,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has 
been made to replicate this text as     
faithfully as possible1 including       
obsolete and variant spellings and other
 inconsistencies4       ,,international 
,,copyright     ,,considered ,,in ,,some
 ,,of ,,its ,,relations ,,to   ,,ethics 
,,and ,,political ,,economy    ,,by     
,,george ,,haven ,,putnam     ,,an      
,,address ,,delivered ,,january #bi,,th1
 #ahgh1 ,,before   ,,the ,,new ,,york   
,,free-,,trade ,,club     ,,new ,,york  
,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s ,,sons   #ahb       
,,fifth ,,avenue   #ahgi4               
,,copyright1 #ahgi1 ,,by ,g4 ,p4        
,,putnam',s ,,sons4     ,,international 
,,copyright4#a       #a ,a paper read   
,january #bith1 #ahgh1 before the ,new  
,york          ,free-,trade ,club4      
,the questions relating to copyright    
belong naturally to the sphere of       
political economy4 ,they have to do with
 the laws governing production1 and with
 the principles regulating supply and   
demand2 and they are directly dependent 

upon a due determining of the proper    
functions of legislation1 and of the    
relations which legislation1 having for 
its end the welfare of the community as 
a whole1 ought to bear towards          
production and trade4  ,as students of  
economic science1 we recognize the fact 
that1 in all its phases1 it is in       
reality based upon two or three very    
simple propositions1 such as3  ,two plus
 two make four4  ,two from one you      
can't4  ,that which a man has created by
 his own labor is his own1 to do what he
 will with1 subject only to his         
proportionate contribution to the cost  
of carrying on the organization of the  
community under the protection of which 
his labor has been accomplished1 and to 
the single limitation that the results  
of his labor shall not be used to the   
detriment of his fellow-men4  ,it is not
 in the power of legislators to make or 
to modify the laws of trade2 it is their
 business to act in accordance with     
these laws4  ,economic science is1 then1

 but the systematizing1 on the basis of 
a few generally accepted principles1 of 
the relations of men as regards their   
labor and the results of their labor1   
namely1 their property4 ,there is       
therefore an essential connection       
between the systems governing all these 
relations1 however varied they may be4  
,soundness of thought in regard to one  
group of them leads to soundness of     
thought about the others4  ,interested  
as we are in the work of bringing the   
community to a sound and logical        
standard of economic faith and practice1
 it is important for us to recognize and
 to emphasize the essential relations   
connecting as well the different        
scientific positions as the various sets
 of fallacious assumptions4 ,further1 we
 can hardly lay too much stress upon the
 oft-repeated dictum that a system may  
be correct in theory yet pernicious in  
practice1 maintaining1 as we do1 that   
where the application of a theory brings
 failure the result is due either to the

 unsoundness of the theory or to some   
blundering in its application4  ,we     
claim1 also1 that with reference to the 
rights of labor1 property1 and capital1 
the free-trader is the true             
protectionist4 ,it is the free-trader   
who demands for the laborer the fullest1
 freest use of the results of his labor1
 and for the capitalist the widest scope
 in the employment of his capital2 and  
it is he who asserts that the paternal  
authority which restricts the workingman
 in the free exchange of the products of
 his craft1 which limits the directions 
and the methods for the use of capital1 
appropriates--or1 to speak more         
strictly1 destroys--a portion of the    
value of the labor and the capital1 and 
prevents the ownership from being real  
or complete4  ,authors are laborers1 and
 their works are1 as fully as is the    
case with any other class of laborers1  
the results of their own productive     
faculties and energies4  ,literary      
laborers lay claim1 therefore1 to the   

same protection for a full and free     
enjoyment of the results of their labors
 as is demanded by those who work with  
their hands and who are in the strict   
sense of the term manufacturers4 ,such  
enjoyment would include the right to    
sell their productions in the open      
market where they pleased and how they  
pleased1 and if this right to a free    
exchange is restricted within political 
boundaries1 is hampered by artificial   
obstacles1 the author is not the full   
owner of his material2 a portion of its 
value has been taken away from him4 ,in 
so far as international copyrights have 
not been established1 this is the       
position of the author of to-day4       
,copyright is defined by ,drone in his  
,law of ,copyright1 as the exclusive    
right of the owner to multiply and to   
dispose of copies of an intellectual    
production4 ,it is also used as a       
synonym for literary property4          
,regarding literary property1 ,drone    
says3       ,there can be no property in

 a production of the mind unless it     
is expressed in a definite form of      
words4 ,but the property is not      in 
the words alone2 it is in the           
intellectual creation1 which            
language is merely a means of expressing
 and communicating4  ,copyright may     
therefore be said to be the legal       
recognition of brain-work as property4  
,it is akin in its nature to            
patent-right1 which is also but the     
legal recognition of the existence of   
property in an idea1 or a group of      
ideas1 or the form of expression of an  
idea4  ,international patent-rights have
 been recognized and carried into effect
 much more generally than have          
copyrights4 ,the patentee of an improved
 toothpick would be able to secure      
to-day a wider recognition of his right 
as a creator than is accorded to the    
author of ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin or of    
,adam ,bede4  ,the existence of literary
 property1 says ,drone1 is traced back  
by record to #aeeh1 when an entry of    

copies appears in the register of the   
,company of ,stationers of ,london4     
,between #aeeh and #agaj there was no   
legislation creating this property or   
confining ownership1 nor any abridging  
its perpetuity or restricting its       
enjoyment4 ,it was understood1          
therefore1 to owe its existence to      
common law1 and this conclusion1 arrived
 at by the weightiest authorities1      
remained practically unquestioned until 
#aggd4 ,during this earlier period there
 were some instances of the recognition 
of literary property1 but the earliest  
reported case concerning such property  
occurred in #afff1 in which the ,house  
of ,lords unanimously agreed that a     
copyright was a thing acknowledged at   
common law4 ,a licensing act1 passed in 
,parliament in #afgd1 and expiring in   
#afgi1 prohibited1 under pain of        
forfeiture1 the printing of any work    
without the consent of the owner4 ,but  
the first act attempting to fully define
 and protect copyright in ,great        

