Earlier text: On the Isthmus of TehuantepecAustralia
By MORRIS LUKENS
The Victoria-Tasmania Conference camp-meeting was held at Thornbury, a suburb of Melbourne, February 10-23. About one hundred ten tents were neatly arranged, and made an imposing spectacle as one stepped out of the railway station right onto the camp-ground. With the exception of the early morning meeting and the evening preaching service, the first three days were entirely devoted to the business of the conference. Following this the time was fully occupied in devotional and evangelistic meetings and in timely instructions for our people. A spirit of unity and brotherly love pervaded the encampment, and the presence of the Holy Spirit was clearly indicated by the ready response to calls for consecration, and also by the liberality manifested as opportunity afforded. The conference proceedings passed off with the utmost harmony, and a good spirit prevailed. E. H. Gates was reelected president and J. H. Woods vice-president. An impressive ordination service was conducted the last Sabbath morning, when Brother R. C. Stewart was set apart to the work of the gospel ministry. Mention should also be made of the wonderful interest that was shown by the general public at the evening meetings. Night after night the large pavilion was filled, while on both Sunday afternoons and evenings it was wholly inadequate to accommodate the people, hundreds of whom were forced to remain outside, where they listened attentively. From this meeting Elders J. E. Fulton and E. H. Gates, Brother J. M. Johanson, Dr. Eulalia Richards, and the writer went to the South Australia camp-meeting. This meeting was held near the city of Adelaide. About two hundred fifty of our people were present, representing all the churches in the conference. The key-note of the meeting was "Our great need as individuals and churches of a closer walk with God." From the very beginning, there was a ready response on the part of the people to the appeal for a higher standard of personal experience in the work of Christ. A spirit of harmony prevailed in all the business sessions of the conference. W. W. Fletcher was elected president and R. Hare vice-president. The past year showed an increase in tithes and offerings. As at the other camp-meetings, both Sabbath days were seasons of refreshing. On each occasion there was a ready response to the appeal for consecration. Many stepped16 forward to indicate their intention of seeking the Lord more earnestly. The closing camp-meeting of this union was held near Perth, West Australia. Elder Hare, Dr. Richards, and the writer attended as union conference workers. Leaving the Adelaide camp, we took boat, and after a voyage of five days reached the camp in West Australia. The meetings began March 18 and continued until March 30. Harmony and good feeling prevailed throughout the entire meeting. There was a large attendance at all the evening services to listen to the stirring discourses which were given on doctrinal subjects. Elder Hare also gave some studies on the book of Zechariah, and the writer on the subject of the Holy Spirit. Forty-four were baptized on the closing day of the meeting, making two hundred seventy who were baptized at the camp-meetings in the six conferences of the union this season. The reports of the different branches of the conference work told of progress. The finances were in a prosperous condition. W. L. H. Baker was reelected president and C. P. Michaels vice-president. The health lectures given by Dr. Richards at all these camp-meetings were well attended and much appreciated. Her talks to mothers and also to young women were very profitable. Some came long distances to attend the camp-meetings, but the sweet communion with God's Spirit and God's people more than repaid them. One of the interesting features of some of the camp-meetings held in Australia this year has been a separate tent near the large tent (preferably between the large tent and the exit from the camp-ground) to which we invited those who desired to ask questions or who wished to talk about their souls' salvation. Some remarkable conversions and experiences were the result. Especially was this true at the New Zealand camp-meeting. Another feature was the plan for securing the names of hundreds of people who attended the services. This plan was to give tracts dealing on the subject presented. We would ask the people to kindly give the one who handed them the tracts their names and addresses. We told them this would enable them to get all the reading-matter that we were giving away. We would then have some one call on them to give them any tracts that they failed to get at the meetings. In this way we secured hundreds of names with which we shall do missionary work. This plan was especially successful in West Australia. The Welsh Conference
By Guy Dail
