Papers for Ships by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Nov 16, 1876

Papers for Ships.

By John Norton Loughborough

What Bro. Haskell says in his article concerning placing reading matter on ships visiting our ports, is worthy of careful perusal, and demands of us immediate action.

There is no one port in the United States where there are better facilities offered for placing reading matter on ships than in San Francisco. Sometimes there are as many as fifty ships at once lying at anchor in the bay, waiting for cargoes, besides the regular lines. These ships go to all parts of the world, and we should place on them seeds of truth to be borne to every land.

The San Francisco church has done something in this direction already. You will observe in the report of T. and M. labor for last year, published in the SIGNS of Oct. 12, that 62 ships were visited. This ship visiting was all done by the San Francisco church. And when we read to them Bro. Haskell's article which mentions two sea captains who lately sailed into Providence, R. I., Sabbath-keepers, being converted to this truth by reading matter which some one had given them, it caused tears of joy to be shed by the San Francisco brethren, and they made new resolves to do more missionary labor on ships.

Some may ask why the brethren in San Francisco have not made greater efforts in this direction if they have had such excellent opportunities. They did not think it much use to visit ships, unless they had reading matter to put on them.

San Francisco with 200,000 inhabitants of every nationality, is a grand field for missionary work, even on land, to say nothing of the ships sailing to and from its harbor. The church in San Francisco has done as large an amount of T. and M. work in proportion to its means as any church in the State, and it is waking up to make still greater efforts. To carry on the missionary work by land is about all its members can afford means to do with their other calls. They will gladly do the work of placing on ships all the reading matter on present truth that may be furnished to them for this purpose.

The subject has already been considered by the Oakland church, and $35.00 has been raised here to assist them in the ship branch of their missionary work. Although Oakland itself is situated on the bay, the harbor is really on the San Francisco side, which gives that church easy access to the ships. We, here in Oakland, are deeply interested in this matter. I, as an individual, feel the importance of this matter $5.00 for this quarter and wish to do as much more each quarter of this fiscal year. We wish to know who else in our State feels an interest in this work. Those who do can send in their donations all the way from $1.00 to $25.00, as they are able to do, and are willing to accept their reward in the joy of meeting sailors saved in God's everlasting kingdom by their instrumentality.

Some brethren living in the country have said to me, “You have the people to work upon down there at Oakland and San Francisco.” Yes; we have multitudes of people here, but the work is one, and some of our people in other parts of the State, we doubt not, will be willing to lift in this matter. Let any who wish an interest in the San Francisco ship work send their donations immediately to Eld. J. N. Loughborough, Oakland, Cal., and we will see that reading matter is placed on out-sailing ships, to the credit of the district from which said money comes.

Reading what Bro. Haskell says of sailors out at sea not being very particular whether the paper they read is a late issue or not, called to mind a paragraph in the sea-faring life of our beloved Bro. Captain Bates, which I will here quote:—

“To further encourage the crew to read, and inform their minds, we proposed to issue a paper twice a week, namely, Tuesday and Friday mornings, during the voyage. Before sailing, I had prepared a stock of books, with the latest newspapers, also the last volume of an interesting religious weekly paper published in Boston, called ‘Zion’s Herald.’ We began our issue with the first number of the volume, requiring the return of the last number before issuing the next: this we placed under the volume, to be received again at the end of six months.

“The novel idea of a semi-weekly paper at sea, interested the crew very much, and when the first number came forth again, and they began to read the volume, I heard nothing said with regard to their ever having seen it before. Their interest in the paper continued throughout the entire voyage. During their forenoon watch below, I used frequently to walk forward, unobserved, and listen to hear some one of them reading aloud from their morning paper, and to hear their remarks thereon.”

It occurs to me that in this ship work there is a fine opening to make a useful disposition of the back numbers of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, by placing them on ships for the use of sailors. J. N. L.