General Conference Bulletin, vol. 7
Conference Proceedings. ELEVENTH MEETING
W. A. Spicer, C. P. Bollman, C. C. Crisler, T. E. Bowen, H. E. Rogers, J. N. Anderson
May 21, 10 A. M.
L. R. CONRADI in the chair. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.3
U. Bender offered prayer. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.4
L. R. Conradi: We will now listen to the report of M. E. Kern, secretary of the Young People’s Missionary Volunteer Department. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.5
(This report, which was read by Professor Kern, will appear in a subsequent issue of the BULLETIN.) GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.6
REPORT ON EUROPEAN MEMORIAL
The chairman then called for a report of the committee on plans regarding the memorial from the European Division presented in the seventh meeting (see page 50 of BULLETIN). GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.7
Guy Dail, secretary of the committee on plans (reading):— GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.8
“The committee on plans and resolutions would recommend:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.9
“1. That, in response to the memorial submitted by the European brethren to the fall council, 1912, we adopt the general plan of organizing important territories and groups of union fields into General Conference divisions, and that this form of divisional organization be effected in the various fields as the conditions of the work require. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.10
“2. That the numerical basis of representation from the division conferences and division missions to the General Conference be that called for by the General Conference Constitution. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.11
“3. That the general mission funds of the division be reported quarterly to the treasurer of the General Conference, and that they be included in the financial statements of the General Conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.12
“4. That steps be taken at this conference for the organization of the European Division Conference, with a constitution in harmony with the provisions of the General Conference Constitution.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.13
L. R. Conradi: Before action is taken, I am sure the delegates will wish to hear read the constitution of the European Division Conference, which the committee on plans recommends for adoption for the division. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.14
Proposed Constitution and By-Laws GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.15
Guy Dail: The committee on plans submits the following form of constitution and by-laws for the European Division Conference:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.16
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF EUROPEAN DIVISION CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
Article I—Name
This organization shall be known as the European Division Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.17
Article II—Territory
The territory of this conference shall be Europe; the Russian and the Turkish possessions in Asia; Persia, Arabia, and Afghanistan; and that part of Africa not included in Rhodesia, British Central Africa, and the Union of South Africa. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.18
Article III—Object
The object of this conference is to teach the everlasting gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.19
Article IV—Membership
Section 1. The membership of this conference shall consist of:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.20
(a) Such union conferences as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.21
(b) Such union mission fields as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.22
(c) Such local conferences outside of any union as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.23
(d) Missions, properly organized, not included in union missions. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.24
Sec. 2. The voters of this conference shall be designated as follows:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.25
(a) Delegates at large. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.26
(b) Regular delegates. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.27
Sec. 3. Delegates at large shall be:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.28
(a) The division conference executive committee and the General Conference Committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.29
(b) Such representatives of organized missions in the division as may be recommended by the executive committee, and accepted by the delegates in session. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.30
Sec. 4. Regular delegates shall be such persons as are duly accredited by union conferences and by local conferences not included in any union. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.31
Sec. 5. Each union conference shall be entitled to one delegate without regard to numbers, an additional delegate for each conference in its territory, and an additional delegate for each five hundred of its membership. Each local conference not included in any union conference shall be entitled to one delegate without regard to numbers, and to one additional delegate for each five hundred members. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.32
Sec. 6. (a) Each union mission shall be represented in conference sessions by delegates chosen on the basis of one for the union mission, one for each organized mission within its territory, and one for each five hundred of its members. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.33
(b) Each organized mission field outside of any union shall be entitled to one delegate. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.34
(c) The delegates of union and local mission fields shall be appointed by the executive committee of the conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.35
Article V—Executive Committee
Section 1. At each session, the conference shall elect an executive committee for carrying on its work between sessions. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.36
Sec. 2. The executive committee shall consist of the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, the presidents of the union conferences, the superintendents of organized union missions, one member each representing the publishing, medical, educational, young people’s and Sabbath-school interests, and three additional persons. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.37