FROM our good meeting at Bristol, south England, we were privileged to accompany Brethren W. J. Fitzgerald, S. G. Haughey, A. A. Carscallen, S. Joyce, and H. D. Clarke to the fifth annual session of the Welsh Conference, held at Cory Hall, Cardiff, April 3-6. We found Brother H. E. Armstrong, president of the conference, in the midst of a very promising public effort, which we hope will result in a rich harvest of souls when the series of lectures is brought to a close. The spirit of enthusiasm was quite in evidence, and we were glad to see many bright, promising young people in our meetings. They have been doing good work in their efforts to win others for Christ, and secure a personal experience that will fit them for a worthy place in the Stanborough Park College, where they may be still further trained for acceptable service in the home and foreign fields. The liberality of the Welsh brethren manifested itself in their subscribing over eight pounds ($38.88) toward the endowed bed at the Stanborough Park Sanitarium, and giving over five pounds ($24.30) as a Sabbath-school donation, in addition to what they raised toward covering the expenses connected with the conference. One of the best-attended meetings was the Sunday evening lecture, when more than five hundred persons listened to Elder Carscallen's illustrated talk on British East Africa. Last year thirty-four members were added in Wales, and the net growth was thirty-three. There was a decrease in the tithe, and in the Sabbath-school and miscellaneous offerings to missions, but the annual offering was so large that the total amount given to the foreign work was larger than in 1911.665 The outlook for the future of the work in the Welsh Conference is good. Difficulties there are, as everywhere, but they are not of such a nature that they cannot be overcome. May the Lord be with the seven conference workers and the fifteen to twenty canvassers, who will do all they can to fulfil their commission in bringing the last message of warning to the more than two million inhabitants of their territory, and may they have a very successful year. The South England Conference
By GUY DAIL
THE eleventh annual session of the South England Conference was held in Fishponds, Bristol, March 26-30. The attendance of our own people was somewhat small, owing to the fact that the date of the conference meeting was just after the Easter holiday season, but we are glad to state that the Lord met with his servants and with his people, and that there was present with us a spirit of good cheer and earnestness that was refreshing to all who were able to participate in the proceedings. From outside the conference, Brethren W. J. Fitzgerald, H. E. Armstrong, S. Joyce, and H. D. Clarke were able to render valuable help. Elder Fitzgerald represented the British Union, Elder Armstrong was from Wales, Brother Joyce especially worked in the interest of the publishing department, and Brother Clarke is the union conference treasurer. The year 1912 proved to be a good one in this field so far as the number received into the truth is concerned, but the finances of the conference need strengthening, and Elder S. G. Haughey, the president, will give a good deal of attention to this during the present summer. Vigorous efforts were put forth by the conference president at Plymouth, and by Brother J. B. Shafer in Bristol. The latter was assisted by Brother R. J. Nethery and a lady Bible worker, and packed halls listened to the message evening after evening. The members of the Plymouth church also took an active part in helping Elder Haughey, and the results were gratifying. There have been forty-one accessions at Bristol since last August, and about the same number at Plymouth. While these were the two largest efforts of the year, yet the labors of our brethren about London and in other parts of the conference were also blessed of God, and growth was evident. The outlook for the future of the South England Conference is good. Its territory has become smaller by turning over to the Union District and to the North England Conference about seven millions of its population, and its membership was decreased in the same manner a year ago, but we are thankful that they are being blessed of the Lord in securing new converts to the truth so dear to us all. The field still contains about fifteen million people, and five hundred seventeen members. As the laborers go forth to their summer’s work, many of them engaged in the tent work, we wish for each one of them every blessing, and an abundant harvest. GUY DAIL. A RECENT mail brought letters from Brother and Sister John Osborne, of Quito, Ecuador, where they are engaged in nursing and evangelistic work. Brother Osborne writes:— “It is about three years since we came to Ecuador, and not once have we had a desire to leave our work. The people tell Mrs. Osborne that she speaks the Spanish well; but the language is an up-hill task for me. While I cannot preach in Spanish, I have been able to sell about as much literature as those who speak good Spanish, and as for nursing, I seem able to get along all right. My nursing work last year brought to the mission an income of about $450, and we were able to dispose of about five hundred copies each of the monthly religious and health journals published in Buenos Aires, besides other literature. “There are many here whom it seems impossible to reach either with the literature or by preaching, because they are so bound by Catholicism. And another class is the business men who