Call for a Larger Plant

A small place had been bought in Nashville, Tennessee, by the Southern Missionary Society, and a publishing business was being established with private funds, “for the publishing of low-priced literature for the South.” The Gospel Herald, November, 1900. Now the Lord was calling for a larger publishing house, and that at a time when the demand for our literature was barely sufficient to keep the presses running half time. As the situation was faced by our committee, it seemed that to establish a third house, in addition to our older offices, would only drive us deeper into commercial work, not to mention the financial difficulties involved in equipping another publishing plant.AGP 323.4

The messages, however, were so direct and so positive, that they could not be ignored or disregarded. We therefore set our hands a bit dubiously to comply with the instruction, and started what is now known as the Southern Publishing Association, in Nashville, Tennessee.AGP 323.5

We were so poor that we had to furnish the small building secured for the purpose with secondhand equipment. As I thinkAGP 323.6

of the old boiler that was installed in those unsuitable quarters, I feel that the protecting hand of God must have preserved us from being blown up by an explosion. So the work was begun with poor presses and broken-down equipment.AGP 324.1