Article VI—Officers and Their Duties
Section 1. The regular officers of this conference shall be a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer, who shall be elected by the conference. One or more auditors shall also be elected by the conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.38
Sec. 2. President: The president shall act as chairman of the executive committee, and labor in the general interests of the conference, as the executive committee may advise. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.39
Sec. 3. Vice-president: It shall be the duty of the vice-president to assist the president in his work, as the executive committee may advise, and, in the absence of the president, to preside at the councils of the members of the executive committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.40
Sec. 4. Secretary: It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep the minutes of the conference sessions, and of the meetings of the executive committee, and to collect such data from union and local conferences and missions as may be desired by the conference or by the executive committee, and to perform such other duties as usually pertain to such office. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.41
Sec. 5. Treasurer: It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive all funds, and disburse them by order of the president, and to render such financial statements at regular intervals as may be desired by the conference or by the executive committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.42
Sec. 6. Election of officers: All officers of the conference and members of the executive committee except such members as are presidents of union conferences or superintendents of union mission fields, shall be chosen by the delegates at the regular quadrennial session of the European Division Conference, and shall hold their offices for the period of four years, or until their successors are elected and appear to enter upon their duties. GCB May 22, 1913, page 91.43
Article VII—Incorporations, Departments, and Agents
Section 1. Such incorporations and departments may be created as the development of the work requires. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.1
Sec. 2. At each regular session of this conference, the delegates shall elect such trustees of all corporate bodies connected with this organization as may be provided in the statutory laws governing each. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.2
Sec. 3. The conference shall employ such committees, secretaries, treasurers, agents, ministers, missionaries, and other persons, and shall make such distribution of its laborers, as may be necessary to execute its work effectively. It shall also grant credentials or licenses to its ministers and missionaries. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.3
Article VIII—Sessions
Section 1. This conference shall hold quadrennial sessions at such date and place as the executive committee shall designate by a notice published in the European Division Quarterly at least six weeks before the date of the session. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.4
Sec. 2. The executive committee may call special sessions at such time and place as it deems proper, by a like notice, and the transactions of such special sessions shall have the same force as those of the regular sessions. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.5
Article IX—By-Laws
The voters of this conference may enact by-laws and amend or repeal them at any session thereof, and such by-laws may embrace any provision not inconsistent with the constitution of the European Division Conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.6
Article X—Amendments
This constitution or its by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the votes present at any session, provided that if it is proposed to amend the constitution at a special session, notice of such purpose shall be given in the call for such special session. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.7
BY-LAWS
Article I—Executive Committee
Section 1. During the intervals between sessions of a conference, the executive committee shall have full administrative power, with authority to grant and withdraw credentials and licenses, and to fill for the current term any vacancies that may occur in its offices, boards, committees, or agents—by death, resignation, or otherwise—except in cases where other provisions for filling such vacancies shall be made by vote of the European Division Conference. The withdrawal of credentials or filling of vacancies on the executive committee, shall require the consent of two thirds of the members of the executive committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.8
Sec. 2. Any five members of the executive committee, including the president or the vice-president, shall be empowered to transact such executive business as is in harmony with the general plans outlined by the committee, but the concurrence of all five members shall be necessary to pass any measure. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.9
Sec. 3. Meetings of the executive committee may be called at any time or place, by the president, the vice-president, or by the secretary, upon the written request of any five members of the executive committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.10
Sec. 4. Previous to each session of conference, the executive committee shall provide such temporary committees as may be necessary to conduct the preliminary work of the conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.11
Sec. 5. At each session of the conference, the executive committee shall nominate for election the presiding officers of the conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.12
Article II—Finance
Section 1. The Division Conference shall receive a tithe from all its union conferences, and from local conferences outside of any union, and the tithe of the union missions and local mission fields outside of any union. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.13
Sec. 2. The executive committee shall be authorized to call for such special donations as may be necessary to properly prosecute its work. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.14
Sec. 3. The conference shall receive offerings devoted to missions. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.15
Sec. 4. The conference shall receive any second or surplus tithes that may be turned over to it by any field. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.16
Article III—Audits
