Earlier text: Tsung Ming Island, ChinaMissionary Papers
By A Mission Worker
OUR papers are very precious things, and a single copy has been known to lead a soul to rejoice in present truth. Therefore our papers should be carefully preserved in the home. Kept clean and uninjured, they can be sent forth, at any call, on their mission of enlightenment and salvation. To allow them to become soiled or rumpled is not wise. To hand them to a neighbor or to send them to a mission field in that condition gives just cause for criticism of the sender, and brings reproach on the cause he loves. Besides this, it is a waste of money in postage, for the mission worker of good taste and sound judgment will not venture to use them. Perhaps a few suggestions may not be out of place, and, if heeded, may save to the cause of God some truth-filled literature and a few dollars of much-needed money:— Having read the papers thoroughly, send them as soon as they can well be spared from the home. Fold or roll smoothly. If of different sizes, put the smaller ones on the outside rather than inside. Then the longer ones will not be rumpled at the ends. Cover the whole package with strong but not necessarily heavy paper. Much printed matter is rendered utterly useless because of the wear and tear it gets in the mail bags. Wrap and tie according to the size and weight of package. Postal requirements should be observed. Postmasters can always give information as to the amount of postage required on a package. Remember that tracts must have double the amount required by periodicals. If tracts are inclosed, the whole package is subjected to that same rate. The Problem of Our City Work
By C. A. Hansen
WITH the marvelous advance in all lines of the world's work, there comes to us the problem of how to work in our large cities successfully. As we are nearing the end of all things, the population of earth is gathering in our large “centers” or cities. If I should say that Chicago, London, and New York hold more people than Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, I should but declare the truth. One authority estimates that fully one half of the earth’s population is gathered in the cities. If this be true, it is indeed a problem well worthy of careful study. Not only are these cities capitals of commerce, but they are headquarters of vice, crime, styles, education, etc. They are leaders in all modern thought, and therefore it is of paramount importance that they first hear the last message of mercy. The walls of Jericho today do not consist of mortar and brick, but of a host of circumstances that render the city almost impregnable:— 1. People who live in cities are not sociable. They do not know their next-door neighbors. They do not make it a practice to attend church. Over one half of the city people of today scarcely ever hear divine service. 2. Wealth closes in many a family from the Saviour's love; while poverty and the fear of the wolf at the door, keep thousands from the influence of the gospel worker. 3. Superstition or fearing to think for themselves keeps a large class from study and investigation. 4. Growing out of the conditions just mentioned, comes the last, and perhaps the worst condition of all—the world-wide craze for amusements. People feel they must have some amusement and recreation. They must be relieved from the terrible strain. They must forget themselves every now and then. Not knowing the only source of true happiness, they turn to the world for help. Some go to the saloon, hear the entrancing music, see the fine furniture, and quaff the poison that will cause them to forget their business cares for a few hours. Then, there is the mental drunkard. He looks more respectable, but he is either devouring the soul-destroying novel or seeing it acted out in the theater; or if his purse will not allow him a seat there, he goes to the five- or ten-cent moving picture show. It is really distressing to know how many are habit-bound by these cheap amusements. The more people allow their minds to become engrossed in these amusements, the less they care for Bible truth and its exposition. The Bible, say they, is a dry book. Thus the great mass of suffering humanity cry out, and, turning from the true Deliverer, delve deeper and deeper into worldly pleasures. Nor is this all. False religions are set up for those who feel that they must have some form of worship, and lavish expenditures are made to enrich and make them enticing. Workers must be trained for service; and literature, and money to defray expenses, must be furnished them. The people must be notified of our meetings, or, in other words, we must advertise. Jonah cried through the midst of the street. Let us plan to reach the masses. Let us pray to know how to get large audiences. Let us study every legitimate means of drawing the people. There come times when a limited use of opera houses is a good thing,—the people know the way and are accustomed to going,—but this requires money. There are cases where large posters and extensive advertising are necessary, but the same kind of advertising does not do in all places. We must study each town, and be guided by the customs of the place. Every means possible should be brought to bear on this fort of iniquity, the modern city, that the honest in heart may be rescued from eternal ruin. Christianity Follows the Cross
“CHRISTIANITY does not ‘follow the flag;’ it follows the cross.” “Most of us are so intent upon our own affairs that we do not take time to be thoughtful of others. Yet the tactful, considerate person often has more power over the lives of his fellows than the one of greater native ability. Be thoughtful and you will be loved.” THE Huth library at Sotheby's was sold at a London auction, and a Mazarin Bible brought $29,000. Bernard Quatrich, the bookseller, opened the bidding at $10,000. The next offer was $15,000, and $2,500 raises were bid till Mr. Quatrich took the prize at double the price obtained for it when sold at auction once before. The real value of the book is not in the binding or paper or edition, but in the substance, which is the eternal truth. A Bible that costs only a few pennies has the same power to reform the individual heart and revolutionize the nation as the $29,000 one. And yet to the bookseller the Mazarin Bible was worth what he bid for it, or he would not have bought it. If there were but one Bible in the world, twenty-nine million dollars would be a cheap price for it. Of the statutes and judgments of the divine law the psalmist has said: “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Ps. 19: 10.—Christian Herald. Neighborhood Missionary Work
