# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1887_S46
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

46 Proceedings of the 20th General or

"3. Stock was taken. The inventory of type, plates, books, etc.
represents a value of $163,971.98. It goes without saying that, in taking
this inventory, the stereotype plates of books that have become worthless
for the printing house — which no longer appear in their former form in
our publishing house — were assessed only at their metal value, and not
at the thousands they cost to produce. The amount of collectible
outstanding accounts is $50,651.65. $447.30 is on hand in cash, as is
evident from the attached report.

"4. To the Treasurer of the General Synod there was delivered, in the
35 months elapsed since the last synodical session — namely from May 1,
1884 to April 1, 1887 — $97,700.80. Although this sum is not as large
as that which could be handed over to the Treasurer of the General
Synod in the period between the synodical sessions of 1881 and 1884,
this by no means proves that business has declined. On the contrary,
business has improved even in the last 35 months. Without even
speaking of the "strikes" that have also been harmful to our publishing
house, the following facts must nevertheless be taken into account if one
wishes to form a correct judgment of the progress of business in the last
35 months: 1) During this period other synods, which otherwise had
drawn a large part of their schoolbooks and other needs from our
publishing house, have published these books through their own
publishing houses, whereby great harm has been done to our publishing
business; 2) the period from the last accounting to date comprises three
full months less than the period from the second-to-last accounting to
the last accounting, which, by the standard of former revenues, alone
already amounts to over $18,000.00 in profit; 3) through the reduction
in the prices of certain books resolved on by the Reverend Synod in
1884, a shortfall of $6250.80 against former revenues has resulted, as
the account books show; 4) books worth $708.18 have been delivered
free of charge to orphanages; losses in the amount of $2370.50 have
arisen through deaths and the like; in taking over the Naumann stock
from the Free Church, our Concordia Publishing House lost $614.03;
and the sale of volumes of Luther's Works in the period from the last
Synod to date bears no relation to the sales in the preceding period.
From 1881 to 1884, 5300 volumes were sold; from 1884 to 1887, only
1282 volumes — a deficit of 4018 volumes; 5) extraordinary expenses
have arisen through the purchase of Gast's publishing business of
church certificates, and through the procurement of the pictures for the
newly published "Bible Stories," in the amount of $15,000.00. Despite
all these obstacles, and even though the present period comprises three
full months less than the