Section 1. The executive committee shall have the accounts of the conference audited at least once each calendar year, and shall report upon the same to the European Division Conference at the annual sessions of the committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.17
Sec. 2. The executive committee shall appoint annually four persons not in its employ, who, with the president, the vice-president, the secretary, the treasurer, and not less than five presidents of union conferences or superintendents of union mission fields, shall constitute a committee for auditing and settling all accounts against the conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.18
ENACTMENT CLAUSE: Resolved, That in adopting this constitution and by-laws of the European Division Conference, we authorize the delegates here from the European Division to meet and proceed with the election of their officers, under the constitution, to hold office until the first regular constituency meeting of the Division Conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.19
L. R. Conradi: Doubtless, before taking any action, the conference would like to hear the report from the committee on constitution as to the changes proposed in the General Conference Constitution, in view of this further organization of the European Division. We will, therefore, call upon the secretary of the committee on constitution, W. T. Bartlett, to present the report. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.20
W. T. Bartlett (reading):— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.21
Report on General Conference Constitution
The committee on constitution submit the following report:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.22
1. We recommend, That the constitution and by-laws of the General Conference be changed as follows:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.23
Article III, section 1, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.24
“Section 1.—The membership of this conference shall consist of:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.25
“(a) Such division conferences as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.26
“(b) Such union conferences as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.27
“(c) Such local conferences not embraced in any union conference, as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.28
“(d) Such division and union missions as have been or shall be properly organized and accepted by vote. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.29
“(e) Missions, properly organized, not included in union missions.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.30
Article III, section 3, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.31
“Sec. 3.—Delegates at large shall be:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.32
“(a) The General Conference executive committee. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.33
“(b) Such representatives of missions of the General Conference and superintendents of work among the various foreign-speaking peoples in the North American Division as shall receive delegates’ credentials from the executive committee, such credentials to be given only by the consent of a majority of the executive committee.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.34
Article III, section 4, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.35
“Sec. 4.—Regular delegates shall be such persons as are duly accredited by division and union conferences, and local conferences not included in union conferences.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.36
Article III, section 5, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.37
“Sec. 5.—Each division conference shall be entitled to one delegate without regard to numbers, an additional delegate for each conference in its territory, and an additional delegate for each five hundred of its membership. Each union conference not included in a divisional conference shall be entitled to one delegate without regard to numbers, an additional delegate for each conference in its territory, and an additional delegate for each five hundred of its membership. Each local conference not included in a union conference shall be entitled to one delegate without regard to numbers, and one additional delegate for each five hundred members. Union missions and local missions not included in division or union conferences shall have such representation as may be decided by the General Conference executive committee.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.38
Article IV, section 2, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.39
“Sec. 2.—The executive committee shall consist of the president, the vice-presidents, the secretary, the treasurer, the vice-presidents of division conferences, the presidents of union conferences, the superintendents of organized union missions, the secretaries in charge of duly organized departments; namely, the Publishing, Medical, Educational, Sabbath School, Religious Liberty, Young People’s Missionary Volunteer, North American Foreign, North American Negro,—and seven other persons. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.40
Article V, section 1, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.41
“Section 1. The regular officers of this conference shall be a president, three vice-presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, an assistant treasurer, and an auditor, who shall be elected by the conference.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.42
Article V, section 3, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.43
“Sec. 3. Vice-presidents: The first vice-president shall be the president of the European Division Conference, whose duties shall be such as are prescribed by the constitution of the Division Conference, and who shall preside at the councils of the members of the General Conference executive committee, which may be held in Europe, in the absence of the president of the General Conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.44
“The second vice-president shall labor in the North American Division,” etc., to end of section as before. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.45
Article V, section 4, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.46
“Sec. 4. The Secretary: It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep the minutes of the proceedings of the conference sessions and of the committee meetings, and to collect such statistics and other facts from divisions, union and local conferences and missions, as may be desired by the conference or the executive committee, and to perform such other duties as usually pertain to such office.. GCB May 22, 1913, page 92.47