By B. M. Garton
As I have been obliged, on account of my health, to step out of the ranks of active workers for a time, I am trying to let my light shine in the country neighborhood where I live. Some time ago I sold a copy of “The World's Crisis” to the merchant with whom I trade. When I went to town a week later, I took with me twelve of these books, besides the Ingathering Signs. While I was doing my purchasing, the merchant to whom I had sold a book the previous week, spoke very highly of it to another customer. She asked to see the book, and took one. That same day a man who was not a Christian urged the elevator man to procure a copy, and lent him a quarter to pay for it. In less than two hours I sold twelve books, all I had with me, and received $1.25 for the Harvest Ingathering fund. I shall order more of the books at once, and canvass my neighbors, so that they may have the truth for these times. Why should not all our farmers do missionary work of this kind? This is the very work to which the Lord is calling our lay members, and there are great blessings in store for those who will engage in it. People are hungry for the truth, and will be glad to have our literature if we will but take it to them. Let us pray that our “first love” may be restored to us, and that the Spirit of God may rest upon us, that we may soon see the work finished, and then Jesus will come. The Bible in the Early Church
CHRISTIANS in this world of sin are like divers on a wrecked vessel down beneath the waves. We can live and continue our work only as we have unbroken communion with heaven and breathe heaven’s air. And prayer alone is not sufficient. We must hear God speaking to us; we must be guided by his counsel, else we do not even know how to pray as we ought. We must feed on “the sincere milk of the word.” Recent investigations have brought to us a new conception of the importance and wide distribution of the Bible in the early church, so near to the time when the New Testament was written, and when the multiplication of books was so difficult. We are told that “all members of the church were anxiously urged to make themselves as familiar with the Bible as possible. They were supposed to have copies of their own, and to read them privately as well as in the congregation.”—“The Influence of the Bible on Civilization,” by Dobschütz, page 10. “Stay at home and read in the law and in the book of the Kings and in the prophets and in the gospel (which is) the fullness of these things. Keep far away from all the books of the heathen; for what hast thou to do with foreign words or with false laws or prophecies which also easily cause young people to wander from the faith? What, then, is wanting to thee in the Word of God, that thou throwest thyself upon these myths of the heathen? If thou wishest to read the tales of the fathers, thou hast the book of the Kings; or of wise men and philosophers, thou hast the prophets, amongst whom thou wilt find more wisdom and science than among the wise men and the philosophers, because they are the words of God, of the one only wise God. If thou desirest song, thou hast the psalms of David; or if the beginning of the world, thou hast the Genesis of great Moses; if law and commandments, thou hast the book of Exodus of the Lord our God. Therefore keep entirely away from all these foreign things, which are contrary to them.”—Id., pages 11, 12.
If this admonition was needed then, it certainly is needed now, when the world is literally flooded with literature of all kinds; and when every invention of literary genius, every device of the printer’s art, and every artifice of the professional advertiser is used to attract attention to the literature that is being produced. Amid the multitude of voices thundering from the mammoth printing presses of our time, we are likely to neglect the one Book which is “the fountain light of all our day, the master light of all our seeing.” The Bible was not easy to obtain in the days of the early church. True, there were publishers of books in those days who used slaves that were trained as copyists; but it is doubtful if a regular publisher would take up the sacred literature of the despised, persecuted Christian sect. The complete Old and New Testaments were comprised in no less than two dozen rolls, and were of course very expensive. “We are told that wealthy Christians helped their brethren by procuring copies for them. Origen, the greatest Bible scholar of the ancient church, is said to have been supported by a rich admirer, who put at his disposal a number of slave copyists. A later admirer of Origen, Pamphilus, is said always to have carried with him several rolls in order to provide poor brethren.” “We have thrilling accounts of Christians trying to conceal their treasured Bible rolls from the eyes of the inquiring officials. They took them from the church into their private homes, securing the Bible in safety, but many a time bringing persecution upon themselves. To the officials they surrendered books of various kinds in order to escape from surrendering the Scriptures. Asked if they had sacred books in their houses, many of them would answer, ‘Yes, in our hearts.’”—Id., pages 15, 24, 25. If the early church appreciated the revelation of God so much, what shall we say of the remnant church which is expecting the more abundant outpouring of his Spirit? Let us study the Bible as never before, not only by topics and by piecemeal, but as a whole. Why should not every Seventh-day Adventist join our Bible Year circle, and read the Bible through during 1916? Think it over. Pray about it. If you believe that the Lord would have you do it, fill out and send to your conference Missionary Volunteer secretary the following:— Please enroll my name as a member of the Bible Year Course. I will make an earnest endeavor to systematically read the Bible through during 1916. Name...........................................