,britain was that of #agaj1 known as the
 #hth of ,anne4 ,it was entitled ,an    
,act for the ,encouragement of          
,learning1 and1 declaring that an author
 should have the sole right of          
publishing his book1 prescribed         
penalties against any who should        
infringe that right4 ,its evident       
intention was to more clearly establish1
 and make more easily defensible1 the   
rights of authors1 but curiously enough 
it had for its effect a very material   
limitation of those rights4  ,it        
provided1 namely1 that copyright should 
be secured to the author or his assigns 
for fourteen years1 with a privilege of 
renewal to the author or his            
representatives for fourteen years      
longer4 ,this privilege of renewal was  
not conveyed to any one who might have  
purchased the author's copyright4 ,it   
was supposed for a long time that this  
statute had not interfered with any     
rights that authors might possess at    
common law1 and in the oft-cited case of

 ,millar vs4 ,taylor in #agfi1 in regard
 to a reprint of ,thomson's ,seasons1 a 
majority of the judges of the ,king's   
,bench 7including among them ,lord      
,mansfield7 gave it as their opinion    
that the act was not intended to        
destroy1 and had not destroyed1         
copyright at common law1 but had simply 
protected it more efficiently during the
 periods specified4 ,the opinion        
delivered by ,lord ,mansfield1 as chief 
justice of the court1 remains one of the
 strongest and most conclusive          
statements of the property-rights of    
authors1 and has been termed one of the 
grandest judgments in ,english judicial 
literature4 ,its conclusion is as       
follows3       ,upon the whole1 ,i      
conclude that upon every principle of   
reason1      natural justice1 morality1 
and common law2 upon the evidence of    
the long received opinion of this       
property appearing in ancient           
proceedings and in law cases2 upon the  
clear sense of the      legislature1 and

 the opinions of the greatest lawyers of
 their      time since that statute--the
 right 7that is in perpetuity7 of an    
author to the copy of his work appears  
to be well founded1 444      and ,i hope
 the learned and industrious will be    
permitted from      henceforth not only 
to reap the same1 but the full profits  
of      their ingenious labors1 without 
interruptions1 to the honor and         
advantage of themselves and their       
families4  ,in #aggd1 in the case of    
,donaldson vs4 ,beckett1 the ,house of  
,lords decided on an appeal1 first1 that
 authors had possessed at common law the
 right of copyright in perpetuity1 but1 
secondly1 that this right at common law 
had been taken away by the statute of   
,anne1 and a term of years substituted  
for perpetuity4  ,chief among those who1
 in opposition to this decision1 advised
 the lords that literary property was   
not less inviolable than any species of 
property known to the law of ,england1  
was ,sir ,william ,blackstone4 ,the most

 important influence in support of the  
decision was exercised by the arguments 
of ,justice ,yates and ,lord ,camden4   
,this judgment1 says ,drone1 has        
continued to represent the law2 but its 
soundness has been questioned by very   
high authorities4 ,in #ahea ,lord       
,campbell expressed his agreement with  
the views of ,lord ,mansfield4 ,in      
#ahed1 ,justice ,coleridge said3 ,if    
there was one subject more than another 
upon which the great and varied learning
 of ,lord ,mansfield1 his special       
familiarity with it1 and the            
philosophical turn of his intellect1    
could give his judgment peculiar weight1
 it was this4 ,i require no higher      
authority for a position which seems to 
me in itself reasonable and just4  ,in  
#ahda an important debate took place in 
,parliament upon this same issue4 ,the  
right at common law of ownership in     
perpetuity was asserted by ,sergeant    
,talfourd and ,lord ,mahon1 and the     
opinion that copyright was the creation 

of statute law and should be limited to 
a term of years was defended by         
,macaulay4  ,the conclusions of the     
latter were accepted by the ,house1 and 
the act of #ahdb1 which is still in     
force1 was the result4 ,by this act the 
term of copyright was fixed at forty-two
 years1 or if at the end of that time   
the author be still living1 for the     
duration of his life4  ,i have referred 
to these discussions as to the nature of
 the authority through which the        
author's ownership exists or is created1
 as the question will be found to have  
an important bearing upon international 
copyright4 ,in connection with this     
debate of #ahdb was framed the famous   
petition of ,thomas ,hood1 which1 if it 
were not presented to ,parliament1      
certainly deserved to be4 ,it makes a   
fair presentment of the author's case1  
and is worth quoting3       ,that your  
petitioner is the proprietor of certain 
copyrights      which the law treats as 
copyhold1 but which in justice and      

equity1 should be his freeholds4 ,he    
cannot conceive how ',hood's      ,own1'
 without a change in the title-deeds as 
well as the title1      can become      
',everybody's ,own' hereafter4          
,that your petitioner may burn or       
publish his manuscripts at his      own 
option1 and enjoys a right in and       
control over his own      productions   
which no press1 now or hereafter1 can   
justly press      out of him4           
,that as a landed proprietor does not   
lose his right to his      estate in    
perpetuity by throwing open his grounds 
for the      convenience and            
gratification of the public1 neither    
ought the      property of an author in 
his works to be taken from him1 unless  
all parks become commons4       ,that   
your petitioner1 having sundry snug     
little estates in view1      would not  
object1 after a term1 to contribute his 
private share      to a general         
scramble1 provided the landed and       
moneyed interests1      as well as the  