Article V, section 5, to insert after the word treasurer, “and the assistant treasurer.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.1
Article V, section 6, to read:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.2
“Sec. 6. Election of Officers: All officers of the conference, and the members of the executive committee except such members as are presidents of union conferences or superintendents of union mission fields, and excepting also the president and vice-president of the European Division Conference shall be chosen by the delegates at the regular quadrennial sessions of the General Conference, and shall hold their offices for the period of four years, or until their successors are elected and appear to enter upon their duties.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.3
2. In consequence of the change in the constitution, creating the office of assistant treasurer, it becomes necessary to change Article 5, section 4 of the by-laws to the Articles of Incorporation of the Seventh-day Adventists, to read as follows:— GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.4
“Sec. 4. The trustees shall elect annually a president, a secretary, a treasurer, and an assistant treasurer. The president and the treasurer shall be members of the board of trustees; the secretary may or may not be a member of the board of trustees.” GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.5
The committee on constitution recommend this change to the constituency of the corporation when it shall meet. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.6
By common consent of the Conference, it was agreed that action on these reports submitted should be deferred until a later session, giving the Conference opportunity to study the recommendations as they shall be printed in the BULLETIN. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.7
REPORT OF THE ATLANTIC UNION CONFERENCE
L. R. Conradi: We shall now call for a continuation of reports. First, we shall hear from the Atlantic Union Conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.8
W. B. White (reading):— GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.9
The Atlantic Union Conference comprises the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York, with a population of something over sixteen million, fully fifty per cent of whom are of foreign birth. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.10
Statistical
This union has 183 churches, with 5,770 Sabbath-keepers. We have 45 ordained ministers, 12 licentiates, and 89 holding missionary credentials. We have 210 Sabbath-schools, with a membership of 5,294. Four years ago the Atlantic Union was paying an annual tithe amounting to $72,515; Dec. 31, 1912, our reports show that the union was paying $105,335 tithe, making an increase of $32,820 in four years. Four years ago our offerings to foreign missions were $20,786; at the close of 1912, $42,192, an increase of $21,406. During the past four years our Sabbath-school offerings have increased from $6,571 to $18,105, an increase of $11,534. Four years ago our book and periodical sales amounted to $47,433; last year they were $68,716, an increase of $21,283. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.11
City Work
During the last quadrennial period a strong effort has been made in the Atlantic Union to extend our work more vigorously to such large cities as New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Pawtucket, Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, and other important centers, and bring the light of present truth to those who have never heard it. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.12
The last three or four years strong campaigns have been carried forward in the Greater New York Conference among the English, Germans, Scandinavians, Hungarians, and colored people, with the result that the work in the Greater New York Conference was never on so substantial a basis as at present. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.13
Recently, through the generous help extended to us by our Scandinavian brethren in the West, a site has been secured in the city of Brooklyn, and a mission property built for the Scandinavian work. This mission was erected at a cost of about ten thousand, and the money for it has been provided for. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.14
In New York harbor two men are giving their entire time to ship mission work, one in the English and one in the Scandinavian language. A new mission harbor boat is now under construction, and will be ready for operation immediately after this Conference. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.15
During the last two or three years there has been developed in Manhattan a colored church, now having a membership of 113. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.16
The Greater New York Conference, with its 4,766,800 persons, comprising so many different nationalities, presents a rather difficult field in which to work; but gradually the truth is making its way into this great mass of humanity, and is winning many to the third angel’s message. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.17
Four years ago our work in Buffalo was very weak indeed. The church had no property of its own, and was meeting in rented halls under very unfavorable conditions. Since that time faithful evangelistic work has been carried forward in this city of nearly half a million, and a church of 125 members has been raised up. A church building has been purchased in a good residential section of the city, at a cost of $5,500, and has been paid for. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.18
We have in Buffalo a growing German church. The cause is onward in this city, and we have every reason for encouragement. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.19
The city of Rochester has also been entered, and evangelistic work is being carried forward there. We have a moderate-sized church there, which is growing. This city has a population of 218,000, and is one of the finest and most progressive of our Eastern cities. In 1852 Rochester was the headquarters of our work, and the Review and Herald was printed there. A couple of years ago a nicely located church was purchased for $6,500, which affords a splendid rallying-place for our work. During the last year many improvements have been made upon this building, and it is about all that could be desired for the work in Rochester. Property also has been purchased in the city of Elmira, N. Y., and a growing work is in progress in that city. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.20