Address.......................................
Date....................... M. E. KERN. JAN. 9. Job 18 to 21: Second speech of Bildad—final doom of wicked; answer of Job—appeals for pity, prophecies of Christ; second speech of Zophar—portion of the wicked; answer of Job—wicked prosper here, punishment future. JAN. 10. Job 22 to 24: Third speech of Eliphaz—accuses Job; answer of Job—confidence in God's mercy, end of the wicked. JAN. 11. Job 25 to 29: Third speech of Bildad—God's majesty and perfection; answer of Job—exalts God's power and wisdom, describes former condition. JAN. 12. Job 30 to 33: Job concludes his answer to Bildad; Elihu begins speech. JAN. 14. Job 38 to 42: Elihu concludes; Jehovah speaks, rebuking Job, who confesses vileness; renewed prosperity of Job; death. Thoughts to Carry With You
JAN. 9: “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” JAN. 10: “Thou shalt pay thy vows.” JAN. 11: “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.” JAN. 12: “He marketh all my paths.” JAN. 13: “Trust thou in him.” JAN. 14. “No thought can be withheld from thee.” JAN. 15. “Thou shalt be a blessing.” “Do not skim it, but study it, every word of it; study the whole Bible, Old Testament and New; not your favorite chapters merely, but the complete Word of God from beginning to end. . . . Let the Bible be to you the one book in all the world, whose every word is truth, and whose every verse is wisdom. In studying it, be sure to take it for what it really is,—the revelation of the thoughts of God, given to us in the words of God. . . . Let us read and reread the Scriptures, meditating on them day and night. They never grow old, they never lose their sap, they never run dry.”—Horatius Bonar. The collection of sacred writings comprising the Scriptures is called the Bible, which means “the books.” It is thought that the Greek word for this name was first applied to the sacred books by John Chrysostom, patriarch of Constantinople from A. D. 398 to 404. “‘The books.’ . . . That no qualifying adjective stands before the noun, implies that these writings were regarded by those who used the term as forming a class by themselves, and as superior to all other literary productions. They are uniquely and preeminently the books. . . . The term Bible is absent from the sacred page; it is of ecclesiastical origin. The plural term Biblia marks the important fact that the Bible is not a single book, but a great many. The words Bible and Scripture, on the other hand, being both in the singular number, emphasize the fact that, under the diversity of human authorship, there lies a wonderful unity, pointing to the operation of one directing Mind, which acted during more than a thousand consecutive years when these writings were being produced.” The sixty-six books of the Bible were written during a time period extending from the days of Moses to near the close of the first century after Christ. “The original languages of the Biblical books were Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Nearly all the Old Testament was composed in Hebrew, the language spoken by Israel in Canaan before the exile, but after the return gradually giving way—as the speech of common intercourse—to the Aramaic. . . . Parts of Daniel and Ezra and one verse of Jeremiah (10:11) are in Aramaic. There is also an Aramaic coloring to many expressions scattered through the Old Testament. A dialect of Aramaic was the vernacular of Palestine in New Testament times, and it is probable that Jesus’ teachings were spoken by him in Aramaic, and later rendered into Greek by the teachers of the early apostolic church. Apart from this Aramaic basis of the Gospels, especially the first three, and of some material in Acts, the New Testament was composed entirely in Greek, the Greek of ordinary intercourse in the Hellenistic world.”18 “A Dictionary of the Bible,” by John D. Davis, just from the press, bears this significant testimony:— “The Bible has already been translated, in its entirety or in part, into