A Power Press by James White

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 19, 1857

A Power Press.

By James White

THERE should be a Power Press in the REVIEW AND HERALD Office as soon as it can be obtained. We think a statement of the condition of things is necessary at this time.

1. With our Hand Press, it takes three days of each week to print the REVIEW AND HERALD. Should the circulation of the REVIEW AND HERALD be doubled, (which we may hope it soon will be,) there would be no room for the INSTRUCTOR; and a large amount of work, such as preachers' hand-bills, commandment cards, &c., &c., would be shut out.

2. But the great reason why there should be a Power Press in this Office as soon as possible, is to re-print most of our publications. Should the Hand Press run continually, day and night, we think it would not do all our printing, and supply the call for books the present year. Many of our most important works are all sold, or nearly all sold. There are left of the Sanctuary, by J. N. Andrews, eight copies; of the Signs of the Times, none in paper covers, a few only, bound; the Two-horned Beast, &c., all sold a year ago; the Four Universal Monarchies, twenty-seven copies only; History of the Sabbath, fifty; Truth Found, three copies only. Then there are our works on the Immortality theme, the Three Angels of Rev. xiv, and most of our Sabbath works must be revised and re-printed within one year.

3. There are but few young men, at this day when printing is mostly done by steam power, who become press-men; and there are less who can constantly work a Hand Press, without breaking down in health. Our first press-man bled at the lungs. We then hired the REVIEW AND HERALD, and all our books, excepting some small tracts, printed on a Power Press. Bro. T. B. Mead came to the Office expressly to work the Press, and although he did only the lighter press-work, was obliged to leave the Office on account of spitting blood. Bro. Belden has been obliged to leave the press several times for similar reasons.

4. The increasing interest on the subject of publications calls for a special effort to furnish them in the best form, and at the lowest prices possible. Some of our published works can be condensed, and two or three of some of them can be put in one. There should also be a series of small tracts carefully prepared for distribution, which had we a Power Press on which to print them, would come very low; hence a large amount of reading could be scattered with little means. Preachers could also have our larger works lower, which would assist them in their arduous, two-fold labors as preachers and colporteurs. The following from Bro. Churchill will give an idea how many feel on the subject of publications:

"I feel that the time has come when our publications should be spread broad-cast over the land, free of charge, as they were in 1844. I think all the messengers should have tracts on the subject of the Sabbath and other points of present truth, to give to all that want to examine our position as they visit new fields. If I am correct, I want you to send five dollars worth of tracts to every messenger that is in the field, that is supported by the church. The tracts should be small so as to get as much reading as possible for the amount of money. I believe the time has come when we should begin to act as though we believed what we profess. Yours with much love. H. E. CHURCHILL. Barton Landing, Vt."

Bro. Churchill's plan is a good one. None can use publications so well as preachers, where an interest is awakened by preaching. It would be of little use to scatter books broad-cast where there is no special interest with the people. But we have not a variety of the small tracts in the Office, and cannot have to any considerable amount till we first have a Power Press on which to print them. The Bible Student's Assistant, now being revised, will be doubled in size. A portion is given in this paper. Two editions are sold. This will be one of the good small tracts for circulation. Fifty thousand copies should be printed immediately. Such an edition, twice the present size of the work, could be printed on a Power Press, and furnished for $2,00, or

less, per 100. Another small edition of this work will be printed on the Hand Press, and cannot be sold less than $1,00 per 100.

We have now given some of the reasons why there should be a Power Press in this Office as soon as possible. To obtain the Press, and get it in motion, will cost between two and three thousand dollars. It may not cost more than two thousand. This may seem like a large sum to be raised by donations in this covetous age. But several have told us they wished to put in one hundred dollars each. More than twenty such can be found. Let all those who wish to give one hundred dollars if necessary, for a Power Press, to be the property of the Church, managed by the Publishing Committee, send their names to the Office immediately, that the necessary means may all be pledged before the Battle Creek Conference, that measures may then be taken to obtain the Press. J. W.