During the last quadrennial period evangelistic efforts have been made in Providence and Pawtucket, R. I., and churches have been erected in both of these cities. A church building is also in process of erection in the city of Middletown, Conn., where the Present Truth, now the Review and Herald, was published in 1849. A growing work is in progress in Bridgeport, Conn., and recently a church was dedicated in this city. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.21
During the past year an evangelistic effort has been carried forward in Albany, New York, where we have a membership of forty-five. During the last winter the way was providentially opened for us to secure in this capital city a good brick church building within two blocks of the State capitol. This was purchased at a cost of only $6,000, and is now being fitted up for our work in Albany. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.22
The city of Boston has a population of 670,500, and is one of the strongest Catholic cities on the Atlantic Coast. For a number of years evangelistic work has been prosecuted here, and we now have a central church meeting at Tremont Temple, another in Somerville, still another in Everett, another at the New England Sanitarium, nine miles north of the city, and also colored and German churches. A nicely located church building has recently been rented for a year in the city of Cambridge, where it is hoped that a good church may be raised up the present year. Our work in Boston is certainly very encouraging. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.23
Since the last General Conference, work has been carried forward in Portland, Maine, and a beautiful memorial church has been erected to the memory of Elder James White. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.24
The last few years evangelistic efforts have also been carried forward in New Haven, Conn.; Worcester, Mass.; Troy, N. Y.; and other large cities of the Atlantic Union. Thus in many of these centers the work of the third angel’s message is becoming quite firmly established. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.25
Institutions
In our union we have two large institutions, the New England Sanitarium and the South Lancaster Academy. These institutions are under the direction and supervision of our organized work. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.26
The last few years have been good years for the South Lancaster Academy. God has been present, and has helped us greatly in our work. Union and harmony have prevailed, and for the most part the institution has been filled with a good class of students. Our enrolment during the current year has been 311. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.27
In this school there has been maintained for a number of years a normal department, wherein we are endeavoring to train church-school teachers for their work, but the academy building has been so crowded that it has been hard to do normal work along right lines. During the last year a sister residing in the Atlantic Union, in memory of her brother, deceased, donated to the Atlantic Union the sum of eleven thousand dollars to erect a normal school building wherein this training may be carried forward. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.28
The other large institution in the Atlantic Union is the Melrose Sanitarium, situated about nine miles north of Boston, in a large State park, called the Middlesex Fells. Our situation is about all that could be desired. Our patronage has increased and our gross earnings for the last four years are as follows:-. GCB May 22, 1913, page 93.29
| 1909 | $39,883 |
| 1910 | 63,346 |
| 1911 | 63,542 |
| 1912 | 74,054 |
The first week in April of the present year the earnings of the institution were the largest of any week in its history, being a little over two thousand dollars. In its operating, the institution has been paying its way and a little more for a number of years, although its yearly gains have been entirely consumed by much-needed improvements. During a number of years the sanitarium has been conducting in the city of Boston and other surrounding cities a regular campaign of health and temperance work. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.1
Missionary Work
Our literature work is in a more healthful condition at present than for many years in the past, and our conferences, for the most part, are equipped with good, live general agents. Many students are in the field during the present vacation, working for their scholarships for another year. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.2
PHOTO-Workers in Greater New York Conference
In the Religious Liberty Department much work is being carried forward in the line of the circulation of Liberty and Protestant, and the large number of Sunday bills which have been before our several State legislatures this past winter, have kept our union conference religious liberty secretary and our local conference religious liberty secretaries very busy indeed. We are glad to report that in nearly every instance these bills have been defeated. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.3
We are glad to say that we find in the Atlantic Union a good, live spirit in favor of our foreign missions, and during the year 1912 we succeeded in raising our fifteen-cent-a-week apportionment. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.4
Work for Foreign Population
We have in the Atlantic Union a people who love the truth and are willing to sacrifice for its advancement. Our great foreign population of probably eight million presents a mighty problem for solution. How to carry the truth to this vast foreign population is certainly an important question, and one that we are earnestly endeavoring to study. Something is being done, but not all we would like to see. We have the French work started, a few laborers in the field, and a French department in South Lancaster Academy, but stronger efforts must be put forth among all these nationalities. These foreign-speaking people who never yet have heard the truth present the most perplexing problem with which we have to deal in the Atlantic Union. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.5
We feel that in all our departments fairly good progress has been made during the last quadrennial period, and courage and hope pervade our work. Our only desire is to press the battle stronger till all the people of the Atlantic Union have heard the message of truth for this generation. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.6