more than three hundred [or accurately 380] languages or dialects. It is not an exaggeration, when referring to the writers of the Bible, to adopt the language of the psalmist, meant originally for the silent theological teaching of the starry sky: ‘Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.’” The name Job signifies the persecuted, hated, or afflicted one. It is generally held that the patriarch bearing this name lived before the days of Moses, and some believe that he lived even before the time of Abraham. (It is for the purpose of placing this book in its proper setting, approximately at least, that its reading follows the introduction to patriarchal history in the closing verses of Genesis 11.) The book of Job is “probably the oldest book in the world,” and is supposed to have been written by the patriarch himself, with an introduction and ending by Moses. A study of the book shows it to be the discussion of a great problem—“What is the intention of divine providence in allowing the good to suffer?” Amos R. Wells says: “The poem itself is a noble discussion of the reasons for suffering. In speeches regularly recurring, each answered in turn by Job, the three friends of the patriarch urge that the cause of all suffering is sin. Elihu argues that all suffering is certainly for the good of the sufferer, and at length God himself speaks, and Job becomes submissive and repentant.” Outline the book of Job, make a list of the leading characters, and mark the verses that have been most helpful to you during your reading. Missionary Volunteer Department
M. E. KERN — General and N. Am. Div. Secretary
C. L. BENSON — Assistant Secretary
MEADE MACGUIRE — N. Am. Div. Field Secretary Colporteurs’ Summary for November, 1915
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| ATLANTIC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Maine |
8 |
682 |
$1442.95 |
$9.75 |
336 |
$33.60 |
$66.30 |
| N. New England |
8 |
695 |
350.80 |
256.00 |
281 |
28.10 |
60.40 |
| Massachusetts |
9 |
725 |
545.20 |
595.75 |
2688 |
268.80 |
178.40 |
| S. New England |
4 |
317 |
449.85 |
237.30 |
828 |
82.80 |
24.30 |
| E. New York |
11 |
819 |
997.65 |
387.35 |
1156 |
115.60 |
77.50 |
| W. New York |
4 |
287 |
302.15 |
279.90 |
459 |
45.90 |
200.80 |
| Greater New York |
7 |
457 |
484.40 |
456.20 |
1893 |
189.30 |
339.70 |
| Totals |
51 |
3982 |
4573.00 |
2222.25 |
7641 |
764.10 |
947.40 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| COLUMBIA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ohio |
21 |
2192 |
1982.40 |
1470.65 |
1750 |
175.00 |
371.80 |
| Chesapeake |
7 |
605 |
746.55 |
1052.65 |
248 |
24.80 |
52.00 |
| Virginia |
8 |
748 |
779.00 |
391.70 |
791 |
79.10 |
145.00 |
| West Virginia |
7 |
866 |
1350.00 |
618.55 |
293 |
29.30 |
45.50 |
| E. Pennsylvania |
10 |
894 |
729.75 |
515.10 |
2705 |
270.50 |
113.00 |
| W. Pennsylvania |
9 |
749 |
832.14 |
778.99 |
575 |
57.50 |
104.00 |
| New Jersey |
5 |
380 |
495.03 |
477.60 |
1563 |
156.30 |
118.60 |
| Dist. of Columbia |
7 |
144 |
533.75 |
87.25 |
756 |
75.60 |
217.10 |
| Totals |
74 |
6578 |
7448.62 |
5392.49 |
8681 |
868.10 |
1167.00 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| LAKE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| E. Michigan |
6 |
475 |
332.35 |
641.80 |
943 |
94.30 |
263.50 |
| W. Michigan |
8 |
491 |
222.70 |
191.05 |
249 |
24.90 |
85.00 |
| N. Michigan |
7 |
350 |
242.95 |
… |
263 |
26.30 |
22.50 |
| Wisconsin |
3 |
261 |
215.80 |
201.75 |
795 |
79.50 |
121.50 |
| N. Illinois |
7 |
727 |
604.85 |
219.45 |
852 |
85.20 |
356.00 |
| S. Illinois |
19 |
1969 |
2218.20 |
1582.95 |
733 |
73.30 |
99.00 |
| Indiana |
13 |
1484 |
1273.70 |
986.60 |
218 |
21.80 |
110.40 |
| Totals |
63 |
5757 |
5110.55 |
3823.60 |
4053 |
405.30 |
1057.90 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| EASTERN CANADIAN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ontario |
3 |
… |
904.87 |
734.92 |
1450 |
145.00 |
460.20 |
| Quebec |
… |
… |
1.75 |
51.75 |
105 |
10.50 |
20.00 |
