A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

the committee looked for a man to give leadership to the publishing enterprise. In response to an overwhelming preference of church members whose advice was solicited, and upon petition of the Hillsboro PUBLISHING FOR THE BROTHERHOOD 289 businessmen, the job was again offered to A. L. Schellenberg.'" Although he had been highly successful as a farmer, Schellenberg returned to the editor's desk and the work which had become so much a part of his life. In the ensuing years he also played a leading role in the Hillsboro community. 151 In his editorial work Schellenberg was ably assisted by J. F. Harms, the veteran of M.B. publications. Both men were very sensitive to the tragic plight of the Mennonites in Russia in this post-war period; the reports and letters published in the Zionsbote and Vorwaerts reflected the concern of the editors. The extent of the coverage of the Russian emergency was shown in Schellenberg's summary report early in 1923. Thirty-five of the 197 news reports carried in seven issues came out of Russia. 20 It was perhaps to be expected that a crusader of Schellenberg's caliber would encounter difficulties as editor of a denominational paper. It was Schellenberg's policy to freely publish controversial material if in his opinion it contributed to the search for truth. A crusading editor of our present day has this to say about Schellenberg: "In news coverage and opinion leadership he was one of the most progressive editors of his time." 2 ' Eventually, however, Schellenberg's controversial editorial policy as well as increasing tensions in his relationship with the Publications Committee made his resignation inevitable. Schellenberg terminated his work as editor in May, 1930, although he had resigned several months earlier. His article "A last Word from the Editor" published in the May 21 issue of the Zionsbote, created considerable resentment in the conference. 22 It is unfortunate that the outstanding achievements of Schellenberg as editor and manager were overshadowed by tensions and misunderstandings during the last few years of his service. Two books of historical significance were written by Mennonite Brethren in the 1920's. J. F. Harms wrote the Geschichte der Mcnnoniten Bruedergemeinde, which was published by the M.B. Publishing House in 1925. P. C. Hiebert, chairman of MCC, was the main contributor to the book Feeding the Hungry, published at Scottdale, Pennsylvania, in 1929. With the appointment of P. H. Berg as manager of the Publishing House in 1930, M.B. publications entered a more quiet and less controversial period. J. F. Harms continued to serve as assistant editor until 1934. In the meantime, however, the large-scale immigration of Mennonite Brethren into Canada also led to new developments in this phase of conference work. 290 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH 38. J. F. Harms 39. H. F. Klossen III. Changing Publication Needs (1930