literary interest1 were thrown into the 
heap2 but      that in the mean time1   
the fruits of his brain ought no more to
      be cast amongst the public than a 
,christian woman's apples or a          
,jewess' oranges4       ,that cheap     
bread is as desirable and necessary as  
cheap books2      but it hath not yet   
been thought just or expedient to ordain
      that1 after a certain number of   
crops1 all corn-fields shall      become
 public property4       ,that1 whereas  
in other cases long possession is held  
to affirm a      right to property1 it  
is inconsistent and unjust that a mere  
lapse of twenty-eight or any other term 
of years should deprive      an author  
at once of principal and interest in his
 own literary      fund4 ,to be robbed  
by ,time is a sorry encouragement to    
write for      ,futurity6       ,that a 
work which endures for many years must  
be of a sterling      character1 and    
ought to become national property2 but  
at the      expense of the public1 or at

 any expense save that of the author    
or his descendants4 ,it must be an      
ungrateful generation that1 in      its 
love of 'cheap copies1' can lose all    
regard for 'the dear      originals4'   
,that1 whereas1 your petitioner has sold
 sundry of his copyrights      to       
certain publishers for a sum of money1  
he does not see how the      public1    
which is only a larger firm1 can justly 
acquire even a      share in copyright1 
except by similar means--namely1 by     
purchase      or assignment4 ,that the  
public having constituted itself by law 
the executor and legatee of the author1 
ought in justice1 and      according to 
practice in other cases1 to take to his 
debts as      well as his literary      
assets4       ,that when your petitioner
 shall be dead and buried1 he might     
with as much propriety and decency have 
his body snatched as his      literary  
remains4       ,that1 by the present    
law1 the wisest1 virtuousest1           
discreetest1      best of authors1 is   

tardily rewarded1 precisely as a        
vicious1      seditious1 or blasphemous 
writer is summarily punished--namely1   
by the forfeiture of his copyright4     
,that1 in case of infringement on his   
copyright1 your petitioner      cannot  
conscientiously or comfortably apply for
 redress to the      law whilst it      
sanctions universal piracy hereafter4   
,that your petitioner hath two children1
 who look up to him1 not      only as   
the author of the ',comic ,annual1' but 
as the author of      their being4 ,that
 the effect of the law as regards an    
author is      virtually to disinherit  
his next of kin1 and cut him off with a 
book instead of a shilling4       ,that 
your petitioner is very willing to write
 for posterity on      the lowest terms1
 and would not object to the long       
credit2 but      that1 when his heir    
shall apply for payment to posterity1 he
 will      be referred back to          
antiquity4       ,that1 as a man's hairs
 belong to his head1 so his head should 

belong to his heirs2 whereas1 on the    
contrary1 your petitioner      hath     
ascertained1 by a nice calculation1 that
 one of his      principal copyrights   
will expire on the same day that his    
only      son should come of age4 ,the  
very law of nature protests against     
an unnatural law which compels an author
 to write for anybody's      posterity  
except his own4       ,finally1 whereas 
it has been urged1 'if an author writes 
for      posterity1 let him look to     
posterity for his reward1' your         
petitioner adopts that very argument1   
and on its very principle      prays for
 the adoption of the bill introduced by 
,mr4 ,sergeant      ,talfourd1 seeing   
that by the present arrangement         
posterity is      bound to pay everybody
 or anybody but the true creditor4  ,in 
,france perpetual copyright was         
guaranteed from very early times4 ,the  
,ordinances of ,moulines of #aeef1 the  
,declaration of ,charles ,,ix4 in #aega1
 and the letters-patent of ,henry ,,iii4

 constituted the ancient legislation on 
the subject1 but the sovereign had a    
right to refuse the guarantee whenever  
he thought desirable4 ,in #agfa the     
,council of ,state continued to a       
grandson of ,la ,fontaine the privilege 
that his grandfather possessed1 on      
condition1 however1 that he should not  
assign it to a bookseller4 ,the         
,revolution of #aghi modified this      
regime1 and now copyright is guaranteed 
to authors and their widows during their
 lives1 to their children1 for twenty   
years2 and if they leave no children1 to
 their heirs for ten years only4        
,according to ,french law1 a ,french    
subject does not injure his copyright by
 publishing his work first in a foreign 
country4 ,no matter where the           
publication takes place1 copyright      
forthwith accrues in ,france on his     
behalf1 and on the necessary deposit    
being effected1 its infringement may be 
proceeded against in a ,french court4   
,moreover1 a foreigner publishing in    

,france will enjoy the same copyright as
 a native1 and this whether he has      
previously published in his own or in   
any other country or not4 ,in ,germany  
and in ,austria copyright continues for 
the authors life and for thirty years   
after his death4 ,the longest term of   
copyright is conceded in ,italy1 where  
it endures for the life of the author   
and forty years1 with a second term of  
forty years1 during which last any one  
can publish the work upon paying the    
royalty to the author or his assigns4   
,the shortest term of copyright exists  
in ,greece1 where it endures for but    
fifteen years from publication4  ,in the
 ,united ,states1 by the law of #ahca1  
the term is for twenty-eight years1 with
 the right of renewal to the author1 his
 wife or his children1 for fourteen     
years further4 ,the renewal must be     
recorded within six months before the   
expiration of the first term of         
twenty-eight years4  ,drone says3       
,in the ,united ,states the authorities 

have been divided not less      than in 
,england regarding the origin and nature
 of literary      property4 ,indeed1 the
 doctrines there prevalent have ruled   
our      courts4 ,in #ahcd1 in the case 
of ,wheaton vs4 ,peters1 the same       
question came before the ,supreme       
,court1 that had been decided by        
the ,court of ,king's ,bench in #agfi1  
and by the ,house of ,lords in          
#aggd--namely1 whether copyright in a   
published work existed by      common   
law2 and if so1 whether it had been     
taken away by statute4       ,the court 
held that the law had been settled in   
,england to the      effect that the    
author had no right in a published work 
excepting      that secured by statute2 
that there was no common law of the     
,united ,states1 and that the common law
 as to copyright had not      been      
adopted in ,pennsylvania1 in which      
,state the cause of this      action    
arose2 and that by the copyright statute
 of #agij1 ,congress      did not affirm

