THE ADVENT REVIEW AND SABBATH HERALD is designed to be our church paper in which to appeal to our people in regard to their duty in sustaining the great work in all its branches, to explain our missionary work, to give appointments and reports of missionary meetings, and to clearly and pointedly state the dangers and duties of our time. Such a paper is not as well adapted to go abroad in new fields as the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, published at Oakland, California. And we urge all who wish to send one of our papers to their unbelieving and partly interested friends to send them the SIGNS.
The recent action of our people in California has revived in us all the hopes of success of our California paper and Office that we ever cherished. W. C. White and his wife, who have the charge of the paper and the Office, are proving themselves worthy of that confidence given them in their youth by our people on the Pacific Coast. They are growing stronger with their experience, and are becoming fully competent, with the blessing of God, for their task. Mrs. W. and the writer are going to their help in a few weeks, Lord willing, and we shall do what we can to add to the interest and usefulness of the SIGNS. We state these facts for the information of those who wish to send the SIGNS to their friends at $1.50 a year, postage paid.
The SIGNS is just the paper to occupy new fields where lectures are being given. No subscription taken for less than fifty cents for fifteen numbers in such cases, and this offer is confined to localities where the first course of lectures is being given. This plan is laid to help our preachers in their work, and we hope they will all co-operate energetically to get, at least, fifteen numbers of the SIGNS before all their interested hearers, and at the same time obtain as many full-paying subscribers for a full year at $2 as they possibly can.
But we make no such offers to the T. and M. Societies, nor to those who send the SIGNS to their friends. We think one year is none too long a time to make a complete trial. We hope for 10,000 three-fourth-pay subscribers for one year east of the Rocky Mountains. And in addition to this, many of our people will wish to take both the REVIEW and the SIGNS. These two papers to regular subscribers east of the Rocky Mountains will be alike, $2 a year.
We hope all our people will bear this in mind, that while the SIGNS is designed for a pioneer sheet, to contain the religious news of the REVIEW condensed, and possess many advantages over the REVIEW for new fields, the REVIEW will be our church paper, which will contain considerable matter not so well adapted to those not instructed in the faith. The REVIEW has its work and position, and all our friends from the Atlantic to the Pacific should read it.
The REVIEW has hitherto been the medium of appeal to our people relative to our school; but for want of room to set this matter before our people in the most direct and forcible manner we have resorted to the plan of issuing a supplement occasionally, and shall commence a monthly as early as with the new year, entitled, The Battle Creek College, devoted to the subject of education in general, and our school in particular. We have asked for 5,000 subscribers at 10 cents a year, post-paid, and wait for our T. & M. workers to send in 3,000 names more to make up the number. We shall probably issue the number for January 1877 in advance, and furnish extra copies for canvassers.