| Maritime |
1 |
… |
118.55 |
… |
… |
… |
220.00 |
| Newfoundland |
… |
… |
1.85 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
| Totals |
4 |
… |
1027.02 |
786.67 |
1555 |
155.50 |
700.20 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| SOUTHERN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Louisiana |
3 |
22 |
6.00 |
212.35 |
210 |
21.00 |
211.50 |
| Alabama |
14 |
1138 |
262.70 |
117.85 |
790 |
79.00 |
76.00 |
| Kentucky |
13 |
1508 |
1061.05 |
1350.50 |
55 |
5.50 |
127.00 |
| Mississippi |
17 |
1599 |
670.60 |
384.10 |
563 |
56.30 |
94.00 |
| Tennessee River |
14 |
1106 |
584.05 |
332.55 |
725 |
72.50 |
186.00 |
| Totals |
61 |
5373 |
2584.40 |
2397.35 |
2343 |
234.30 |
694.50 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| SOUTHEASTERN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cumberland |
10 |
1191 |
827.40 |
891.85 |
534 |
53.40 |
80.50 |
| Georgia |
8 |
929 |
413.40 |
317.55 |
510 |
51.00 |
163.00 |
| North Carolina |
9 |
1039 |
853.55 |
2090.88 |
500 |
50.00 |
130.60 |
| South Carolina |
6 |
578 |
681.85 |
117.00 |
454 |
45.40 |
95.50 |
| Florida |
6 |
799 |
1111.45 |
1158.30 |
2915 |
291.50 |
149.10 |
| Totals |
39 |
4536 |
3887.65 |
4575.58 |
4913 |
491.30 |
618.70 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| SOUTHWESTERN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Arkansas |
13 |
552 |
464.85 |
378.25 |
35 |
3.50 |
67.50 |
| Oklahoma |
25 |
1330 |
928.65 |
544.90 |
445 |
44.50 |
149.40 |
| N. Texas |
22 |
850 |
435.40 |
73.65 |
297 |
29.70 |
36.00 |
| S. Texas |
11 |
613 |
409.70 |
215.35 |
1942 |
194.20 |
270.50 |
| W. Texas |
6 |
222 |
226.50 |
79.85 |
10 |
1.00 |
8.80 |
| New Mexico |
3 |
289 |
169.80 |
109.50 |
65 |
6.50 |
22.80 |
| Totals |
80 |
3856 |
2634.90 |
1401.50 |
2794 |
279.40 |
555.00 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| CENTRAL |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Missouri |
12 |
1238 |
1199.60 |
1127.85 |
470 |
47.00 |
84.00 |
| E. Colorado |
11 |
958 |
932.40 |
892.35 |
225 |
22.50 |
115.00 |
| W. Colorado |
3 |
296 |
180.45 |
45.75 |
255 |
25.50 |
14.00 |
| Nebraska |
5 |
203 |
323.20 |
477.30 |
145 |
14.50 |
222.00 |
| Wyoming |
2 |
181 |
326.50 |
360.55 |
22 |
2.20 |
20.00 |
| Kansas |
22 |
2390 |
2339.75 |
805.61 |
768 |
76.80 |
124.50 |
| Totals |
55 |
5266 |
5301.90 |
3709.41 |
1885 |
188.50 |
579.50 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| NORTHERN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Iowa |
6 |
502 |
690.80 |
314.20 |
2379 |
237.90 |
476.60 |
| Minnesota |
7 |
643 |
622.15 |
91.25 |
1530 |
153.00 |
520.70 |
| North Dakota |
… |
… |
… |
419.35 |
124 |
12.40 |
33.00 |
| South Dakota |
3 |
160 |
123.50 |
… |
280 |
28.00 |
92.50 |
| Totals |
16 |
1305 |
1436.45 |
824.80 |
4313 |
431.30 |
1122.80 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| PACIFIC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cen. California |
3 |
112 |
$169.05 |
$440.90 |
335 |
$33.50 |
$205.30 |
| California |
6 |
446 |
590.70 |
… |
2565 |
256.50 |
338.50 |
| N. California |
4 |
256 |
436.40 |
254.70 |
146 |
14.60 |
86.50 |
| S. California |
3 |
15 |
118.55 |
377.65 |
4692 |
469.20 |
239.50 |
| Utah |
3 |
288 |
309.75 |
… |
155 |
15.50 |
60.00 |
| Arizona |
… |
… |
… |
33.50 |
164 |
16.40 |
12.50 |
| Totals |
19 |
1117 |
1624.45 |
1106.75 |
8057 |
805.70 |
942.30 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| NORTH PACIFIC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| W. Washington |
1 |
40 |
31.55 |
227.90 |
1730 |
173.00 |
186.00 |
| Upper Columbia |
3 |
420 |
721.50 |
836.70 |
125 |
12.50 |
80.00 |
| W. Oregon |
5 |
317 |
359.55 |
248.95 |
3347 |
334.70 |
113.50 |
| S. Oregon |
… |
… |
… |
110.95 |
79 |
7.90 |
71.10 |
| S. Idaho |
… |
… |
… |
… |
218 |
21.80 |
33.00 |
| Montana |
6 |
233 |
459.75 |
221.00 |
1725 |
172.50 |
343.30 |
| Totals |
15 |
1010 |
1572.35 |
1645.50 |
7224 |
722.40 |
826.90 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| WESTERN CANADIAN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Alberta |