are unbelievers altogether, having become disgusted with what has been represented to them as the true religion. But we are coming in contact with this latter class through the treatment work, and we hope to sow the seeds of truth. In 1911 Elder W. W. Wheeler baptized two believers in Ecuador, and last year Elder S. Mangold, our superintendent, baptized four.” Mrs. Osborne writes: “The other day I went to see one of our neighbors whose child had recently died. The mother told me that the last two nights before he died, she placed the image of St. Vincent before his bed, with a lighted candle, but in her absence the child would throw it on the floor. So she removed it, and put the image of the Saviour there, which seemed to please the child. She thought it strange for the child to make this choice between the two images. I improved the opportunity to tell her that these saints and images could be no help to us, but that God in his love for us had given his only begotten Son, and only through the merits of his blood we may find salvation. “How we long to tell the people of a Saviour’s love for them! The condition of the poorer class has greatly appealed to me. They receive scarcely any medical help, and many die because of ignorance and superstition. I believe that if we had a dispensary here with a good doctor in charge, we could reach many hearts, and prejudice would be broken down and confidence won. The doctors and the better class hold our work in great respect. We ask the brethren to pray for us in this needy field. It seems the Lord is holding back the power of Satan,—how long we do not know,—and now is our time to work.” Informal Talks on Education
By W. E. Howell
I WANT to talk to the readers of the REVIEW about a few things educational. No one who attended the recent General Conference could fail to be impressed with the rapid extension of the message in all lands, especially with the many remarkable providences connected with its progress. Citizens of Washington who read the press reports of this session have said repeatedly that they regard the growth of our denomination in so short a time as “perfectly marvelous.” To us who are in the denomination this growth is a matter of gratification, but not of boasting; for our sentiment is, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” But is it not true that the Lord is not doing through us half that he longs to do, and that he surely would do if he had the full cooperation of every man, woman, and child in the ranks? Mission operations in well-nigh every land on the globe demand money and men. With the blessing of God those black lines on the diagram charts showing the increase of our offerings in money have climbed up the scale at a remarkable rate, and at no time more so than during the past twelve months. And we have increased our offerings of men, too—sacrificial offerings they are truly; for no sooner does the cream of our tried workers at home rise to the top than do our mission officers skim it off and pass it on to the more needy. We have constantly, therefore, to renew the supply. Here is where some are making valiant efforts, but where the fuller cooperation of all is greatly needed. Chief among our agencies for recruiting the field service are our schools, steadily growing into a well-organized, effective system. Among them are represented the literary college, the medical college, the foreign mission seminary, the foreign seminary, the academy, the church-school, the correspondence school, and the family school. The attendance in these various types of school during the past year totals the highest in our denominational history, Emmanuel Missionary College increasing its enrolment above the eighth grade thirty per cent over the previous year, and Union College graduating a class of twenty in its highest course. This is gratifying indeed, and we expect greater things next year; for the Lord always works on the multiplication plan when we ourselves do not thwart his purposes. But there is— which we all must face. Statistics gathered widely and carefully in the United States and Canada during the spring, show that less than one half of our children and youth of school age are attending our denominational schools; that about one fifth of them are not in school at all; and that for every five in our own schools, there are four attending the secular schools. I am well aware that666 among the one fifth who are out of school, some are employed in our institutions, a few of these taking a nurses’ course, and a small number evening class work. Yet leaving out the entire one fifth, we still have a large problem to work on to bring the benefits of Christian education to the four out of five yet without it. Some time ago, Sister White wrote: “All our youth should be permitted to have the blessings and privileges of an education at our schools, that they may be inspired to become laborers together with God.” Our schools are working earnestly to extend their benefits to the largest number possible. One college reports over $13,000 worth of labor provided students the past year to assist them on their expenses. Other schools are doing a noble proportion. Shall we as patrons do