 an existing right1 but created one4    
,the opinion1      which was delivered  
by ,justice ,mc,lean1 was concurred in  
by three      of the judges1 and        
dissented from by two1 ,justices        
,thompson and      ,baldwin1 who        
defended the positions and recalled the 
arguments of      ,lord ,mansfield and  
,sir ,william ,blackstone4 ,justice     
,baldwin said3      ',protection is the 
avowed and real purpose of the act of   
#agij4      ,there is nothing here      
admitting the construction that a new   
right      is created 444 ,it is a      
forced and unreasonable interpretation  
to      consider it as restricting or   
abolishing any pre-existing      right6'
  ,previous to the act of ,congress of  
#agij1 acts securing copyright to       
authors for limited terms had been      
passed in ,connecticut and              
,massachusetts in #aghc1 in ,virginia in
 #aghe1 in ,new ,york in #aghf1 and in  
other ,states at later dates4 ,the      
statute of #agij gave copyright for     

fourteen years1 with a renewal to the   
author1 if living1 of fourteen years    
further4 ,in #ahca was passed the act of
 already quoted1 and in #ahgj the       
regulation went into effect that a      
printed title of the work copyrighted   
must be filed with the ,librarian of    
,congress before publication1 and two   
copies of the complete book be delivered
 within ten days after publication4  ,in
 #ahgd it was provided that the form of 
the copyright notice in books should    
read1 ,copyright1 #ah--1 by ,a4 ,b4     
,the first step towards a recognition of
 the rights of foreign authors was taken
 in #ahcf by ,prussia1 when she         
prohibited the sale within her          
boundaries of any pirated or            
counterfeited editions of ,german works4
  ,in #ahcg a ,copyright ,convention was
 concluded between the different members
 of the ,german ,confederation4 ,in     
#ahch the ,british ,parliament passed a 
law to obtain for authors the benefits  
of international copyright1 and in #ahdf

 ,england entered into a convention with
 ,prussia1 in #ahea with ,france and    
,hanover1 in #ahed with ,belgium1 and   
between #ahed and #ahfj with ,holland1  
,italy1 ,switzerland1 and ,spain4       
,between #ahdf and #ahfa similar        
conventions were entered into by ,france
 with ,belgium1 ,germany1 ,holland1     
,switzerland1 and ,italy1 and nearly all
 the ,continental powers have now       
copyright arrangements with each other4 
,as far as ,i have been able to learn1  
it is not requisite under these         
arrangements to have a book separately  
entered for copyright in each country4  
,the single entry in the place of first 
publication is sufficient to protect the
 author1 and to leave him free to make1 
within a specified time1 his own        
arrangements with foreign publishers4   
,in the general copyright statutes1     
,parliament made no express distinction 
between native and foreign authors4 ,the
 copyright was granted to authors1      
without any restriction as to           

nationality4 ,it has been contended1    
therefore1 by jurists on the one hand   
that the privilege must be presumed to  
have been intended for ,british subjects
 exclusively1 and on the other that it  
of necessity belonged to all authors1   
whether native or foreign4  ,there were1
 previous to #ahed1 several conflicting 
decisions of the courts on this         
question4 ,in that year the ,house of   
,lords decided1 in the case of ,jeffreys
 v4 ,boosey1 that a foreign author1     
resident abroad1 was not entitled to    
,english copyright4  ,in #ahfh the      
,house of ,lords1 in the case of        
,routledge v4 ,low1 with reference to   
the rights of an ,american author who   
was residing in ,canada at the time of  
the publication of his book in ,london1 
declared that an alien became entitled  
to ,english copyright by first          
publishing in the ,united ,kingdom1     
provided he were1 at the time of        
publication1 anywhere within the        
,british dominions4 ,drone says that    

this judgment has continued to represent
 the law4  ,it is certainly the case    
that for a few years after #ahfh1 as a  
consequence of this decision1 several   
,american authors whose books were being
 published in ,london1 took up a        
temporary residence in ,canada1 which   
enabled their ,london publishers to     
enter the books for copyright1 and to   
pay the authors an honorarium4  ,i am   
not able to quote any decisions that    
have set aside or modified the above1   
but ,i have been advised by leading     
,london publishers that the effect of   
this judgment has in some way been      
nullified1 and that ,canada copyrights  
can no longer be depended upon for      
protecting ,american authors in         
,england4  ,in the ,united ,states      
copyright can at present be secured only
 by a citizen or permanent resident1 and
 there is no regulation to prevent the  
use1 without remuneration1 of the       
literary property of foreign authors4   
,the ,united ,states is therefore at    

present the only country itself         
possessing a literature of importance1  
and making a large use of the literature
 of the world1 which has done nothing to
 recognize and protect by law the rights
 of foreign authors of whose property it
 is enjoying the benefit1 or to obtain a
 similar recognition and protection for 
its own authors abroad4  ,it has looked 
after the rights of the makers of its   
sewing-machines1 its telephones1 and its
 mouse-traps1 but it appears to have    
entirely forgotten the makers of its    
literature4 ,the position taken by our  
government in securing for an ,american 
author the benefit of the sale of his   
works at home1 while practically        
estopping him from obtaining any        
advantage from their sales abroad1 is   
somewhat analogous to its treatment of  
,american ship-owners1 who are allowed  
to pick up all the freights that offer  
inland and along the coast1 but are     
forbidden to earn a single penny on the 
high seas4  ,it is not easy to          

understand the cause of this continued  
indifference to the claims of our       
literary workmen2 they do not come into 
competition with the ,delaware ,river or
 with any manufacturing interests for   
subsidies2 they ask simply for markets4 
,it is true that there have been in the 
history of our country governments which
 seemed impatient of the claims of any  
literary fellers2 but the majority of   
our administrations have shown a fair   
respect for such fellers1 and even a    
readiness to make use of their services4
  ,the difficulty has really been1      
however1 not with the administrations1  
but with the people at large1 who have  
failed to fairly educate themselves on  
the subject1 or to recognize that an    
international copyright was called for  
not merely on principles of general     
equity1 but as a matter of simple       
justice to ,american authors4  ,these   
have suffered1 and are suffering from   
the present state of things in two ways4
 ,in the first place1 they lose the     