… |
… |
… |
… |
225 |
22.50 |
25.00 |
| Manitoba |
… |
… |
… |
… |
475 |
47.50 |
12.00 |
| British Columbia |
… |
… |
… |
… |
670 |
67.00 |
483.50 |
| Saskatchewan |
… |
… |
… |
… |
560 |
56.00 |
90.90 |
| Totals |
… |
… |
… |
… |
1930 |
193.00 |
611.40 |
| Foreign and miscellaneous |
|
|
|
|
5281 |
528.10 |
1145.90 |
| Mailing lists |
|
|
|
|
37504 |
3750.40 |
3234.50 |
| UNIONS |
AGTS. |
HRS. |
BOOKS—VALUE 1915 |
BOOKS—VALUE 1914 |
PERIODICALS—NO. COP. |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1915 |
PERIODICALS—VALUE 1914 |
|---|
| FOREIGN UNION CONFERENCES AND MISSIONS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Australasian |
94 |
8626 |
11014.36 |
11047.23 |
51375 |
1714.64 |
1811.03 |
| British |
28 |
2820 |
1605.42 |
2169.18 |
185781 |
3769.85 |
3849.51 |
| South African |
… |
… |
… |
443.52 |
… |
… |
… |
| Scandinavian |
95 |
12106 |
7056.99 |
5490.54 |
3658 |
221.95 |
178.51 |
| E. German |
52 |
6379 |
2245.37 |
756.53 |
8210 |
2004.07 |
1165.70 |
| W. German |
48 |
6219 |
2063.76 |
1170.50 |
70671 |
1804.41 |
1501.57 |
| Danube |
10 |
637 |
260.22 |
… |
546 |
13.05 |
… |
| Cen. European |
58 |
6781 |
2510.85 |
1015.41 |
27641 |
895.81 |
166.64 |
| Latin |
10 |
781 |
451.69 |
788.53 |
562 |
128.10 |
216.15 |
| India |
29 |
4764 |
418.24 |
777.92 |
… |
… |
… |
| China |
… |
… |
77.03 |
… |
… |
806.96 |
… |
| Korean |
… |
… |
38.26 |
37.78 |
6332 |
158.30 |
144.94 |
| Japan |
… |
… |
62.40 |
36.23 |
1064 |
82.01 |
28.33 |
| Philippine Islands |
13 |
1220 |
954.32 |
446.67 |
… |
30.31 |
… |
| Levant |
… |
… |
… |
49.22 |
… |
… |
… |
| Canary Islands |
1 |
30 |
87.75 |
65.75 |
1 |
.86 |
2.59 |
| Porto Rican |
3 |
251 |
280.25 |
1264.83 |
… |
… |
126.90 |
| Cuban |
4 |
212 |
231.00 |
421.88 |
… |
… |
46.85 |
| Jamaica |
7 |
… |
177.89 |
… |
3400 |
204.00 |
… |
| South American |
16 |
1090 |
1468.41 |
1918.88 |
… |
110.46 |
181.46 |
| Brazilian 1 |
32 |
2069 |
1454.66 |
1602.45 |
… |
… |
… |
| Venezuela |
… |
… |
… |
… |
… |
… |
40.85 |
| Totals, foreign |
500 |
53975 |
32458.87 |
29503.05 |
359241 |
11954.78 |
9461.03 |
| Totals, N. Am. |
477 |
38780 |
37201.29 |
27885.90 |
98174 |
9817.40 |
14204.00 |
| Grand totals |
977 |
92755 |
$69660.16 |
$57388.95 |
457415 |
$21772.18 |
$23665.03 |
|
1910 |
1911 |
1912 |
1913 |
1914 |
1915 |
|---|
| Jan. |
$42,532.23 |
$44,495.65 |
$53,931.97 |
$64,262.88 |
$59,697.52 |
$46,778.58 |
| Feb. |
50,990.34 |
53,923.57 |
53,525.18 |
62,813.12 |
67,149.45 |
47,943.61 |
| March |
55,711.55 |
73,015.56 |
73,374.99 |
66,640.42 |
75,962.31 |
73,414.23 |
| April |
64,042.39 |
73,548.31 |
73,027.32 |
73,520.45 |
85,685.35 |
78,974.96 |
| May |
86,333.58 |
81,923.78 |
94,166.15 |
101,640.01 |
87,024.10 |
107,987.69 |
| June |
112,606.05 |
135,888.76 |
137,838.38 |
137,373.06 |
153,480.96 |
151,199.10 |
| July |
103,919.12 |
127,256.86 |
156,166.90 |
140,576.24 |
199,116.62 |
170,546.02 |
| Aug. |
91,145.11 |
91,810.46 |
103,165.69 |
111,660.64 |
105,391.65 |
118,773.18 |
| Sept. |
66,523.65 |
86,001.72 |
67,551.70 |
73,732.14 |
74,359.96 |
78,364.70 |
| Oct. |
62,461.13 |
81,367.89 |
70,219.97 |
84,015.90 |
60,357.25 |
76,102.53 |
| Nov. |
58,211.68 |
67,600.00 |
77,424.87 |
73,949.68 |
57,388.95 |
69,660.16 |
| Dec. |
54,663.93 |
58,386.24 |
57,291.91 |
59,749.92 |
57,496.17 |
|
| Totals |
$849,140.76 |
$976,218.80 |
$1,017,684.13 |
$1,049,943.46 |
$1,083,110.29 |
|
Comparative Summary of American Periodicals
|
1912 |
1913 |
1914 |
1915 |
|
1912 |
1913 |
1914 |
1915 |
|---|
| Jan. 2 |
121666 |
177080 |
152971 |
170760 |
July |
191937 |
176772 |
211040 |
150880 |
| Feb. |
144257 |
201659 |
242627 |
134619 |
Aug. |
183119 |
153849 |
171451 |
152273 |
| Mar. |
207529 |
166499 |
224757 |
341059 |
Sept. |
173077 |
127017 |
164860 |
130465 |
| April |
189498 |
152088 |
162027 |
183280 |
Oct. |
587830 |
126557 |
174182 |
123027 |
| May |
162220 |
166465 |
168934 |
158114 |
Nov. |
108755 |
100351 |
142040 |
98174 |
| June |
163120 |
156550 |
189897 |
159635 |
Dec. |
111199 |
99504 |
143190 |
|