W. B. WHITE, President.
REPORT OF THE COLUMBIA UNION CONFERENCE
L. R. Conradi: Next we shall hear from the Columbia Union, through B. G. Wilkinson. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.7
B. G. Wilkinson (reading):— GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.8
The record of work in the Columbia Union during the last four years shows an increasing love and devotion toward the truth being preached within its subdivisions. To the increase of the different lines of work, so far, there has been no end. The population of this, the largest union in North America, has increased very rapidly during the past four years. We are glad to announce that even a greater increase than this has been seen in many of the lines of work carried on by the church, with no line, perhaps, showing a less increase. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.9
The main units of strength have been found to be the local conferences. Composed of eight conferences, four Southern and four Northern, the main effort of the union has been to keep these well manned and so let the growth of the union be carried on the swell of the growing conferences. In this the Lord has blessed by enabling us the most of the time to secure good executives for the local fields. Each conference record for the past quadrennial term a splendid increase in tithes and foreign mission offerings, culminating in the year 1912, when, for that year alone, the union tithe was $120,375, an increase of $14,000 above the previous year. For the first time in its record, it met and more than met the weekly standard for foreign mission offerings, namely, fifteen cents a week. “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” We believe that his help will not be wanting in the future. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.10
Evangelical Work
We look around the union and inquire, How many souls have been saved? It is safe to say, from the information given by the presidents of the different conferences, that about two thousand new converts were made within the Columbia Union Conference the past quadrennial term. So great, however, has been the constant and thorough pruning of our church lists that the net increase is only 274. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to note that the substantial part of this increase was made during the past two years, thus indicating that the union has strengthened, and is getting ready to take up the great tasks which lie before it. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.11
In the question of city work no union has greater claim to attention than the Columbia. With over one third of all the cities in North America having over thirty-five thousand inhabitants within its borders, we have many to whom to give the warning. The inhabitants of this union number nearly one half the population of Great Britain. Taking the usual class of licensed workers—ministers, licentiates, and missionary licentiates—the Columbia Union has of these 143, or, in round numbers, one worker to every one hundred forty thousand inhabitants. This proportion shows by far a greater number of inhabitants to workers than any other union in North America. If, in proportioning the number of Adventists to the size of the population, we had in this union the proportion which pervades throughout the United States, there would be in this conference twice as many Adventists as there are now. Yet in spite of all our efforts to secure and to educate more workers for this union, we have sought so to share these with other fields that we have still only fifty-four ordained ministers, or one less than we had four years ago; twenty-two licensed ministers, or the same number as we had at the beginning of the quadrennial period; and sixty-seven licensed missionaries. GCB May 22, 1913, page 94.12
The last three years special city efforts have been held in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Jersey City, and Charleston. Besides these, pastors have been given to other great centers, such as Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo, who carry on their work the whole year round. As a result, many new church buildings have gone up in the union, the majority of which have been dedicated free from debt. At Baltimore a new brick structure has been erected, worth $12,000; in the same city, a new church for the colored work, valued at $5,000; at Newark, N. J., an English memorial church, valued at $10,000, and a Slavo-Bohemian, $5,000; at Fords Store, Md., one valued at $1,200; Hagerstown, Md., $2,500; Pondsville, Del., $500; Charleston, W. Va., $8,000; Parkersburg, W. Va., $3,500; while at Takoma Park, D. C.,—not to speak of many others,—a new church valued at $17,000 will soon be ready for dedication. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.1
Finances
Not only devotion from the workers but dollars from the brethren have been increasing. During the past four years the tithe made a thirty-three and one-third per cent increase; it rose from $87,638 to $120,375, a gain of $32,737. The per capita tithe during the same period has risen from $12.52 to $16.91, an increase of $4.39. When the streams of grace come in larger measure to believers, you cannot keep the rivulets rolling down the foreign mission funds from steadily climbing their banks. In 1909 the union gave $21,984.49 in the Ten-cent-a-week Fund; in 1912 it gave $51,648.22, an increase of almost one hundred fifty per cent. In 1912 alone the union gave to foreign missions $70,923.82. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.2
Other Enterprises
A glance at the literature work done within the past four years shows that the union in this respect also has made heavy strides forward. At the close of the last quadrennial period, we were selling annually about $58,830; in 1912 we sold $98,646. The total sales for the period are $342,926.26. Practically every conference in the union shows a marked increase in this line of work. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.3