our part in supplying students? This is the season of the year for gathering recruits for the next school session. Representatives from our schools who attended the General Conference gathered fresh inspiration from that spiritual occasion, and returned home with their hearts burning to do more effective work for our youth. They and other school men are attending our summer assemblies to search out the young people and counsel and pray with their parents. Let us give these burden-bearers a hearty welcome, and lift in every possible way to fill our schools at their autumn opening. From Lisbon, Portugal, comes the report of the conversion and baptism of nine persons. On a recent Sabbath seven new members were added to the Claremont (N. H.) church. During the eight months of the past year, twenty-one were added to the church in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Twenty persons have been baptized and received into the Nashville (Tenn.) church during the first six months of 1913. Nine students from the Manson (British Columbia) Academy were baptized on the closing Sabbath of the school year. We learn from a recent report that, in spite of great opposition, our first church has been organized in Ecuador, South America. Nearly one hundred in Pakhoi, south China, have been won for present truth. Six have been baptized at Hongkong, twenty-four in Fatshan, and in Amoy ten persons are awaiting baptism. Fifteen new Sabbath-keepers have united with the English church in New York City. Six persons at Kingman, Ill., have recently decided to obey the commandments of God. A church of twenty-three members has lately been organized at Ourimbah, New South Wales. The news comes from Sumatra, East Indies, that four believers are awaiting baptism, one of whom is from the devil-worshipers. During the past few months twenty-two new members have been added to the church in Ireland, and others are awaiting baptism. The net gain in membership in the British Union for last year was three hundred ten. This is a larger increase than for any previous year. H. A. Niergarth, who has been laboring near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, reports three new Sabbath-keepers, and the organization of a Sabbath-school. The Latin Union Conference record shows that one hundred four persons were baptized during the last quarter in the Catholic field of southern Europe. As the result of an evangelistic effort at Wells, Minn., conducted by Elder Stemple White, twelve were baptized, and fourteen persons have united with the church. The baptism of two persons at Ashland, Oregon, and eight at Medford, is reported by Elder T. G. Bunch. Eight new believers were recently baptized at Salem by Elder C. F. Folkenberg. Word comes from the British Union Conference that as the result of an effort continued for several months in Plymouth, England, thirty-two have signed the covenant to “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” “In a little over two years,” writes Elder Elbridge Adams, from Manila, Philippine Islands, “our work has grown from nothing to a church of nearly one hundred forty. The change in the government has given the people great opportunities for advancement.” At the Mantandane Mission, British Central Africa, baptism has been administered to eighteen individuals, all gathered out from darkness by one boy, who has been laboring for two years at his own home, under persecution, teaching and leading his friends and relatives into the way of truth. Brother Spies reports the baptism of five new believers in Theophilo Ottoni, Brazil. The first baptism in Sao Paulo was recently administered to four, and six others are soon to follow. A report from Espirito Santo states that eighteen persons have been baptized. At Mentaiga a church of thirty-two members has been organized, and a meeting-house is under construction. In the East Brazil Mission the first six months of last year forty-six persons were baptized. British Columbia
By A. O. BURRILL.
VANCOUVER.—This city has more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, and is the leading Canadian seaport on the Pacific. Elder Luther Warren and some twenty others, assisted by local helpers, have been holding meetings in the large halls of the city for the past four weeks. Yesterday, June 14, we had our second Sabbath meeting for the interested ones. Twenty-five were present who had begun the observance of the Sabbath since the meetings opened. Others in the city were resting upon that day for the first or second time. Fully one thousand have been out on some Sundays to listen to the word spoken. A deep interest has been awakened, and we are confidently looking for many more to take their stand for the message which will fit them for translation. This seems like the “times of refreshing” spoken of in the Word. The press has been quite liberal with us, all four of the city dailies having had quite full reports of the meetings. Doubtless the testing time is right here, for those who attend are going to the ministers for explanations for Sunday-keeping. The work seems only just begun, and, if well developed, many more will accept of the message. For this we all are praying and working.