| Totals |
|
|
|
|
|
2344207 |
1804391 |
2147976 |
|
† Multiply number of magazines in any month by ten cents to get value. Sabbaths as Hills of Light
“THROUGH the week we go down into the valleys of care and shadow. Our Sabbaths should be hills of light and joy in God’s presence; and so, as time rolls by, we shall go on from mountain top to mountain top, till at last we catch the glory of the gate, and enter in to go no more out forever.” N. Z. TOWN General Secretary W. W. EASTMAN N. Am. Div. Secretary ON the whole, our summary for November is encouraging. Our book sales show an increase both in the North American Division and in other lands. The magazine sales also show an encouraging increase in foreign fields, but we are sorry to see a falling off in the circulation of these excellent magazines in this country. We do not believe there is sufficient reason for this, and we hope our secretaries will not slacken their efforts to secure competent and faithful workers who will devote their entire time to the sale of these magazines, especially in the cities. Let us not slacken our efforts until the Master shall say, “It is finished.” W. W. EASTMAN. Another Bill to Amend the Postal Laws
By S. B. Horton
THE matter of amending the postal laws has again been brought before Congress. One measure (H. R. 491), by Mr. Siegel, was introduced on the first day of the present session, reference to which has already been made in these columns. Now comes another measure (H. R. 6468), introduced by Mr. Fitzgerald, who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House, and is as follows:— “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever it shall be established to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General that any person is engaged, or represents himself as engaged, in the business of publishing any obscene or immoral books, pamphlets, pictures, prints, engravings, lithographs, photographs, or other publications, matter, or thing of an indecent, immoral, or scurrilous character, and if such person shall, in the opinion of the Postmaster-General, endeavor to use the post office for the promotion of such business, it is hereby declared that no letter, packet, parcel, newspaper, book, or other thing sent or sought to be sent through the post office by or on behalf of or to or on behalf of such person shall be deemed mailable matter, and the Postmaster-General shall make the necessary rules and regulations to exclude such nonmailable matter from the mails.”20 The provisions of Mr. Fitzgerald’s bill place in the hands of the Postmaster-General a most unwarranted power. The Roman Catholic Church has been endeavoring for several years to secure from Congress a law against transmission through the United States mails of such publications as “outrage religious convictions of our citizens, and contain scurrilous and slanderous attacks upon our faith.” At the 1912 convention of the American Federation of Catholic Societies a statement from Postmaster-General Hitchcock was submitted, from which we quote in part:— “I have to inform you that there is no provision of law under which newspapers or other publications containing violent criticisms of any particular religious faith may be excluded from the mails, unless such criticism takes the form of personal slander, scurrility, or obscenity, in which case the publisher becomes amenable to the criminal laws of the United States, and may be fined or imprisoned, or both, and his publication debarred from the mails. It is not probable that under our federal Constitution, which prohibits interference with religious opinion in any way, a law could be passed restraining criticism of religious faiths.” In the hearing given two bills of similar character in the last Congress (H. R. 20780 and H. R. 21183), the purpose of such measures was revealed, from which we quote as follows:— “The Chairman: I want to get at the facts. You want the government—and by the government I mean the Post-office Department—to have authority