p. 2 | THE WORK AND THE WORKERS

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 31, 1911

THE WORK AND THE WORKERS

A recent Saturday's mail, opened the next morning, contained orders for 6,911 copies of "Life and Health," "Liberty," and the "Protestant Magazine."

Rush telegraphic orders for one thousand or more copies of our magazines are frequently received at our office, several of them being occasionally received in one day.

We recently received two courteous notes from the White House Office, acknowledging, with thanks, the receipt of a bound volume and current numbers of the "Protestant Magazine."

One of the latest recruits to our large army of "Life and Health" agents is a well-known attorney and counselor-at-law, residing in Evansville, Ind. This gentleman recently sent us several yearly subscriptions.

A very interesting two-page letter was recently received by the manager of our magazine department, from Lyman Abbott, editor in chief of the "Outlook," with reference to the "Protestant Magazine" and the principles of Protestantism.

Referring to an order for 350 copies of "Life and Health" sent in by a young girl, the secretary of the New Jersey Tract Society says: "This agent is a girl about fourteen or fifteen years of age. She sold 50 copies in two hours on Saturday night."

"Liberty" is now being mailed regularly to all the legislators, governors, and leading public officials of 23 States. We trust that in the near future the senators and representatives of all the States will have the privilege of reading this valuable magazine.

A few days ago we sent 10 copies of "Life and Health" "on suspicion," to one of our sisters whom we believed would make a good worker. The following interesting letter has just been received from this new worker: "I received the 10 copies 'on suspicion,' as you wrote me, and this morning, with the help of the Lord, sold them all; also took one yearly subscription. Find enclosed money-order to pay for the same. Please send 20 copies each month until further notice is given." We are sure there are thousands of other good Seventh-day Adventist sisters who could do as well as this one if they would only try.

According to recent reports of periodical sales received from our workers in China, our American magazine agents in this land of plenty will do well if they keep up with the beginners in that far-off, difficult field. In a recent letter from Dr. A. C. Nelson, assistant superintendent of the China Union Mission, he says: "One of the Hankow men sold 600 papers in three days. On his best day he sold 225 copies. He has had no special training. You remember the Korean,—the one with the cropped hair, and hat and clothing of his own manufacture. We set him at work selling our paper here in Shanghai. In the past all our Chinese brethren who have tried it have made signal failures, but this man has been selling for three days. He sells the papers for two cents each, both the Mandarin and Wenli editions. The first day he sold 27, the next day 63, the next 23. He gets along with the police and every one generally."

In a letter just received by the manager of our magazine department, from Brother B. A. Roberts, of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission Press, Shanghai, China, he says:—"I just heard the other day that there was an earthquake in the southern part of China, and that one of our canvassers took advantage of it, and sold over 700 copies of our paper in one hour. The reason he did not sell more was because he ran out of papers. We printed 13,000 copies of our April Chinese 'Signs of the Times,' 12,000 of the May number, 20,000 of the June, 25,000 of the July, and 32,000 of the August. You see we shall soon be up to some of our home papers in the United States. You may ask what it is that causes this increase. Well, it is just this: We are turning out the truth, and there are some people here in China who want it. I would not be surprised if our editions ran up to the 50,000 mark before the end of the year. What we need here in China is a good man to train our workers to sell the literature."

May these encouraging reports from our little handful of laborers in China stir our home magazine agents to greater zeal, activity, and success in this more favored field.