A. O. BURRILL. J. L. SHAW General Secretary W. E. HOWELL N. Am. Div. Asst. Secretary Report of the Walla Walla Sanitarium
THE past seven months have afforded us much enjoyment as we have endeavored to cooperate with heavenly intelligences for the saving of souls who were ready to perish. There is no doubt that the sanitariums offer an excellent opportunity for presenting the truth, and that, if we are careful and watchful in our daily walk, eternity alone will reveal the extent of our usefulness. We are not satisfied with our work; for we have seen just enough fruits of our labors to give us some idea of what might be done if we had the zeal, and energy, and love that God's people must have before the work closes. Since September, 1912, it has been our privilege to witness the baptism of thirteen precious souls and the conversion of another, who has expressed a desire to be baptized as soon as possible. This brother is now recovering from a surgical operation. While not all these have been patients, they have all come into the truth through our influence. Elder O. A. Johnson has been conducting an evening class on Daniel and the Revelation four evenings in the week during the school year, and to his faithful efforts is due in a large degree the success in acquainting some of these candidates with the truth for this time. Many have attended these studies for a short time and gone away without our knowing just what impressions were made, while some have acknowledged the truths presented, and expressed a desire to learn more. A boy of sixteen came to us with asthma, and remained several months, during which time he became familiar with the truth and was baptized. This patient did not remain long after his conversion, but while here made good use of his time by studying the Bible with his wayward friends, and trying to convince them of their need of a Saviour. A young woman from Kendrick, Idaho, who had attended a series of meetings held by Brother F. M. Oliver, came for a few weeks' treatment, and before leaving for home decided she must be baptized. The labor bestowed upon a surgical patient during his stay and afterward, resulted in the baptism of himself, his wife and two children, and his brother-in-law. It was a very impressive scene when one of our patients followed his Lord into the watery grave. This brother came here in a critical condition, suffering from kidney trouble; but it was not long till he began to get relief, and was able to go into the parlor for vespers, where the Spirit of the Lord did its work upon his heart and caused him to fall upon the Rock and be broken. Two families attracted to this place by some of their relatives who are members of the sanitarium family, were gradually led into the truth, and we were afforded the pleasure of seeing the father and mother of one family and the husband of the other buried in the watery grave. Two young men who became interested in their souls' salvation through our influence, studied the truth in tract form, and came requesting baptism, which was administered March 29 in the new church across the way. Last spring a gentleman came here without receiving much physical help; but during his stay he learned the truth, and began to keep the Sabbath. A surgical patient from Fort Lapwai, Idaho, and another from Dayton, Wash., learned the Sabbath truth, and went home greatly pleased with the treatment and the truth they had received. A woman who was afflicted with paralysis from the hips down was brought to us last August. With the outline of the sanctuary drawn on the mirror in a way that she could see and study it, the book "A More Excellent Ministry" was read aloud to her, after which she was taken through a course of studies, and is now firmly established in the message. At one time she was given up by the physicians, and seemed to have but a few hours to live; but special prayer was offered, and the Lord graciously spared her life. She hopes that some day she will be able to walk again. Since she left the institution, her husband has begun to keep the Sabbath. Any success that the Lord has seen fit to give us is due, not to the work of any one individual, but to individual responsibility, individual consecration and cooperation with others and with Heaven. THE WALLA WALLA SANITARIUM. Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press — A hot wave affecting the Middle West and the Southern and Eastern States has caused much suffering, and in Chicago alone forty deaths were reported at the end of the fifth day of continuous heat. — The estate of Col. John Jacob Astor, who perished in the “Titanic” disaster, has just been officially appraised at close to $88,000,000, of which Vincent Astor receives $68,964,499; Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, $7,678,896; Muriel Astor, $4,856,758, and John Jacob Astor, son by his second marriage, $2,922,672. — Governor Tener, of Pennsylvania, has just signed a bill requiring that ten verses of the Bible be read daily in each of the schools of the State. Under the terms of the bill, the reading is compulsory, and must be without comment at the opening of each public-school session by the teacher in charge. Teachers who fail to obey the rule are subject to dismissal if charges are preferred and substantiated. — At the annual convention of the New York State Music Teachers’ Association it was announced that Americans spend about $600,000,000 a year on music. Some of the items in the report are: Opera, $8,000,000; concerts of all