to intervene and stop publications that contain language of the character referred to in your bill? “Mr. Gallivan: Exactly. . . . “The Chairman: Then you want to make the Postmaster-General the sole arbiter in determining that question? “Mr. Gallivan: That is what I started out to do. “The Chairman: Now, that may be a religious question, a political question, or a social or scientific proposition of any kind where this language may be used. May it not? “The Chairman: Now what is your purpose in it? Is it to protect the individual or an association against whom such language is directed? Is that the result of such language? “Mr. Gallivan: What other purpose would the gentleman think I might have in mind? “The Chairman: I do not know. I asked you if that is your purpose, and you say yes? “The Chairman: If that is true, are not the courts of this country open for that purpose, and cannot they all be protected? When a man oversteps the bounds of legitimate free speech, cannot the courts handle him without the intervention of Congress by an act of this sort? “Mr. Gallivan: Apparently there are some weaknesses in the law, or the Postmaster-General would not refer to the matter in his report. “The Chairman: . . . Is it not better, if there be any wrong or injury done, by publication or otherwise, to any sort of an organization or individual, that that individual or organization be permitted, as they now have a right to do, to step into the courts for protection and vindication rather than to invoke the arbitrary action of a government official, and especially when that action is confined to the judgment of a single individual? “Mr. Gallivan: May I answer that by asking the chairman of this committee if he believes that the United States mails should be permitted to circulate any scandalous, scurrilous, indecent, or immoral books, and so forth? “Mr. Gallivan: Should a man be forced to go to law, and should the government be used as an agency for distributing such things? “The Chairman: The trouble about it is that while technically you are correct in the fact that the government ought not to permit such things, yet you cannot stop that by the judgment of a single man being pronounced in advance of the publication, and determining what is scandalous, scurrilous, and so on. He would have to know about each issue to determine that fact, and that could not be done until after the issue was made. Therefore, a citizen can be more properly remitted to his rights in the courts, it seems to me.” These same interrogatories will apply to Mr. Fitzgerald’s bill, and it is to be hoped that it will meet the same fate in this Congress that his bill and Mr. Gallivan’s suffered in the last Congress; but, as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, it is well that the watchman continue to sound the alarm. S. B. HORTON. Comparative Summary of Foreign Periodicals
JANUARY, 1914, 485,968 copies, value $19,795.36; January, 1915, 448,128 copies, value $13,166.23. February, 1914, 372,235 copies, value $10,739.70; February, 1915, 403,134 copies, value $11,357.55. March, 1914, 381,017 copies, value $11,168.35; March, 1915, 467,626 copies, value $18,243.92. April, 1914, 375,140 copies, value $11,686.31; April, 1915, 418,584 copies, value $10,001.96. May, 1914, 297,877 copies, value $8,049.90; May, 1915, 595,740 copies, value $18,200.04. June, 1914, 301,582 copies, value $9,509.79; June, 1915, 215,051 copies, value $7,974.76. July, 1914, 380,246 copies, value $10,455.83; July, 1915, 561,531 copies, value $11,627.60. August, 1914, 196,328 copies, value $5,502; August, 1915, 451,249 copies, value $11,301.47. September, 1914, 300,761 copies, value $8,336.88; September, 1915, 220,832 copies, value $7,848.51. October, 1914, 445,629 copies, value $11,703.18; October, 1915, 410,917 copies, value $10,454.20. November, 1914, 375,186 copies, value $9,461.03; November, 1915, 359,241 copies, value $7,848.51. Religious Liberty Department
By C. S. Longacre
C. S. LONGACRE - - N. Am. Div. Secretary