Business Romances of Virginia . . .

An Enterprise Run Only for Charity

Methodist Publishing House, Doing $2,000,000 a Year,
Pays All Profits Into Ministers' Fund

Richmond has a $2,000,000-a-year industry unique in the whole business field in that every last Lincoln Penny of net profit goes to charity.

Figures are a cold, unromantic medium at best, except to a gifted few, but no glowing pen picture could more adequately describe the romance of this Richmond concern than such statistic as these--that in a brief 17 years $1,000,000 has been paid in profits into its chosen benefit fund, and that in the last five depression years that fund has benefited to the exact tune of $385,000.

Where is the business equal of the Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South?

Benefit Fund for Retired Ministers

To the Benefit Fund for Retired Ministers, all of the profits of the Methodist Publishing House go. Having given their lives toward the spread of the Gospel, without stint of time, energy or patience, many pastors find that when the occasion comes for their retirement, they are handicapped in the competitive business world to support themselves and their families. Having expended their best years in interests of others, it is neither fair nor just to neglect these fine men when they are compelled to restrain their activity and give way to younger seminary graduates. It is a wonderful work, therefore, that this printing establishment is doing in seeing to it that everyday troubles shall not descend upon the heads of their chosen leaders.

The story of the publishing house of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, began with the establishment of the southern portion of the denomination. Slavery existed in the South and met with much opposition from the Northern and New England sections. Trouble had been brewing in the church for a number of years on this account. The outbreak occurred when the General Conference of 1844 refused to recognize the authority of Bishop Andrew and tried to locate him on account of the fact that his wife was the owner of slaves. The Southern members of the church charged the methodist Episcopal Church with interfering with its rights by meddling with the civil relations of master and slaves as to subject it to the capricious discriminations of ecclesiastical rule and the church discipline, causing fluctuations of opinion and prejudice.

Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Formed in 1846

So intense and personal was the debate in the General Conference that the Southern representatives from the slave-holding States thought it best to form a separate General Conference jurisdiction and prosecute the work independent of any contril of the Methodist Episcopal Church as being unfavorable to the general harmony and tranquillity of the connection. Accordingly, in May, 1846, the first General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met in Petersburg. And at this meeting there was also established the Publishing House of the newly formed church, South.

This publishing house was centered at Nashville Tenn. Here it grew steadily until the War Between the States, during the four years of which the printing work was suspended. In 1862 Federal troops occupied the city and took over the Methodist Publishing House building and equipment for war purposes. The damage that this military occupation accomplished was not paid for until six years ago.

Then came the Reconstruction Period, and for the Publishing House it was a real struggle for rehabilitation. Its struggle against overwhelming indebtedness and discontented opposition was truly heroic. The book agent at this time was given a vote of thanks for aiding the house with his personal fortune when liabilities threatened liquidation. As it had done before and during the war, its previous periods of stress, the Publishing House won again.

From years when losses ran into six figures the organization progressed into prosperity and reversed this situation, having as much in black ink as formerly they had had in red!

Building of Richmond Branch;  Mr. Turner, Manager

This state of affairs, while it could not last forever--they had depressions in those days, too!--never became as bad as it had been after the War Between the States. With the advent of the next catastrophe, the World War, grave difficulties again rose. Yet this time, strange to say, when the war was over and peace declared, business conditions improved. In 1922 the publishing interests of the church were never in healthier trim. Shortly after the war a branch of the Publishing House was built in Richmond.

Previously, of the depositories in Nashville and Dallas and Richmond, the first two had always done more business. With the erection of the new building in Virginia, however, there was decided progress, and the increase in the sales at Richmond was larger in percentage than either of the other two cities.

On September 25, 1926, the publishing Agents announced the appointment of Mr. M. T. Turner as manager of the Richmond house. Since that date, Mr. Turner has performed notable work in increasing the number of sales and orders. And in 1927, the Book Committee appropriated $60,000 for the benefit of retired ministers.

Today the Publishing House of the Methodist Church, South, faces the future without fear of disaster. As it grows older it takes on new life and stands as one of the most needed and progressive institutions of our church.