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The College View (Neb.) Convention

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 3, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 9.

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The College View (Neb.) Convention

By H. H. Hall

“IN every way the strongest, most practical convention we have ever had,” was the statement of all who attended the College View convention. Some of the reasons for this oft-repeated statement are as follows:—
1. Every field and union agent in the Northern and Central Union conferences was there.
2. Every missionary secretary and every tract society secretary, except two, in those union conferences was present.
3. The program was practical, and those having part in it had so thoroughly prepared that there was but little time lost.
4. The book studies and the selling points on “Great Controversy,” “Daniel and the Revelation,” “Heralds of the Morning,” “Practical Guide,” and “Home and Health” were all written out in advance, and copies were passed out in connection with each lesson.
5. The lessons on Christian salesmanship by Brother C. G. Bellah were so well illustrated by charts and diagrams as to make them highly interesting and instructive. They were afterward neostyled, and copies were given to each field agent.
6. The written reviews on salesmanship and selling points on different books helped impress what had been learned.
7. The stereopticon lectures given in the college chapel each evening presented sales charts for each conference in the two unions, the rise of the publishing work, the book work and workers in Spanish-speaking fields, views of our different publishing houses, glimpses of our leading periodicals, and many intensely interesting statistics.
8. The counsels of the last four days on home tract and missionary work, the sale of ten-cent magazines, etc., were in some respects the most profitable part of the convention, for this work has not received the attention in the past that it should. Brother A. J. S. Bourdeau, missionary secretary of the General Conference, led out in these subjects, and also assisted in the stereopticon lectures and chapel talks. His help was greatly appreciated. The magazine sales methods presented by Brother J. R. Ferren were very practical, and have been neostyled. Copies may be obtained by addressing him at Mountain View, Cal.
9. Brother Jas. A. Cochran had provided ample facilities and help for producing minutes and extra copies of selling points and some of the most important papers. As a result, about seventy pages of minutes and other matter were taken home by each person in attendance. A few extra sets of the following documents may be obtained by addressing the writer at Mountain View: “Heralds of the Morning” Selling Points, “Practical Guide” Selling Points, “Home and Health” Selling Points, and “Great Controversy” Studies.
10. And last, but by no means least, were a series of Bible studies given by Sister A. T. Robinson at our worship hour; a Sabbath sermon by Elder E. T. Russell, on “The Signs of the End;” and talks by Elder R. A. Underwood, on “Leadership” and “The Relation of the Evangelical and Publishing Departments.”
The hearty welcome of Prof. C. C. Lewis and his associates was greatly appreciated by all. The morning of the last day, our tract society men—eleven of them—were given the seats on the chapel platform, and the fact was referred to that they represented a company of one hundred sixty-seven such officers engaged in a similar work throughout the world, as we now have that many conferences and mission fields, in each one of which such an officer is essential. This fact, together with the many items of progress and experiences presented in the stereopticon lectures and chapel talks, served to impress anew the student body as well as our book men, with the remarkable growth of our publishing department, and with its close relation to all other departments of our work.
Our one great regret was the inability of the presidents of the local conferences to be with us; but the necessity of preparing reports for the Central Union Conference, which immediately followed, prevented.
All went home determined to put into practise the good things learned. The program on which they are working includes an increase of thirty per cent in subscription book sales for the Central and Northern union conferences for 1910.
H. H. HALL,