The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-04-06
THE EARNEST WORKER" AND
THE MISSIONARY"

iicaIlon aI Tie request OF the chairman OF
Retrenchment and Reform" on the pro-
posed union of the Earnest Worker and
the Missionary Since that article was
put in type, our attention has been at
tracted to the editorial remarks on this
subject in the Christian Observer of the
30th ult., in which a more definite plan
for the proposed united magazine is pre-
sented than any of its advocates have be-
fore offered. This plan embraces the
following points:
LIST. 'The same amount of matter in the
united magazine as is now contained in
both Earnest Worker and Missionary.
I'd. The price of this enlarged magazine
to be 80 cents per annum, the same as tor
the Missionary at present, and 10 cents
less than the price of the Earnest Worker.
Sd. The Secretaries to furnish the mat
ter for their separate departments as at
present.
4th. No income is expected to accrue
to the treasury of the Church, as COM
pensation for editorial work, though the
publishers are expected to make rea-
sonable profit
The advantages claimed are-lst. That
the expense of managing one periodical
must be much less than the expense of
managing two.
But so far as the Church is con-
cerned, and its servants, the Secretaries,
this is manltestly an error; for under
this plan precisely the same amount of
editorial work is proposed as now, and
that too, without any compensation. To
the publishers there would be slight
saving in stitching, cover, and wrapper
these items being, of course, less for one
than two periodicals. The cost of fur
nishing the ministers of the Church, in
asmuch as the postage of periodicals is
now charged by weight, would be only
trife less under the proposed plan than
now, the difference being in the cost of
covers, stitching, and wrappers. This
estimate of saving is further based upon
the assumption that the subscription list
OF the united magazine would be double
that of either the Earnest Worker or the
Missionary at present. That is to say
the present circulation of the Earnest
Worker, including the ministers list, be-
ing about $500, the new magazine would
have not far from IA 900. How the editors
OF the Observer reached this conclusion we
cannot understand. The subscription list
of the Missionary is not more than half as
large as that OF the Earnest Worker, and
undoubtedly many of the subscribers to
the former are also on the list of the latter,
besides the l, 100 ministers to whom both
the publications are sent Free SO that the
most that could be anticipated in any
case would be an increase of about | 900
subscribers over the present list of the
Earnest Worker.
The editors of the Observer speak with
the confidence of experts, as they are
doubtless entitled to do, as to the possibil-
ity of finding publisher who would un-
dertake to furnish such magazine at so
cents per year, with free list of nearly
200; but doubtless that confidence was
based on the assumed $4,000 subscribers.
With 5000, or less, their careful computa-
ton would show less hopeful results.
2. A second advantage of the plan is.
the giving the two periodicals to the sub
scribers for the price of one. This would
certainly be an advantage to the sub
scribers if the Church can afford to do it.
But it will be noted that the only way
this can be done, even in the estimate of
the Observer, is by the Church furnishing
the editorial work free, or in other words,
paying for it out Of the treasury of the
Church.
The "retrenchment" in this view would
evidently be in favor of the subscribers
at the expense of the whole Church. We
can see nothing of "retrenchment" in
these suggestions so far as the Church is
concerned. On the contrary the bur
dens Of the Church are likely tosbe in
creased by the proposed change. For
the Earnest Worker is now not only no
burden, but pays its own way, and Yields
a handsome royalty, which helps to nav