royalty on the sales of their books in  
,europe1 ,canada1 ,australia1 etc41 that
 ought to be secured to them by treaties
 of copyright reciprocity4 ,these sales 
have become1 with the growth of         
,american literature1 very considerable1
 and are each year increasing in        
importance4 ,even a quarter of a century
 ago there were enough ,american books  
whose fame was world-wide to have       
rendered a very moderate royalty on     
their sales a matter of great importance
 to their authors and to the community4 
,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 ,irving's         
,sketch-,book and other volumes1        
,thompson's ,land and the ,book1        
,warner's ,wide1 ,wide ,world1          
,webster's ,dictionary1 ,james' ,two    
,years before the ,mast1 and ,peter     
,parley's histories are a few random    
specimens from the earlier list1 which  
is a great deal longer than might at    
first be thought4  ,in an official      
report of the #beth ,congress it was    
stated that up to #ahch not less than   

#fjj ,american works had been reprinted 
in ,england4 ,according to the ,american
 ,facts of ,g4,p4 ,putnam1 #chb         
,american books1 acknowledged to be     
such1 were reprinted in ,great ,britain 
between #ahcc and #ahdc1 while a large  
amount of ,american literary material   
had been adapted1 or issued under new   
titles as if they had been original     
,british works4 ,among these last he    
quotes ,judge ,story's ,law of          
,bailments1 ,everett's ,greek ,grammar1 
,bancroft's ,translation of ,heeren's   
,histories1 ,dr4 ,harris' ,natural      
,history1 etc41 etc4  ,secondly1 the    
want of an international copyright has  
placed ,american authors at a           
disadvantage because it has checked the 
sales of their wares at home4 ,other    
things being equal1 the publisher will1 
like any other trader1 manufacture such 
goods as will give him the largest      
profit1 and as he can sell the most     
readily4  ,if he has before him an      
,american novel on which1 if he prints  

it1 he must pay the author a royalty1   
and an ,english novel of apparently     
equal merit1 on which he is not called  
upon by law to pay anything1 the        
commercial inducement is on the side of 
the latter4 ,if1 on the score of        
patriotism or for some other reason1 he 
may decide in favor of the former1 his  
neighbor or rival will take the ,english
 work1 and will have advantages for     
underselling him4 ,as a matter of fact1 
as ,i shall specify further on1 it is   
the custom of the leading publishing    
houses to make some payment for the     
,english material that they reprint1 but
 as they secure no legal title to such  
material1 they cannot1 as a rule1 pay as
 much for it as they would for similar  
,american work4 ,there is also the      
advantage connected with ,english works 
that they usually come to the ,american 
publisher in type1 in convenient form   
for a rapid examination1 and that he can
 often obtain some ,english opinions    
about them which help him to make up his

 own publishing judgment1 and are of    
very material assistance in securing for
 the books the favorable attention of   
the ,american public4 ,it has therefore 
been the case that an ,american work of 
fiction has had to be a good deal better
 than a similar ,english work1 and more 
marked in its attractiveness in order to
 have anything like the same chance of  
success4 ,and what is the case with     
fiction1 is true1 though to a less      
degree1 with books for young folks and  
works in other departments of           
literature4 ,it is to be said1 however1 
that this difference in favor of        
,english productions has been very much 
greater in past years than at present1  
and is1 ,i think1 steadily decreasing4  
,american writers have1 against all     
disadvantages1 forced their books to the
 favorable attention1 not only of the   
,american but of the foreign public1 and
 the best work is now fairly secure of a
 hearing4 ,but there is no question but 
what the want of a copyright measure    

has1 as above explained1 operated during
 the past three quarters of a century to
 retard and discourage the growth of    
,american literature1 especially of     
,american fiction1 and to prevent       
,american authors from receiving a fair 
return for their labor4 ,an             
international copyright is the first    
step towards that long-waited-for great 
,american novel4  ,in #ahgf a           
,commission was appointed by the        
,government of ,great ,britain to make  
inquiry in regard to the laws and       
regulations relating to home1 colonial1 
and international copyright4 ,the       
,commission was made fairly             
representative of the different         
interests to be considered1 comprising  
among authors3 ,earl ,stanhope1 ,louis  
,mallet1 ,fitzjames ,stephen1 ,edward   
,jenkins1 ,william ,smith1 ,sir ,henry  
,holland1 ,james ,anthony ,froude1 and  
,anthony ,trollope1 and also ,sir       
,julius ,benedict for the composers1    
,sir ,charles ,young for the dramatists1

 ,sir ,john ,rose and ,mr4 ,farrer for  
colonial interests1 and ,mr4 ,f4 ,r4    
,daldy for the publishers2 and it has   
done its work in the thorough1          
painstaking way which is characteristic 
of the methods of ,british legislation4 
,it has collected during the past two   
years a vast mass of testimony from     
various sources1 and after full         
consideration has arrived at a series of
 recommendations which it has presented 
to ,parliament1 and which will in all   
probability be adopted4  ,it is         
recommended that the copyright on books1
 instead of holding for forty-two years 
from date of registration1 shall endure 
for the lifetime of the author and for  
thirty years thereafter4 ,this is the   
arrangement at present existing in      
,germany1 and it has the important      
advantage that under it all the         
copyrights of an author will expire at  
the same date4  ,the ,commission further
 recommends 7and this is the            
recommendation most important for our   

subject7 that the right of copyright    
throughout the ,british dominions be    
extended to any author1 wherever        
resident and of whatever nationality1   
whose work may first be published within
 the ,british ,empire4  ,with reference 
to the present relations of ,british    
authors with this country1 it uses the  
following words3 ,it has been suggested 
to us that this country would be        
justified in taking steps of a          
retaliatory character1 with a view of   
enforcing1 incidentally1 that protection
 from the ,united ,states which we      
accord to them4 ,this might be done by  
withdrawing from the ,americans the     
privilege of copyright on first         
publication in this country4 ,we have1  
however1 come to the conclusion that1 on
 the highest public grounds of policy   
and expediency1 it is advisable that our
 law should be based on correct         
principles1 irrespectively of the       
opinions or the policy of other nations4
 ,we admit the propriety of protecting  