There is one class of the population which our literature can be effective in reaching, and to whom there should be more distributed than in the past. I refer to our foreign population. One fourth of the entire population of this union is foreign, and is comprised of some twenty-six nationalities. To meet this demand we have as yet only about fourteen foreign workers, representing the German, Scandinavian, Bohemian, and Slavonic languages. The different conferences are deeply interested in this branch of the work, and with the growth of the union our foreign work will receive greater attention. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.4
In the Religious Liberty department, the different conferences have kept close watch of affairs, and, as in the constitutional convention in Ohio, the union has cooperated in serving whenever and wherever need has arisen. The union is now preparing to have one give his whole time to this work. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.5
For the past three years, special attention has been given to the young people’s work, and there has been an enlargement all along these lines. There has been a thirty-three and one-third percent gain in societies and a twenty-percent gain in membership. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.6
Educational Work
I speak now of the struggle with our institutions. Government by proxy is an engaging task which lays the responsibility for financial leadership upon the president of the board, who generally has little to do with the financial management of an institution. Two such enterprises, financially embarrassed, came up for plenty of consideration this past quadrennial period at the hands of the union. Four years ago found Mount Vernon College in need of help. Until that time, in fact until the present year, there has been, during its whole history as a college, only four college graduates. We are glad to announce, however, as an indication of the growth in quality of work, that for the year 1912, in a class of twenty-eight graduates, six of them are college graduates. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.7
Four years ago found the college financially in an emaciated condition. Its circulation was away below normal. It carried a debt of $32,951, with a present worth of only $8,377. When $2,000 worth of bad accounts is taken into consideration, it was equivalent to giving the union $6,000 and asking it to go out and start a college of the dimensions and usefulness of Mount Vernon. In addition, the buildings with their running parts showed great need of attention. Since that time about $7,000 has been expended on repairs, which has put the buildings in a condition of service second to none. Also the debt has been cut down about $7,000, while the present worth has gone up from $8,000 to over $20,000. The year before last saw the largest attendance in the history of the school. Though the attendance has slightly dropped off the present year, yet the interest in the institution throughout the union is good. Given a fair field and the opportunities which are usual to institutions of this nature, there is no reason why the union cannot carry on a good college at Mount Vernon. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.8
Besides the college, we have been successfully operating academies in the Shenandoah Valley and in Takoma Park, Md. There are also 30 church-schools in the union, doing good work, and with an enrolment of 437 pupils. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.9
Medical Work
The other institution which immediately demanded the attention of the union at the close of the last General Conference was the Philadelphia Sanitarium. Here we believe, if anywhere, the blessings of God were given in the endeavor to relieve the difficult situation. It was the problem of conducting an honorable retreat. All were convinced that the institution should be closed; but how to do this in a way that would, generally speaking, be satisfactory to all, required the greatest wisdom. Yet so much has been the help of the Lord, that, whereas, the debt was at the time we closed the institution in round numbers about eighty-five thousand, today it is reduced to ten thousand. Amid the hundreds of bond holders and note holders there may be here and there one who did not get all he wanted, which was usually more than the others cheerfully cooperated in taking, but the large majority of the creditors of the institution were satisfactorily treated. We believe that it was only through the providence of God that we were enabled to do this. To meet this $85,000 we had assets to the amount of $35,000, the General Conference assumed $21,000, while $29,000 represents the work of the union. In other words, during the past four years the Columbia Union has not only kept the situation in these two institutions from becoming worse, but, in taking care of repairs and of debts, has done reconstruction work to the amount of $33,000. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.10
There is also a close cooperation between the union and the Washington Sanitarium; also between the Mount Vernon College and the Mount Vernon Medical and Surgical Sanitarium. Three other private sanitariums and seven treatment-rooms assist in putting to the front the gospel of health as contained in the third angel’s message. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.11
Conclusion
In closing we must mention the generous help given to the union for the carrying forward of the work by the General Conference. All within our borders feel deeply grateful for this assistance, and all the recipients of these benefits desire to make the best use of them. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.12
A good spiritual vitality animates all of the churches. We are full of the message. Never did the leadings of God seem clearer, and never were we more determined to face the giants and to enter the promised land. The time has come to enter; and God’s watch is never one second late. Through the prophetic telescopes we see the coming of many great events, but none greater than the coming of the Bright and Morning Star. We are endeavoring in this union to organize a reception committee, sanctified through the truth, and prepared to welcome the Lord Jesus. GCB May 22, 1913, page 95.13
B. G. WILKINSON, President.
At the conclusion of B. G. Wilkinson’s report, conference adjourned.
L. R. CONRADI, Chairman;
W. A. SPICER, Secretary.