Late Meetings at Nashville, Tennessee
By George Ide Butler
The meetings in Nashville, May 7 and onward, are past. They were excellent meetings in all respects. The election of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Publishing Association for the ensuing year took place, and the Executive Committee of the Southern Union Conference held quite a large number of meetings, and transacted considerable business. The new Board, elected without a dissenting voice, was as follows: Geo. I. Butler, N. W. Allee, J. E. White, John N. Nelson, I. A. Ford, W. O. Palmer, and Dr. O. M. Hayward. In the election of officers of the Board, Geo. I. Butler was chosen president; J. E. White, vice-president; John N. Nelson, business manager; I. A. Ford, treasurer; W. O. Palmer, secretary. The Board recently decided to enlarge The Southern Watchman to a sixteen-page paper, the size of the page to be the same as before, and the first issue of the enlarged edition to be about the first of June. The Board elected the following editorial staff for the larger edition: Geo. I. Butler, editor; John A. Brunson and J. E. White, associate editors; Miss E. J. Burnham, assistant editor. It will be noticed that the Board has been changed somewhat since last year.18Elder W. J. Stone, who was a trustee last year, has been assigned to labor in Indiana, by the recent session of the General Conference Committee at Battle Creek; and Elder N. W. Allee was sent to this field by the General Conference at Oakland. Elder Stone still remains president of the Tennessee Conference till the camp-meeting, to be held in a month or two. In the meantime Elder Allee has gone to Florida for a few weeks, inasmuch as I could not visit that State because I was to attend the Western camp-meetings in Iowa and the two Dakotas. Elder C. P. Bollman felt constrained to work on the farm for a season in order to recuperate his broken health. As he has been obliged by his duties to be absent from his family almost wholly for years, the privileges of home will be a great encouragement to all concerned. We hope he will be fully restored to health so as to be fit for duty in the near future. The presence of John N. Nelson and I. A. Ford on the new Board will be a matter of interest to all the friends of our publishing association. These men were trusted employees of the Review and Herald until the great conflagration swept that institution out of existence. Their loss to it is our gain. Brother Nelson is our business manager. Brother Ford is the treasurer of the union conference, and of the publishing association also. In their occupying these important financial positions we trust our friends in the North, and in all parts of the country as well, will have their confidence in the stability and prosperity of our young publishing house increased. According to the leading officials of the Review and Herald, these brethren were considered among the safest and most useful men in the employ of that large corporation. So in this respect their loss has been our gain. It is intended by this office that a special effort shall be put forth to increase our canvassing work to a large degree in all parts of this great Southern field. Brother Ford is chosen to superintend the department of circulation throughout this field. His experience in Atlanta a few years ago in securing and keeping some eighty canvassers at work, and disposing of several times as much literature as we are now doing in this whole field, gives special grounds of hope that a large increase will result from his presence among us. His help will also be given to greatly increasing the circulation of our enlarged paper soon to be brought out. It was the unanimous judgment of the members of the executive committee, and of the retiring as well as the incoming Board of the publishing house, that it was advisable to purchase the building belonging to Elder J. E. White, which really joins the office building. They are nearly of the same size, and ought to go together. The office was renting a portion of it already. Brother White has been moving out onto a small farm a mile or two from the office, where he can take some needed exercise by tilling the soil, and raising his own fruit and vegetables. He gave very generous terms to the office. About four thousand dollars of stock was taken in payment, and no money had to be paid down. Terms were very fair. One important reason why it was thought best to purchase it was the fact that there was no home for the helpers in the office. They have been compelled to go here and there to restaurants, with nothing resembling a home. Now very pleasant quarters can be arranged in this part of the building. A restaurant for health foods can be provided in it, and things will be greatly improved. It is confidently believed by many that as the printing work increases, all the room in the combined building will be needed. It was purchased at considerable less than the original cost. If anything is made clear by the great conflagration at Battle Creek, it is that the establishment of a printing office here two or three years ago was in the order of God. It is now ready to enter upon its work as soon as the facilities can be purchased to make it possible to do our work economically. This will be done in the near future. Now that the Review and Herald institution will likely go into liquidation, and an office be started in the East, our Southern office will be the most central of any in this country. We can see no good reason why all the original slave States should not need the Southern literature emanating from this office, and specially prepared for the Southern field, as much as the Southern Union Conference of nine States should need it. Why should not Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Virginia need our Southern literature as much as Tennessee or Kentucky? The influences centering in the color-line prevail in all these States. Should these States look to this office for their supplies, it would greatly increase the output from this office. Our enlarged paper should be circulated more or less in all these old Southern States. We hope very soon to have our office so equipped that just as good work can be done in it as in any of our older institutions. I wish to say to all the readers of the REVIEW AND HERALD that those who have been struggling along for a few years past in this difficult field feel very much encouraged at the prospect before them. We expect better days ahead. There are many omens that indicate this. The General Conference dealt very generously with us at its last session. Sister White made many kind remarks concerning our Southern field and its importance. Any of us who have felt that there was a coldness in certain quarters toward the work in the South were made sensible that a change was taking place. For this our hearts were thankful, very thankful. We expect to see a growth in the South in the immediate future. The signs indicate it. Our faith grasps it, and we hope in God. Our meeting was a pleasant one. A friendliness characterized all the proceedings. Our meetings were spiritual. Confessions were made, and tenderness of heart was manifested. Tears flowed, and alienations disappeared. Ah, dear brethren and sisters, how good God is to us poor imperfect creatures! And how needy we all are of his blessing! Let us all look up, thank God, and take courage.
GEO. I. BUTLER.