copyright1 and it appears to us that the
 principle of copyright1 if admitted1 is
 of universal application4 ,we therefore
 recommend that this country should     
pursue the policy of recognizing the    
author's rights1 irrespective of        
nationality4  ,here is a claim for a    
far-seeing1 statesmanlike policy1 based 
upon principles of wide equity1 and     
planned for the permanent advantage of  
literature in ,england and throughout   
the world4 ,contrast with this the      
narrow and local views of the following 
resolutions adopted at a meeting held in
 ,philadelphia in ,january1 #ahgb1 with 
reference to international copyright1 at
 which1 if ,i remember rightly1 ,mr4    
,henry ,carey ,baird presided2  ,i4     
,that thought1 unless expressed1 is the 
property of the thinker 7a pretty safe  
proposition1 as1 until expressed1 it    
could hardly incur any serious risk of  
being appropriated72 when given to the  
world1 it is as light1 free to all4     
,,ii4 ,as property it can only demand   

the protection of the municipal law of  
the country to which the thinker is     
subject4  ,the property which would1 if 
it still existed1 most nearly           
approximate to such a definition as this
 is that in slaves4 ,twenty years ago1  
an ,african chattel who was worth #ajjj 
in ,charleston became1 on slipping      
across to the ,bermudas1 as a piece of  
property valueless4 ,he had no longer a 
market price4  ,it is this ephemeral    
kind of ownership1 limited by accidental
 political boundaries1 that our         
,philadelphia friends are willing to    
concede to the work of a man's mind1 the
 productions into which have been       
absorbed the grey matter of his brain   
and perhaps the best part of his life4  
,,iii4 ,the author of any country1 by   
becoming a citizen of this1 and assuming
 and performing the duties thereof1 can 
have the same protection that an        
,american author has4  ,we have already 
shown what an exceedingly unprotective  
and unremunerative arrangement it is    

that is accorded to the ,american       
author1 and we have yet to find a single
 one1 except perhaps ,mr4 ,carey1 who is
 satisfied with it4  ,why a ,european   
author1 who has before him1 under       
international conventions1 the markets  
of his native country and of all the    
world1 excepting belated ,america1      
should be expected to give up these for 
the poor half-loaf of protection        
accorded to his ,american brother we can
 hardly understand4  ,,iv4 ,the trading 
of privileges to foreign authors for    
privileges to be granted to ,americans  
is not just1 because the interests of   
others than themselves are sacrificed   
thereby4  ,that strikes one as a        
remarkable sentence to come from        
,philadelphia4 ,here are a number of    
,american manufacturers who ask for a   
certain very moderate amount of         
protection for their productions1 and   
our ,philadelphia friends1 filled with  
an unwonted zeal for the welfare of the 
community at large1 say1 ,no2 this won't

 do4 ,prices would be higher1 and       
consumers would suffer4  ,it is evident 
that this want of practical sympathy    
with these literary manufacturers is not
 due to any lack of interest in the     
enlightenment of the community1 for the 
last article says3  ,v4 ,because the    
good of the whole people and the safety 
of our republican institutions demand   
that books shall not be made too costly 
for the multitude by giving the power to
 foreign authors to fix their price here
 as well as abroad4  ,i think we may    
well doubt whether education as a whole1
 including the important branch of      
ethics1 is advanced by permitting our   
citizens to appropriate1 without        
compensation1 the labor of others1 while
 through such appropriation they are    
also assisting to deprive our own       
authors of a portion of their rightful  
earnings4 ,but apart from that1 the     
proposition1 as stated1 proves too much4
 ,it is fatal to all copyright and to   
all patent-right4 ,if the good of the   

community and the safety of our         
institutions demand that1 in order to   
make books cheap1 the claim to a        
compensation for the authors must be    
denied1 why should we continue to pay   
copyrights to ,longfellow and ,whittier1
 or to the families of ,irving and      
,bryant8 ,the so-called owners of these 
copyrights actually have it in their    
power1 in connection with their         
publishers1 to fix the prices of their  
books in this market4 ,this monopoly    
must indeed be pernicious and dangerous 
when it arouses ,pennsylvania to come to
 the rescue of oppressed and            
impoverished consumers against the      
exactions of greedy producers1 and to   
raise the cry of free books for free    
men4  ,there is certainly something     
refreshing in this zeal for the rights  
of the consumer1 though we may doubt the
 equity of its application in this      
particular instance2 but we can         
nevertheless hardly be satisfied to have
 an utterance like that of these        

resolutions quoted 7as it is in the last
 edition of the ,encyclopaedia          
,britannica7 as the latest ,american    
views on the subject4  ,the history of  
the efforts made in this country to     
secure international copyright is not a 
long one4 ,the attempts have been few1  
and have been lacking in organization   
and in unanimity of opinion1 and they   
have for the most part been made with   
but little apparent expectation of any  
immediate success4 ,those interested    
seem to have always felt that popular   
opinion was1 on the whole1 against them1
 and that progress could be hoped for   
only through the slow process of        
building up by education and discussion 
a more enlightened public sentiment4    
,in #ahch1 after the passing of the     
first ,international ,copyright ,act in 
,great ,britain1 ,lord ,palmerston      
invited the ,american ,government to    
cooeperate in establishing a copyright  
convention between the two countries4   
,in the year previous1 ,henry ,clay1 as 

