The Abiding Gift of Prophecy

Memorable Move and Marvelous Results

We soon undertook the difficult task of moving the General Conference offices to Washington. We decided to take enough type and equipment from the Review and Herald office to print the Review and Herald and the Youth’s Instructor. At this point we met with most determined opposition from a few stockholders in the Review and Herald Association. They forbade the removal of any of the printing material, and threatened court proceedings. They demanded an amount of money, which we felt was unjust and which would practically strip us of the small amount of cash we had in our treasury. But they were unyielding, and finally with heavy hearts we paid the price. AGP 349.3

This left us so short of funds that I found it necessary to attend a camp meeting or two on my way to Washington, in order to solicit and borrow the money we would need to pay the freight bills and other expenses we should incur in settling in our new location. AGP 349.4

The arrival of our staff in Washington on the tenth day of August, 1903, is an event never to be forgotten. Here were about a dozen of us in a strange city, with very little money, and with AGP 349.5

no buildings and no equipment to carry on the world-wide work which was then in operation, and was to be greatly enlarged. We rented a large dwelling house, No. 222, North Capitol Street N. W., in the city of Washington. The printing office was located in the dining room and kitchen, and other departments were placed in the different rooms of the building. AGP 350.1

Under the editorial management of Prof. W. W. Prescott, the Review and Herald was issued from our new location without missing a single number. The last issue came from the press in Battle Creek on Tuesday, August 11, and the next paper was printed in Washington on Thursday of the following week. The same was true of the Youth’s Instructor. The first that many of our people knew about the final action was gathered from these two issues of the Review, containing the account of our removal. AGP 350.2