kinds, $30,000,000; church music, about $55,000,000; orchestras, etc., $30,000,000; military and other bands, $30,000,000; conservatories and schools, $175,000,000; musical industries, $230,000,000. The report shows that Americans spend annually about three times as much on music as on the army and navy. — The “Imperator,” of the Hamburg-American Steamship line, has successfully completed her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. This gigantic steamer, the largest afloat, measures 919 feet in length, or almost one fifth of a mile; 98 feet in width, or that of a great boulevard; and has a tonnage of 50,000. Her quadruple turbines drive her at an average speed of 22½ knots an hour. She is manned by a crew of 1,180, selected for their long service on other ships of the line. There are 83 large life-boats of the most approved type, with seating capacity for every one on board. Two of these are high-powered motor-boats. — On July 1 a new system went into effect in regard to parcel-post mail. Postmasters are instructed to receive packages “collect on delivery,” the same as express companies have been doing. The charges to be collected must not exceed $100. The fee for collection must be paid in parcel-post stamps at the rate of ten cents for delivery, the stamp to be affixed to the package. This ten-cent-stamp fee goes until the value of the package reaches fifty dollars. The sender will receive a receipt showing the amount collected. The amount will also be stated on a tag attached to the parcel. These packages, however, cannot be mailed to the Philippines or to the Canal Zone.19 — Mahogany trees do not attain their full growth till they have reached the age of 200 years. — Miss Mary L. Jobe, professor of history in the Normal College of New York, will soon start, accompanied by only two Indian guides, into practically unexplored regions of northern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska, where, as yet, uncivilized Indian tribes have never seen the face of a white woman. — Eighty girls who had been imported to work on a sugar estate in the district of Piriatin, in southern Russia, were burned to death by laborers who were enraged at their working for low wages. The girls were being housed in a wooden barn, and the laborers secured all the exits to the barn and then set fire to it while the girls were asleep, and they were all burned to death without a chance to escape. Medical Missionary Department
W. A. RUBLE, M. D. - - General Secretary L. A. HANSEN - - Assistant Secretary H. W. MILLER, M. D. - - N. Am. Div. Secretary As a number of the general agents were returning from the General Conference at the time when their report for May should have been sent in, our summary appears late this month. We are glad to be able to present such a good report, and to have almost all the fields represented. Our book sales show a gain over the corresponding668 month of last year of nearly $8,000, and a gain over last month of $28,000. Notwithstanding that Brother A. F. Harrison and all his field agents attended the General Conference as delegates, he sends the splendid report of $22,823, the largest ever sent from the Southwestern Union. We rejoice with the Central, Pacific, and Western Canadian Unions over their good reports, which are more than double those of May, 1912. We are also glad to see the very substantial gains made in the Atlantic, Lake, Northern, and Canadian Unions. Our magazine workers are also to be congratulated on the substantial gains shown in their sales. How Conference Officers and Committees May Cooperate With Leaders of the Publishing Work
By Charles Thompson
[The following excellent paper by Elder Charles Thompson, was read in one of the Publishing Department meetings during the General Conference. We present it here by the urgent request of those who heard it. We are glad to pass it on, as we know the helpful suggestions which it contains are not mere theories, but have been worked out in actual experiences by Elder Thompson.—N. Z. T.] ‘How can conference committees cooperate with leaders of the publishing work? The work of publishing-house leaders is to dispose of the products of the publishing house, not from mercenary motives, but because of the message these various products contain; for it is from the standpoint of the circulation of truth—present truth—that all our work must be viewed. And as the publishing work stands equal in importance to any other work devised for the spread of the gospel, the conference committee should have full sympathy in devising, fostering, and supporting plans and efforts for the circulation of the printed page. One of the most important gatherings in our local conferences is the annual camp-meeting. More of the believers are assembled at this time than at any other during the year. The conference committee, when planning for this meeting, should arrange for some publishing-house leader to be present. He should have a place on the committee on plans, and the daily program should be so arranged that a special meeting can be held in the interest of his work each day. This is especially helpful spiritually, as it brings together for prayer and social worship those of like experiences, and affords an opportunity of impressing others with the importance of circulating our gospel-ladened literature. At these general meetings the committee should see that the book tent is prominently located, attractively equipped, and competently manned. Frequent public announcements should be