chairman of a committee on the subject1 
had reported to the ,senate very        
strongly in favor of such a convention1 
taking the ground that the author's     
right of property in his work was       
similar to that of the inventor in his  
patent4  ,this is a logical position for
 a protectionist1 interested in the     
rights of labor1 to have taken1 and the 
followers of ,henry ,clay1 who are      
to-day opposed to any measure of the    
kind1 would do well to bear in mind this
 opinion of their ablest leader4  ,no   
action was taken in regard to ,mr4      
,clay's report or ,lord ,palmerston's   
proposal4  ,in #ahdj ,mr4 ,g4 ,p4       
,putnam issued in pamphlet form ,an     
,argument in behalf of ,international   
,copyright1 the first publication on the
 subject in the ,united ,states of which
 ,i find record4 ,in #ahdc ,mr4 ,putnam 
obtained the signatures of ninety-seven 
publishers1 printers1 and binders to a  
petition he had prepared1 and which was 
duly presented to ,congress4 ,it took   

the broad ground that the absence of an 
international copyright was alike       
injurious to the business of publishing 
and to the best interests of the people 
at large4  ,a memorial was presented the
 same year in opposition to this        
petition1 setting forth1 among other    
things1 that an international copyright 
would prevent the adaptation of ,english
 books to ,american wants4 ,in the      
report made by ,mr4 ,baldwin to         
,congress twenty-five years later1 he   
remarks that the mutilation and         
reconstruction of ,american books to    
suit ,english wants are common to a     
shameless extent4  ,in #ahec the        
question of a copyright convention with 
,great ,britain was again under         
discussion1 the measure being favored by
 ,mr4 ,everett1 at that time ,secretary 
of ,state4 ,five of the leading         
publishing houses in ,new ,york         
addressed a letter to ,mr4 ,everett in  
which1 while favoring a convention1 they
 advised--  #ast4 ,that the foreign     

author must be required to register the 
title of his work in the ,united ,states
 before its publication abroad4  #b;d4  
,that the work1 to secure protection1   
must be issued in the ,united ,states   
within thirty days of its publication   
abroad2 and  #c;d4 ,that the reprint    
must be wholly manufactured in the      
,united ,states4  ,shortly afterwards   
,mr4 ,carey published his ,letters on   
,international ,copyright1 in which he  
took the ground that the facts and ideas
 in a book are the common property of   
society1 and that property in copyright 
is indefensible4 ,in #aheh a bill was   
introduced into the ,house of           
,representatives by ,mr4 ,morris1 of    
,pennsylvania1 providing for            
international copyright on the basis of 
an entire remanufacture of the foreign  
work and its reissue by an ,american    
publisher within thirty days of the     
publication abroad4 ,the bill does not  
appear to have received any             
consideration4  ,in ,march1 #ahfh1 a    

circular letter headed ,justice to      
,authors and ,artists1 was issued by a  
,committee composed of ,g4 ,p4 ,putnam1 
,dr4 ,s4 ,i4 ,prime1 ,henry ,ivison1    
,james ,parton1 and ,egbert ,hazard1    
calling together a meeting for the      
consideration of the subject of         
international copyright4 ,the meeting   
was held on the #ith of ,april1 ,mr4    
,bryant presiding1 and a society was    
organized under the title of the        
,copyright ,association for the         
,protection and ,advancement of         
,literature and ,art1 of which ,mr4     
,bryant was made president and ,e4 ,c4  
,stedman secretary4 ,the primary object 
of the ,association was stated to be to 
promote the enactment of a just and     
suitable international copyright law for
 the benefit of authors and artists in  
all parts of the world4  ,a memorial had
 been prepared by the above-mentioned   
,committee to be presented to ,congress1
 which requested ,congress to give its  
early attention to the passage of a bill

 to secure in all parts of the world the
 rights of authors1 etc41 but which made
 no recommendations as to the details of
 any measure4 ,of the #aec signatures   
attached to this memorial1 #aja were    
those of authors1 and #ai of publishers4
  ,in the fall of #ahfh ,mr4 ,j4 ,d4    
,baldwin1 member of ,congress from      
,worcester1 ,mass41 reported a bill that
 had been prepared with the co-operation
 of the ,executive ,committee of the    
,copyright ,association1 which provided1
 ,that a foreign work could secure a    
copyright in this country provided it   
was wholly manufactured here and should 
be issued for sale by a publisher who   
was an ,american citizen4 ,the benefit  
of the copyright was also limited to the
 author and his assigns4  ,the bill was 
recommitted to the ,joint ,committee on 
the ,library1 and no action was taken   
upon it4 ,the members of this ,committee
 were ,senators ,e4 ,d4 ,morgan1 of ,new
 ,york1 ,howe1 of ,wisconsin1 and       
,fessenden1 of ,maine1 who were opposed 

to the measure1 and ,representatives    
,baldwin1 of ,massachusetts1 ,pruyn1 of 
,new ,york1 and ,spalding1 of ,ohio1 who
 were in favor of it4 ,the bill was also
 to have been supported in the ,house by
 ,michael ,c4 ,kerr1 of ,indiana4 ,mr4  
,baldwin explains that an important     
cause for the shelving of the measure   
without debate was the impeachment of   
,president ,johnson1 which was at that  
time absorbing the attention of         
,congress and the country4 ,no general  
expression of opinion was therefore     
elicited upon the question from either  
,congress or the people1 and in fact the
 question has never reached such a stage
 as to enable such an expression of     
public opinion to be arrived at4  ,it is
 my own belief that if the issue were   
fairly presented to them1 the ,american 
people could be trusted to decide it    
honestly and wisely4  ,the active       
members of the committee of the         
,copyright ,association1 under whose    
general suggestions this bill of ,mr4   

