The Southern Publishing House.
By R. M. Kilgore
It was my pleasure recently to spend some time in counsel with the managers of this institution at Nashville, Tenn. The new building, now nearing completion, is a model structure, and its large, well lighted, airy rooms are nicely planned, and well adapted for the purpose to which it is dedicated. Their motto is, “No debts; pay as we go.” Throughout the building everything gave evidence of life, thrift, and push. Their orders are crowding them. More necessary new machinery is called for. This demand is imperative and calls loudly for more money, and our good brethren everywhere should take shares of stock, and lift now with those who are struggling against odds to make this institution what it should be. The Lord has spoken definitely concerning this work at Nashville. It now stands where the publishing houses at Battle Creek and Oakland once stood in their infancy and poverty, when the friends of the cause were few and poor and without influence in the world. They have grown to be towers of strength and power in disseminating the light of present truth. Here now stands another in a “world of its own,” in “a field peculiar to itself,” being fitted up for a special line of work that our other publishing houses cannot do. The house is also publishing two periodicals: the Gospel Herald, designed for the missionary paper, and the Southern Watchman, our Conference paper. It is the plan to make this paper the organ of all the Conferences in the Southern Union Conference. Instead of each Conference having a State paper, all will unite in making this one a paper of which we may feel justly proud. Elder C. P. Bollman is now the editor, who we all know will make it a first-class Conference paper. But our people in the Southern Union Conference must all become patrons and make it self-sustaining. It should be a regular visitor to every Sabbath-keeping family in the Southern field. It will contain the reports of laborers from every part of the Conference. Both of these periodicals are adapted specially to the Southern field and are worthy of the confidence and patronage of all. We are sure the change of name, size, and dress of these papers will meet the approval of every one. The publishers are anxious and determined to make them just what they should be,—live, up-to-date expositions of the work and truths of the Third Angel’s Message. Let the Conferences and churches plan to give them a wide circulation by clubs and working for single subscriptions. Our ministers and other Conference workers should interest themselves in making these papers a power in this field, both by writing short, live reports, incidents, and experiences, and by raising the subscription lists. We have only a short time in which to work. Let us agitate and work fast.