made, calling the attention of the people to the books. In the evenings such subjects should be presented as will impress the audience with the special truths for this time, and at the close of these services such literature as will further develop the seed sown in the heart should be offered from the platform. Many dollars’ worth of our books can thus be placed in the hands and homes of the people. The conference committee should cooperate with the publishing house in dealing with the department of circulation on a broad and liberal financial basis. There is a fund accruing to the local conferences from the sale of the literature, and I believe this fund should be safeguarded and expended by the committee in the encouragement and development of the department that created it, to the extent of its legitimate needs. Conventions and institutes should be held frequently for the training of recruits for the field. The committee should be constantly watching for and selecting suitable persons to attend such conventions, and should plan to meet their full expense in so doing. The conference president or some other member of the committee should attend these institutes, giving daily Bible studies and otherwise aiding in its work. His studies should be prepared in such a way as to be in harmony with the spirit of the meeting, showing the importance and sacredness of the work, and the source of power, help, and success, and the future reward of the worker. Do not think it money wasted if some attend who do not engage actively in the field, for seed has been sown that may be transferred to another heart that will make a brilliant future in active service. The conference committee should also cooperate with the leaders of the publishing work in supplying workers for needy fields, both at home and abroad, willingly releasing the very best to go abroad to establish the work in other lands. Unselfish cooperation in this way by a conference committee will do more to build up the work in their local field than anything else they can do, for it is a divine principle that in scattering we increase, and in giving it shall be given again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. As truly as “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” so in the work of the Publishing Department eternal vigilance and cooperation by all are the price of its full development and fruitage. The conference committee should constantly carry it upon their hearts, and wherever they go in their ministration, they should call attention to its importance. Every excuse for not engaging in some way in the circulation of our literature has been answered by some other person in similar conditions who has done successfully what appears in the other mind an objection. A young licentiate minister once asked an aged pioneer the secret of success as a speaker. The old man said, “Fill up your tank, young man, fill up your tank.” So we believe each member of a conference committee should familiarize himself with our books, magazines, papers, and tracts, and with interesting experiences concerning their sale and distribution. He should know the difference between subscription and trade books, the price of all our papers and magazines, and be informed on all the new tracts and pamphlets issued, and when visiting the churches speak of them and the importance of their circulation. If all the workers will do this, there is no danger that the field agent and the tract society secretary will not be kept busy. Conference committees should be constant readers and diligent students of our denominational literature. There is nothing that so inspires a person with the importance of placing it in the hands of others as familiarity with what it contains, and without this inspiration but little cooperation can be expected. With such inspiration, cooperation will not have to be urged. Therefore in closing this paper, I wish to say that any point not touched upon is briefly comprehended in this statement: Familiarize yourself with the preciousness of the message contained in the products of our publishing houses, and the fullest cooperation will come as a natural result. N. Z. TOWN — General Secretary W. W. EASTMAN — N. Am. Div. Secretary Our New American Secretary
On July 1, Elder W. W. Eastman, the secretary of the Publishing Department of the North American Division Conference, entered upon his duties. To many of the readers of the REVIEW, Elder Eastman will need no introduction. He began in the book work in Texas as a canvasser in 1890. Two years later he was made field agent, in which capacity he served three years. He was then invited to labor in the West Indian field, where he spent eight years. Returning to Texas, he again occupied the position of field agent of that State for three years. He was then elected general agent of the Southwestern Union, holding this position five years. The Lord especially blessed Brother Eastman in laying a good foundation and building up a solid, permanent work in that union. Sixteen months ago he was elected circulating manager of the Southern Publishing Association. He left this position to accept the call made at the General Conference to take the secretaryship of the Publishing Department of the North American Division Conference. As Elder Eastman's responsibilities will bring him into closer relationship with the general department, we extend to him a cordial welcome, praying that God will especially bless him in the important work to which he has been chosen.