HELP FOR OUR SCHOOLS by George A. Irwin

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 1, 1900

HELP FOR OUR SCHOOLS.

By George A. Irwin

It is well-known to all our people that the majority of our larger schools, such as colleges and academies, are at the present time struggling with a heavy load of indebtedness that has been contracted by the erection of buildings and the creating of appliances thought to be necessary to carry on these schools. In some instances these debts have been augmented by a failure on the part of schools to meet their running expenses. As a result of this heavy indebtedness, our school work has been in a measure crippled, since time and thought have been devoted to this by the teachers, that should have been given to the legitimate work of the school. Many plans have been proposed for the liquidation of these debts, some of which have brought temporary relief. But the bulk of the indebtedness still remains.

Brief allusion has been made in a past issue of the REVIEW to a plan proposed by Sister E. G. White which, if accepted by the denomination and heartily entered upon, will go far toward relieving us from these debts, if not entirely wiping them out. But this depends largely upon the interest and enthusiasm with which we as a people adopt, and co-operate in, the plan. It will not be my purpose in this article to state the plan in detail, as that will be done by those upon whom the burden of carrying it into effect has been laid; hence I will only call attention at this time to the plan in its general features.

Sister White proposes to give all the royalty on her latest book, entitled, “The Parables of Jesus,” or, “Christ’s Object-Lessons.” This book, the manuscript of which is now in the hands of the publishers, is said to be one of the best of Sister White’s productions, and it is believed that it will be one of the best selling books that she has as yet brought out. Her interest in the school work is such that she has generously given for this purpose all the proceeds in the shape of royalties that would otherwise come to her from the sale of the book. This gift, however, is on condition that the General Conference, all publishing houses, State conferences, tract societies, ministers, and workers in general unite with her in the spirit of sacrifice and a donation of time or means commensurate with the ability of each.

I am glad to be able to say that the General Conference Committee very much appreciate this gift, and at their recent session in March took steps to have the enterprise carried rapidly to successful completion. A committee of seven (consisting of Elders S. N. Haskell, S. H. Lane, P. T. Magan, J. E. White, and L. A. Hoopes, and Dr. J. H. Kellogg and W. C. Sisley) was appointed for this purpose. The committee was organized for work by the election of Elder Lane as chairman and P. T. Magan as secretary. Professor Magan was also chosen by the General Conference Committee, and put upon the pay roll of the General Conference, to act as a general man in carrying out and putting into effect the plans proposed by the committee. These plans will be submitted in a short time to each school, conference, and tract society. Each of the two publishing houses has been asked to print an edition of 150,000 copies of this book free of cost, as their donation toward the enterprise. This will entail an expense of about $15,000 upon each office, which is certainly a very liberal contribution. The tract societies will be asked to handle the book free or practically so; so that nearly all the profits arising from the sale of the book, aside from the canvassers’ commission, can be applied in the liquidation of the debts of the various schools.

The illustrations, typesetting, and the making of four sets of plates for this book, will entail an expense of nearly four thousand dollars. It was thought by the committee that it would not be right to ask our publishing houses to bear this expense, in addition to what they have already been asked to do; so it has been decided to raise this amount by donations from individuals—not that we would make a general call from our people for small amounts, but from such as are able, and would feel it a privilege, to give to such a worthy enterprise sums varying in amount from twenty dollars up to one hundred or more. A one-thousand-dollar pledge has already been made for the illustrations, and it need not take long to complete the amount needed, if each one of the class referred to above would respond quickly. It is the desire of the committee to push this matter as rapidly as possible, hence it will be necessary to have the funds on hand to pay for this work, so that the book may be out ready for delivery by the latter part of August or the first of September.

No effort as yet has been made to raise this fund, aside from the thousand dollars that has been pledged; but as a starter, I will give one hundred dollars toward it. A donation column for this purpose will be opened in the REVIEW, in which the names of those contributing to the fund will be printed as an acknowledgment of the receipt of the money. All donations for this purpose should be sent to A. G. Adams, Treasurer of the General Conference, Battle Creek, Mich., with the statement that it is for this special fund. I trust no one will hold back, thinking that the amount may be raised, so that your donation will not be needed. There will be other expenses connected with the working out of this enterprise, which will need to be met, and which, if met in this way, will leave the book fund intact to be applied toward the school work.

Perhaps I should say, for the encouragement of those schools not heavily in debt, all money realized from this enterprise above what is necessary to liquidate their indebtedness, can be used by them to create additional facilities and appliances. This should be an inducement for them to work earnestly for the sale of the book, in their respective districts. The payment of these school debts will not only be a relief to the schools, thus enabling them to do better work, but will be a relief to the cause in general; as the General Conference Association and the Review and Herald are obligated for quite a large amount of this aggregate indebtedness.

It seems to me that this is certainly a providential movement, and one in which the Lord would be pleased to have all his people heartily co-operate; hence I trust that not only each school, but each Conference, and every church and person composing the churches, will feel the burden of this work, and heartily co-operate with the committee in their efforts to carry to successful completion the plans that have been laid.

It is not designed to have this book interfere with the regular denominational canvassing work. That will be expected to go on as usual, and it is hoped, with even more of an impetus. It is intended to make this a special effort, and thus bring more of our people into the work; for while selling this book, we are accomplishing a threefold purpose—that of getting truth into the hands of the people, relieving our situation, and gaining an experience which will fit us for other and larger responsibilities.

I trust each one who reads this article will study the matter carefully and prayerfully, and will begin at once to consider what responsibility rests upon him in this plan for relieving our educational institutions, and stand ready to act at the proper time in contributing his share toward making the enterprise a success, in order that the jubilee song of release from debt may soon be sung by Seventh-day Adventists as a people, to the praise and glory of God.

GEO. A. IRWIN, Pres. Gen. Conf.