PACIFIC UNION CONFERENCE.
By W. T. Knox
Tuesday evening, August 6, in company with Elder Mc Clure, I left San Francisco to attend the camp-meeting at Los Angeles. My intention was to remain at this meeting for the first days only, and to leave as soon as the Conference was organized, as a meeting had been appointed for Utah at the same date, August 8–18. The organization of the Conference was completed Monday, the 12th, but other interests of the meeting seemed to demand my presence until its close. This, and a council meeting in Oakland in the interests of the sanitarium in Los Angeles, rendered it impossible for me to meet with the brethren in their meetings at Bountiful, Utah, and Bozeman, Mont. The brethren present at these meetings have reported an excellent interest and profitable meetings at both places. Leaving Oakland again, August 21, after a number of delays, caused by forest fires, burning of snow-sheds, and railroad accidents of different kinds, I reached Missoula, Mont., late Saturday night, having spent the Sabbath with the church at Butte. The meeting at Missoula will long be remembered by me as one of the most enjoyable meetings I have ever attended, much of the blessing of the Lord attending the work of all the laborers. The brethren returned to their homes with courage renewed and their faith strengthened, and there was a good interest in the town to hear more of the truths presented. The four days intervening between the close of the Missoula meeting and the beginning of the meeting at Seattle were taken advantage of to visit the Spokane Sanitarium and the Walla Walla College. The sanitarium in Spokane had been enjoying a good degree of prosperity. Much of the time their facilities have been entirely inadequate for the demands made upon them. Early in the year steps were taken to provide more room and better facilities. When I visited them, September 1, I found their new building of something over twenty rooms well under way, and those in charge were hoping to be able to occupy it inside of sixty days. This building provides for offices, treatment rooms, class rooms, and apartments for the patients, and will, with their present building, give them over forty rooms, besides the cottages they are now renting. I found Dr. Leadsworth, with the regular medical work and the down-town offices, extremely busy, but he has found relief from many of his former cares by the placing of the business management of the institution upon Brother S. A. Anderson. I believe that this is a very promising field for the sanitarium, and, with proper care upon the part of the brethren, and with the blessing of the Lord, we may expect to see great results from the institution that has been planted at this place. I was fortunate to be able to visit College Place at this time, being there September 3 and 4, during which time the college opened its doors to students for the new year. This was an earlier date than in former years, which may partially account for the fact that the attendance was not as large as ordinarily; but, later on, when the work in the orchards is over, a decided increase in the attendance was expected. I was pleased to meet Elder Breed here. I found him busy planning for, and putting into execution, aggressive work on various lines. The work for “Christ’s Object Lessons” has not been at all satisfactory to the brethren, and another earnest effort will at once be put forth in behalf of this book for the relief of the college. I reached Seattle September 5, in time for the opening meeting. The camp was pitched in a thickly settled portion of the town. Besides Elder Loughborough and myself, there were present Elder C. N. Martin, of California; Elders Decker, Ward, Nellis, and Cole, of the North Pacific Conference; and S. C. Osborne, from the Pacific Press. A good work was accomplished at this meeting for our people, especially for the young. Sinners were converted to Christ and backsliders reclaimed. The North Pacific Conference Committee is planning for a strong and united effort on the part of all their laborers in the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons” during the next three months,708 A visit to the Portland Sanitarium revealed a very satisfactory condition in that institution, except for the lack of room and proper facilities. Like the Spokane Sanitarium, they are taxed to their utmost. Thursday, September 19, had been appointed for the opening of the camp-meeting at Weiser, Idaho, but the people were slow in gathering. By Sabbath there were probably seventy-five or eighty present, with but little evidence of any interest in the town, which might probably be accounted for by the stormy and threatening weather. Although this meeting did not prove to be all that had been hoped for, yet it was greatly enjoyed by those present, and good was accomplished. Elders Loughborough, Breed, Martin, and Sharp, besides the writer, were present, also Brother Osborne, in the interests of the publishing work. From September 26 to October 6 was spent with the laborers in Utah, the churches in Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake City being visited. Notwithstanding the difficulties of this hard field, I found the workers all of good courage and planning for an active campaign in Salt Lake City this winter. At present meetings are being held at Wood’s Cross and Farmington, between Ogden and Salt Lake City. Brother and Sister Fries are working hard in the Salt Lake Mission, and are meeting with some encouragement. While in Utah I met Brother Booker, of the St. Helena Sanitarium Food Company, who was visiting the State to arrange for the sale of the food company’s goods. He has secured a very desirable store room in a good location in Salt Lake City, and by this time the store is probably open and transacting business. With the three or four trained nurses already there, I believe our health work will be called to the attention of the public in such a manner that soon there will be a demand for other lines.