LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1932, Page 128

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182 Proceedings of Thirty-Fifth Regular Convention,

We are awaiting further instructions of Synod or Synod’s eo:
mittee regarding the publication of a proposed new catechism o
a graded series of catechisms; also regardin icati i

; g the publicat
hymn-book. non of @ new
In this report we refrain from making any pro

? posal regardj
the Synodalbericht problem. We have repeatedly made reohnmea

tions; in 1929 we made a very good and unselfish recommendation -
but all our endeavors have been in vain. After all, the proble a
not our problem, but Synod’s. If Synod does not insist on the
publication of District reports and if synodical Districts do not .
operate in this direction, we have no call to propose further remedies,
The celebrated Predigistudien (New Testament series) scatte od
throughout old volumes of the Homiletic Magazine have been gathered
and edited by Dr. Fuerbringer and have been published, not b ‘
but by a European publisher with whom we maintain friendly vel ~
tions. We deserve and claim credit for this undertaking, for the
European publisher would not have taken it upon himself except with
our cooperation. If the Gospel collection gains the business success
that we hope and expect, the Epistle series will be similarly published

Our Church Collection Envelope business has been quite satis-
factory. We believe we are furnishing the great majority of our
churches their collection envelopes. A few customers are won away
from us by real or only seeming advantages in the way of prices.
One of our competitors has recently, for reasons we cannot under-
stand, cut his prices to such an extent that we simply cannot match
them without pocketing a considerable loss. If our customers are
attracted by those unwarranted prices, which we have partially met,
then we must for the time being simply lose that portion of the Col-
lection Envelope business. It would, however, be handsome if our:
own people, who own our House and whose Synod gets all the profit
from our operations, would be broad-minded enough to give us their
business in spite of the fact that they can save a small amount on
this year’s order if they give it to our competitor.

Within reason we are making earnest efforts, in which we are
generously supported by our editors, to increase the number of sub-
scribers for our official organs, Der Lutheraner and the Lutheran
Witness. In the end, however, a wider dissemination of these papers
can be attained only through the whole-hearted cooperation par-
ticularly of our pastors, but also of our laymen. Both papers are now
a little more than supporting themselves. Both papers, however, do
not make a profit sufficiently large to justify extravagant propaganda
in the shape of premiums, commissions, and the like. We are, as far
as per capita circulation is concerned, proportionately well off. There
are not many church-bodies that can boast as fair a circulation as
ours; and yet the combined circulation of the Lutheraner and the

Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1932. 183

Witness means but one paper to about ten of our adult membership.
Even if we consider the membership by families, we have but one
paper to every nine families. Accordingly eight families out of every
nine in our Synod are still content to worry along without having
regular official contact with their Synod.

Our professional magazines, the Concordia Theological Monthly
and the School Journal, register a monetary loss, as they always have
done and probably always will. Larger support would be desirable,
and the blessing accruing to our professional men, clergymen, teachers,
and the schoolboards, would more than justify a larger circulation.
A recent study of all the data obtainable regarding similar publica-
tions seems to indicate that we are not by any means the greatest
sufferers in this respect, such magazines (like high schools, colleges,
and universities) simply must be financed or endowed in some way, as
they cannot collect in the way of subscription fees (or in the way of
dues) as much as it costs to operate them.

The Concordia Pulpit has now experienced three successful an-
nual editions. It does seem that this book is satisfactorily meeting
areal want.

Our Sunday-school series, taken as a whole, is on a very sub-
stantial footing. It is a source of gratification that we practically
have a monopoly in this respect in the Missouri Synod. We have
competition, it is true. It is also true that a number of our Sunday-
schools are not yet using our material; but we, and Synod with us,
have all reason to be grateful for the success of this feature of
our work.

Our schoolbook business has just about dwindled to nothing ex-
cept religious books, Bible History and Catechism, and our readers.
On hymn-books in both languages we believe we now have over 90%
of the business that we have a right to expect. The ordinary editions
of hymn-books yield a good profit; but some items must yield
a relatively good profit in order to offset the many items that we sell
on a scant margin of profit.

Reduction in prices has been suggested to us, has been urged
upon us, and we happen to know that a memorial will be addressed
to Synod suggesting that Synod order a general reduction in our
prices. We shall be prepared to show the committee that passes on
this report and that will probably make recommendations on price
reduction memorials that our prices are not only reasonable, but more
than reasonable. Unless Synod is willing and ready more or less to
change the character of its Publishing House from a business in-
stitution to a distributing agency, we must regard it as unwise to
make any further reduction in the profit rate accruing to Synod out
of the operations of Concordia. We respectfully recommend to the