Notes of Progress by E. R. P.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 24, 1910

Notes of Progress

By E. R. P.

BROTHER A. J. S. BOURDEAU, missionary secretary of our Publishing Department, who has attended the union conference meetings and conventions in the Central, Pacific, North Pacific, and West Canadian union conferences during the past three months, is now on his return journey, and before this paper reaches its readers, he will doubtless be in his place again at the office.

The readers of the REVIEW have already been introduced to the three new ten-cent magazines which appear in the accompanying summary. Agents who sell the English magazines will certainly appreciate this opportunity of securing magazines in German, Swedish, and Danish, which they can supply to the people who prefer literature in those languages. The summary shows a good beginning for these three periodicals.

The new Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor for 1910 is now off the press. It is a beautiful number. Its bright cover page, its striking cartoons, beautiful illustrations, and best of all, its stories, incidents, and statistics concerning the great temperance movement which is now sweeping over our land, will doubtless make this number one of the most popular magazines we have ever placed on the market. Our agents who enjoyed selling the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor last year will certainly be even more pleased and more successful with this number.

Nearly all the union conferences at their sessions this winter have appointed missionary secretaries to take charge of the home missionary and periodical work. The rapid developments in these branches of work during the past two years have stirred the entire field, and it seems evident that in a few months, at most, our territory will be well manned for handling the church missionary work and the periodical work on a systematic, educational basis, which will insure far greater success than has yet been attained. May the Lord greatly bless in these plans.

We were caused some little concern when our summary dropped to a sale of only eighty-four thousand copies of our magazines for January, for it seemed possible, though hardly probable, that the sale was being affected temporarily by changes in prices, and by the transfer of the supervision of the work from our publishing houses to the conference tract societies. It is therefore very cheering to see the total for February compare so favorably with any previous month since August, 1909. Now that the changes are made, and the work is on a better foundation, we can go on with better courage, and with better assurance of success during the present year.

E. R. P.