. B. Walters secretary. On inquiry it was found that thirty-two members of the corporation were present, a legal quorum. It was voted to defer the presentation of reports until a larger number of the members could be in attendance. By vote of the meeting the chairman was authorized to appoint a committee on nominations to recommend the names of four persons to be elected as trustees to fill the places of the four whose terms of office expire at this time, and a committee on plans. These committees were announced as follows: on nominations, W. J. Stone, A. E. Place, W. H. Thurston, G. A. Irwin, G. B. Thompson; on plans, E. R. Palmer, W. C. White, S. N. Curtiss, H. H. Hall, I. A. Ford, W. C. Sisley, W. D. Salisbury. The meeting then adjourned until Tuesday, May 16. The annual report of the manager of the association is given herewith:— The president has outlined quite fully the history and work of this association during its brief existence. It will perhaps be of interest to the membership to have fuller details concerning some of the work of the past year. At the first, we wish to express gratitude to God for his protection and guidance. No accident has occurred, and nearly all our workers have enjoyed most excellent health. Since our last report the force in our Circulation Department has been increased by the addition of D. W. Reavis, Mrs. Allee, and three stenographers and assistants. One additional proof-reader, one job compositor, and a secretary for the president have also been found necessary. The number of persons now on our pay-roll in Washington is thirty-one. As nearly all understand, this association publishes at its Washington office four periodicals; viz., THE REVIEW AND HERALD, The Youth's Instructor, Life and Health, and the Sabbath School Worker. On these we do all the mechanical work except the actual printing, the presswork being done by another firm. The REVIEW AND HERALD, the church paper of the denomination, has shown quite an encouraging growth in circulation during the year. The smallest number of copies printed was 12,407. The printing order for the issue of May 11 would have been 18,500 copies, but to provide for the extra demand during the General Conference session we printed 21,000 copies. This is largely due to the fact that the Week of Prayer Readings and the Missionary Convention Readings were for the first time printed in the REVIEW during the past year. This new departure seems to have given the best of satisfaction. The same may be said of the plan to publish the official reports of the thirty-sixth session of the General Conference in this paper, instead of publishing a separate Bulletin. The Youth's Instructor also shows encouraging growth. The smallest number printed was 12,400 copies, and the present edition is 13,400. The expense for illustrating the Instructor is such that it shows a small loss for the year. Many letters have been received expressing the thought that the Instructor is better than ever before, and we feel that continuous effort should be made by our people to secure its admission to every home where there are children. This sixteen-page monthly journal for the use of all Sabbath-school teachers and officers seems to fill an important place, and many are the words of appreciation which come to us concerning it. The present edition is six thousand copies, and notwithstanding the absurdly low price at which it is furnished,—twenty-five cents a year in clubs of two or more copies,—this periodical has more than paid its way. is the latest addition to our list of periodicals. This journal came into our possession through an agreement by which the Pacific Health Journal was transferred to this association. We changed the name to Life and Health, and the first number printed was that of July, 1905. The actual number of copies called for by the subscription list of the Pacific Health Journal when we received it was 1,950. We added five hundred new subscribers the first month, and the list has steadily grown until at the present time it numbers 6,360. In addition to this, a large number of persons order regularly, from month to month, copies to sell, so that the edition is never less than 10,000 copies. Of the June number, now in press, we are printing 17,500 copies. This periodical also shows a small loss, but we feel that the loss recorded makes the showing for the first year a very encouraging one. Because of lack of room in our building on North Capitol Street, a store at 716 Thirteenth Street, N. W., was secured, and here our book stock is carried. This has, in a measure, isolated this department from our other business, and has prevented that intimate connection and frequent counsel which the other departments have had. From this department are supplied all the books, tracts, etc., used in the territory of the Atlantic Union Conference. During the Sunday law agitation we republished in tract form the “Appeal to Clergy,” which had appeared in the Washington Post, and of this tract over 400,000 copies have been sold. The total sales of this department for the year, at wholesale rate, were $29,053.01. On Feb. 14, 1905, the Battle Creek office became the property of this association, by the court's confirmation of our bid made Jan. 10, 1905. The Battle Creek Branch having taken its inventory at the time of the sale, Feb. 13, 1905, it was not thought best to require a new inventory on April 30. We have taken the resources of this Branch onto our books at the price paid for the property, thus leaving any gain or loss which may come from the handling of this property to appear as it may accrue. In the Battle Creek Branch there is a fairly well-equipped printing-office and bindery. Nearly the whole outfit has been purchased new since the fire in 1902. It is our intention to remove this entire manufacturing plant to Washington as soon as we are ready to instal it, unless a favorable sale of a portion or all of it is made previously. There are about forty persons in the employ of our Battle Creek Branch, and all our book manufacturing is done there. The facilities in Battle Creek, together with what we have here, will probably be about all that will be required for doing our portion of the denominational work for some time to come. At the last annual meeting the following action was taken:— “Whereas, The trustees are negotiating for the purchase of lots 12 to 19 inclusive and lots 33 and 34 of Block 3 and lots 1 and 2 of Block 5 of the Thornton estate, at Takoma Park, Washington, D. C., the same comprising about one and seven-eighths acres, at a cost of about $3,030, and the demands of the business necessitate the early erection of a suitable building for manufacturing and office purposes, therefore,— “We recommend, That this work be pushed forward as rapidly as possible.” In harmony with this action, after much unavoidable delay, the building site above referred to was purchased on Dec. 28, 1904, the cash consideration, including fees, being $3,303.65. We have also paid in addition to this amount $178.08 for laying cement sidewalks: Our board of trustees voted that the manager go to Mountain View, Cal., and examine the new building of the Pacific Press Publishing Company with reference to its adaptability to our needs. This was done in January of this year. After considering all the advantages and disadvantages of a one-story building, the trustees decided that a two-story building would be better adapted to the shape of our building site and to this climate, and accordingly plans are being drawn by our architect, Brother F. G. Atkinson, for a building eighty by one hundred feet, with an office extension in front fifty feet wide and twenty-five feet deep, and a one-story foundry in the rear thirty by forty feet. This building is to have two stories, with high attic and mansard roof, and a cemented basement. The first story20is to have a solid cement wall, and the second story will probably be of pebble dash. An electric elevator will run from the basement to the attic floor, and the building will be lighted with electricity. All machines will have individual electric motors. On the first floor will be the counting-room, circulating department, manager's office, book storeroom, composing-room, pressroom, foundry, toilets, etc. On the second floor will be the editorial offices, chapel, reading-room, and bindery. The basement will be used for storing paper, and the attic for storing signatures. In the rear of the main building will be a separate fire-proof vault for the storage of plates, and a power-house for the dynamo, boilers, and machine shop. The cost of the main building, including plumbing and lighting, will be about $25,000. We hope to have the architect's plans to present to you before this session closes.