The Far Eastern Review,( hereafter referred to as the FER, was an English-language Engineering, Industry & Commerce journal started in 1904. Its final issue is understood to be October 1941 although this is not confirmed. The Philippines, later China-based journal was published monthly between June 1904 and sometime in 1941, although various issues failed to appear due to publication disruptions caused by revolution, strikes, civil strife and ultimately, the invasion of China by Japanese forces. The often long editorials were mostly written by the publisher and chief editor G. B. Rea until his death in 1936. Many technical articles were contributed by engineers who were expertise in given fields and often they were the chief engineers in charge of specific development projects in the Far East during the early 20th century. Many of these contributions were well-illustrated with photographs, maps and engineering drawings.
Ownership
The FER was owned solely by the publisher, George Bronson Rea, who preferred to be referred to as "Geo. Bronson Rea". For the first eight years of publication Rea received a U.S. Government subsidy by way of the guaranteed purchase of one thousand copies which were distributed as annual subscriptions to overseas commercial, educational and government institutions (mostly in the U.S.A.) Rea also received travel expenses for his pollical lobbying work done for the Philippines colonial administration. However, later Rea ran foul of the U.S administration and the publishing subsidies were withdrawn meaning that only advertising revenues and Rea’s own money kept the magazine afloat, although with increasing difficulty as the years went by. The most the print run ever reached was an estimated 3000 copies, one third of which continued to be sent overseas although no longer paid for directly by the U.S Government after about 1913. It is unlikely that many subscriptions were actually received for these especially when Rea became a lobbyist for Japanese interests in Manchuria . During the first decade, annual subscriptions for the journal were only U.S.$2.50 per annum, rising to $5 in the 1920s. The subscription price in China was Mexican $10. Spanish or Mexican (silver) dollars were used extensively for trade within the Far East in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Editorship
G. B. Rea retained his position as editor-in-chief from the inception of the journal in 1904 until his death in 1936. However, he travelled frequently when he was involved in political lobbying in the United States as well during the times that he had accepted advisory appointments to the Chinese government and later the Japanese-controlled government of the "puppet" state of Manchukuo. In consequence of his absences, he appointed a succession of associate editors and/or assistant editors. In chronological order these were: Robert B. Westcott (1905–1907) William Crozier (1907–1912) W. H. Donald (1912–20) P.L. Bryant (1915–1917) Patrick Gallagher (1920–1922) George Sokolsky (1926–1931) C.J. Laval (1933–42)
Editorial stance
When Rea first produced this journal, his mission statement undertook to provide a comprehensive record of industrial, commercial, financial and resource development within the Philippines particularly, but also the rest of the Far East. This would provide unbiased intelligence for capitalists seeking opportunities for profitable investment openings in manufacturing and the extension of trade. The very first edition of June 1904, included an editorial statement of the magazine's "Policy", promising "We have no space for long-winded political discussions, nor for gossip". Regrettably, as the years went by Rea strayed from this mission statement and became personally guilty of doing completely the opposite.
Circulation
According to an editorial column in the FER, the maximum print run for this monthly journal was 3,000 copies. One thousand of these were sent to overseas academic institutions, business associations and government agencies. The remainder were sold by private subscription or as individual copies at newsagents and bookshops.