Annual Report of the Pacific Press Publishing Company
THE following paragraphs, gleaned from the annual report of the Pacific Press Publishing Company, as given by C. H. Jones, general manager, will be of interest to our readers:— The past year has been an eventful one. Two of our largest institutions have been burned to the ground, and the elements seem to have conspired to destroy life and property. But in the providence of God the Pacific Press has been spared, and as stockholders and laborers in this institution, we feel that we have great reason to express our gratitude to God for his protecting care, and for the degree of prosperity that has attended the work. We have had during the year a good run of a most excellent class of work, at good prices, and you will be glad to learn that financially the past year has been one of the most prosperous in the history of the institution. The net gain at the home office, including donations, amounts to over $22,000, against $12,000 last year. Our donations to our educational institutions on “Christ’s Object Lessons” and other missionary enterprises the past year amount to $8,591, against $3,469.84 in 1902. We are glad that we were able to do so much, and wish it might have been more. But it must be remembered that while we were manufacturing “Christ’s Object Lessons,” and donating the labor on the same, we were obliged to refuse good-paying commercial work; for our facilities were not adequate to handle both. Had it not been for this, we might have made even a better showing financially. The volume of business at the home office for the past fiscal year has been as follows:— Manufacturing department . . . $140,622.40
Book department . . . . . . . . 68,748.71
Check book department . . . . 111,103.68
Signs of the Times . . . . . . 22,993.34
Our Little Friend . . . . . . 7,540.42
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . $351,008.55 This shows a gain in the volume of business this year over last of $32,783.94. About two hundred persons are employed in the various departments of the office, and the pay-roll amounts to nearly $1,700 a week, or over $7,000 a month. As a publishing house, our only hope lies in the circulation of our literature. During the past year we have made special efforts to keep in touch with our tract societies and field workers. The manager of our book and periodical department has spent considerable time in the field, with excellent results, and he expects to continue that work during the coming year. We have also secured the services of Brother A. D. Gilbert, who has had such remarkable success in handling our paper, The Present Truth, in England. He will spend six or eight months in this country, visiting our larger cities and conferences, giving practical instruction, and trying to awaken an interest in the circulation of our periodicals, especially The Signs of the Times. He has already visited the northern conferences, and is now in Minnesota. Other persons connected with the office have been in the field more or less, and we hope the time will soon come when all can have the privilege of doing some field work. We are glad to say that already there seems to be a revival of interest in the canvassing work, and the outlook for the coming year is very encouraging. The degree of prosperity that has attended the work during the past year is due to the blessing of God, and to the faithful labors of our employees, both in the office and in the field. Some, we know, have received very tempting offers, in a financial way, to leave the office and take up other lines of work; but they have declined these offers, and decided to remain with the office at quite a sacrifice financially. Due credit should be given to such faithful and loyal persons. In closing this report, we desire again to express our gratitude to God for his protecting care and for blessings so bountifully bestowed, also for the union and harmony that have prevailed throughout the various departments of the institution, and for the hearty support and co-operation of the directors and employees. This we have fully appreciated, and we trust that the incoming board of directors may have the same hearty support and co-operation. Following is a record of the sales of our principal books:— Christ’s Object Lessons . . . . . . . . . 52,728
Volumes Testimonies . . . . . . . . . . . 5,627
Great Controversy . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,124
Best Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,908
Bible Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,290
Coming King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,018
Gospel Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,767
House We Live In . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,806
Things Foretold . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,802
Heralds of the Morning . . . . . . . . . 2,378
Patriarchs and Prophets . . . . . . . . 1,575
Marvel of Nations . . . . . . . . . . . 1,504
Desire of Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,165
Home Hand-Book . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,136
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890
Friend in the Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . 574
Ladies’ Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
Yosemite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Daniel and the Revelation . . . . . . . 370
Prophecies of Jesus . . . . . . . . . . 331
Land and Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Story of Redemption . . . . . . . . . . 199
Man the Masterpiece . . . . . . . . . . 142 Subscription books . . . . . . . . . $52,024.02
Trade books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,368.31
Tracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,385.69
Total retail value . . . . . . . . . $77,778.02
Christ’s Object Lessons . . . . . . . 65,910.00
Grand Total . . . . . . . . . . . . $143,688.02 NEW BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS PUBLISHED
Following are titles of books and pamphlets issued during the year:— Boy Puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 75
Things Foretold . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Outlines Modern Christianity . . . . . . 75
Place of Bible in Education, cloth . . . 7522Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.25
Testimony, Vol. 7, cloth 75c., leather 1.25
Chinese Stenography . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Two Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Sunday in History . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Is Sunday the True Sabbath of God? . . . 15
Place of the Bible in Education . . . . . 25 Special attention has been given to the revision, publication, and circulation of our tracts. Seventeen numbers have been discontinued, and a large number are now being examined. The sales have averaged 58,388 pages daily for the year. This is nearly double the report of any previous year. Following are titles of the new numbers:— Catholic Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . 1c
We Would See Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . 1c
Signs of Our Times . . . . . . . . . . . . 1c
Remedy for Present Day “Isms” . . . . . . 1c
Perpetuity of the Law . . . . . . . . . . . 1c
The World’s Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1c
The Spirits in Prison . . . . . . . . . . 5c
The True Seventh Day . . . . . . . . . . 1½c