The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-11-29
Forced Into Larger Quarters
Twice Within Last Eleven
Years.
FTREPROOF HOME
IS NOW OCCUPIED.
Splendid New Building Gives
Room for Further Growth.
Committees Foreign Mis-
sonaries In South.

It's influence for good ever widen
ing, the Presbyterian Committee OF
Publication. one of the strong arms or
the Presbyterian Church in the South
ern States, has IN the last eleven
years enjoyed s. growth that comes 10
few institutions of it's land The COM
mittee. which is the publishing house
of the church organization in the
South. has become comfortably estab
iisfied in It's new home. handsome
five story and basement fireproof
structure. at and North Sixth
Street, and the work OF the big organ
ization IS now running smoothly and
meeting all the rapidly growing de-
rnands made upon IL
The entire building fronting sixty
two feet on North Sixth Street and
running back lis feet. is occupied BY
the publication committee in carry
ing on its work. The first floor is
given over TO the mailing department.
which during each month In the year
handles outgoing periodicals. approx
mating million copies. for the post
ONCE. The second hoor is the retail
book store, where thousands of pub
lications are stocked, and hundreds
displayed The third floor IL given
over to the wholesale and mail order
departments, though at this time .
portion OF the moor space ID being
devoted to the handling OF the Christ
mas holiday books and printed novel;
ties The fourth floor provides ONCE
and lecture and study rooms for the
Assembly Training SCHOOL for Lay
Workers, new branch Of the COM
rnittee's work. The NTH foor is given
over to the editorial rooms, the refer
ence library. and the chapel.
Room For Further Growth.
All this space 10 now utilized. vet
the new building affords ample room
for the natural growth OF the business
for some time to come. Everything
has been arranged with a view to tho
saving of time and OF labor without
the least sacrifice of efficiency There
Is no lost motion possible under the
plans of operation that have been
perfected by r. E. Mastll. secretary
and treasurer of the publication COM
mittee and executive head of the
plant.
Modern mailing apparatus has been
installed In the big distributing room
on the first floor. into which, from
one side Of the building. the printed
periodicals--there are fourteen Of
them at this time with a combined
The packages OF papers and mag
asines fresh from the press. are UNI
tied. passed TO assembling and wrap
ping tables. subdivided according ia
States. and wrapped in previously AID
dressed containers. The addressing
machine delivers wrappers, bearing
the name Of the publication, the SUBJ
ecriber's mamie and address and the
date of expiration of subscription, b..
10 VAT ~
as they are wrapped they are placed
Into the mailbags. on the side of The
room opposite their point of entry.
and these are weighed and sen. ont
to the postoffice. No handling b.
postal employees. except In the mai,
sacks. is necessary until the point OF
railroad or division on which is their
destination. is reached.
Seven New Periodicals.
Beginning the first Of the year
seven new periodicals will be added
to the list, making a total OF twenty-
one, and giving an increase In ar
gregate circulation Of so to so per
cent. The new publications will be
series of seven departmental! graded
Sunday School lessons One OF the
important magazines handled by the
committee. the circulation of wllicu
is rapidly growing. is the Missionary
Survey, monnhly instituted two
years ago when the Home Mission
Magazine, published at Atlsnta, and
the Foreign Mission Machine. pub
lished at Nashville. we're merged
Though the development Of the
business has been steady one since
the publication committee was iusti-
tuted In Richmond. In 1851 the
growth In the last eleven years has
been the most remarkable. In 1908,
the annual business amounted to ap-
proximately $4,000. In 1914. 1t was
1927 600. Where the number of copies
mailed annually was three and half
million ten years ago. it IL now in ex-
cess of twelve million. The number
Of employees mas steadily increased,
ard the committee now gives employ
ment. through three of the larre
printing houses in Richmond. WHO
do the committees work under con-
tract. to more printers than any other
single establishment in The city.
The first plant Of the committee was
burned at the close of the war The
COMMITTEES few years later purchaAed
a building on the site Of the present
American Nationa, Bank which ft
outgrew in 1908. During the last year
tho building on Sixth Street. near
Broad. now occupied by the book de-
partment Of Miller 4 Hhoads. wxe
outgrown. and the structure now oc-
cupied was erected. The COMMITTEES
sold its building to Miller 4 Rhoads.
and on the completion of the build
ing the early part OF this month.
moved into the new home.
Foreign Missionary Work at HoQne.
In addition to tsne qualifications work
the committee IL doing Z m.spionaxy
work throuxhout the sixteen South
ern States. There are now travaNngs
in fourteen OF these States etxtA1n