,baldwin's had been framed1 were ,dr4   
,s4 ,irenaeus ,prime1 ,george ,p4       
,putnam1 and ,james ,parton4 ,dr4 ,prime
 published in ,putnam's ,magazine in    
,may1 #ahfh1 a paper on the ,right of   
,copyright1 which remains perhaps the   
most concise and comprehensive statement
 of the principles governing the        
question1 and which sets forth very     
clearly the necessary connection between
 ,carey's denial of the right of        
property in books and ,proudhon's claim 
that all property is robbery4 ,in #ahga 
,mr4 ,cox of ,new ,york introduced a    
bill which was practically identical    
with ,mr4 ,baldwin's measure1 and which 
was also recommitted to the ,library    
,committee4 ,in #ahgb the new ,library  
,committee called upon the publishers   
and others interested to aid in framing 
a bill4  ,a meeting of the publishers   
was called in ,new ,york1 which was     
attended by but one firm outside of ,new
 ,york2 the majority of the firms       
present were in favor of the provisions 

of ,mr4 ,cox's bill1 already referred   
to4 ,the report was dissented from by a 
large minority on the ground that the   
bill was in the interests of the        
publishers rather than that of the      
public2 that the prohibition of the use 
of foreign stereotypes and electrotypes 
of illustrations was an economic        
absurdity2 and that an ,english         
publishing house could in any case1     
through an ,american partner1 retain    
control of the ,american market4 ,the   
report of the minority was prepared by  
,mr4 ,edward ,seymour1 of ,scribner1    
,armstrong  ,co4 ,during the same week a
 bill was drafted by ,mr4 ,c4 ,a4       
,bristed1 representing more especially  
the views of the authors in the         
,international ,copyright ,association1 
which provided simply that all rights of
 property secured to citizens of the    
,united ,states by existing copyright   
laws are hereby secured to the citizens 
and subjects of every country the       
government of which secures reciprocal  

rights to the citizens of the ,united   
,states4 ,the same result as that aimed 
at in ,mr4 ,bristed's bill would have   
been obtained by the adoption of the    
recommendation made by ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4     
,morgan in his work on ,the ,law of     
,literature1 published in #ahgf4 ,he    
suggested that the present copyright law
 be amended by simply inserting the word
 person in place of citizen1 in which   
case its privileges would at once be    
secured to any authors1 of whatever     
nationality1 who complied with its      
requirements4  ,a few weeks later the   
meeting was held in ,philadelphia whose 
resolutions in opposition to            
international copyright 7which1 as we   
have shown1 were equally forcible       
against any copyright7 we have already  
quoted4  ,these four reports were       
submitted to the ,library ,committee of 
,congress1 together with one or two     
individual measures1 of which the most  
noteworthy were those of ,harper        
,bros41 and of ,john ,p4 ,morton1       

bookseller1 of ,louisville4  ,messrs4   
,harper1 in a letter presented by their 
counsel1 objected to any measure of     
international copyright on the broad    
ground that it would add to the price of
 books and interfere with the education 
of the people4 ,this consideration is of
 course open to the same criticism as   
the ,philadelphia platform2 it is       
equally forcible against any copyright  
whatever4 ,as ,thomas ,hood says1 cheap 
bread is as desirable and necessary as  
cheap books1 but one does not on that   
ground appropriate the farmer's         
wheat-stacks6  ,mr4 ,morton was in favor
 of an arrangement that should give to  
any dealer the privilege of reprinting a
 foreign work1 provided he would        
contract to pay to the author or his    
representative #aj per cent of the      
wholesale price of such work4 ,he       
advised also that the ,american market  
should be left open to the foreign      
edition1 so that the competition should 
be perfectly unrestricted4  ,the        

proposition that all dealers who would  
contract to pay to the author a royalty 
7to be fixed by law7 should be at       
liberty to undertake the publication of 
a work was at a later date presented to 
the ,british ,commission by ,mr4 ,farrer
 and ,sir ,henry ,holland1 first with   
reference to home copyright1 and        
secondly as a suggestion for an         
international arrangement4 ,in this last
 shape the writer had the opportunity1  
in #ahgf1 of presenting to the          
,commission some considerations against 
it4 ,these will be referred to further  
on4  ,a similar suggestion formed the   
basis of a measure submitted in #ahgb by
 ,mr4 ,elderkin1 of ,new ,york1 to the  
,library ,committee of ,congress1 and   
known afterwards as the ,sherman ,bill4 
,in view of the wide diversity of the   
plans and suggestions presented to this 
,committee1 there was certainly some    
ground for the statement made in his    
report by the chairman1 ,senator ,lot   
,m4 ,morrill1 of ,maine1 that there was 

no unanimity of opinion among those     
interested in the measure4 ,he          
maintained1 further1 that an            
international copyright was not called  
for by reasons of general equity or of  
constitutional law2 that the adoption of
 any plan which had been proposed would 
be of very doubtful advantage to        
,american authors1 and would not only be
 an unquestionable and permanent injury 
to the interests engaged in the         
manufacture of books1 but a hindrance to
 the diffusion of knowledge among the   
people1 and to the cause of ,american   
education4  ,this report closed for the 
time the consideration of the subject4  
,the efforts in behalf of international 
copyright have been always more or less 
hampered by the question being confused 
with that of a protective tariff4  ,the 
strongest opposition to a copyright     
measure has as a rule come from the     
protectionists4 ,richard ,grant ,white  
said in #ahfh3 ,the refusal of copyright
 in the ,united ,states to ,british     

authors is in fact1 though it is not so 
avowed1 a part of the ',american'       
protective system4 ,and again3 ,with    
free trade we shall have just           
international copyright4  ,it would be  
difficult1 however1 for the             
protectionists to show logical grounds  
for their position4 ,american authors   
are manufacturers1 who are simply       
asking1 first1 that they shall not be   
undersold in their home market by goods 
imported from abroad on which no        
7ownership7 duty has been paid1--which  
have1 namely1 been simply appropriated2 
and secondly1 that the government may   
facilitate their efforts to secure a    
sale for their own goods in foreign     
markets4 ,these are claims with which a 
protectionist who is interested in      
developing ,american industry ought     
certainly to be in sympathy4  ,the      
contingency that troubles him1 however1 
is the possibility that1 if the ,english
 author is given the right to sell his  
books in this country the copies sold   

may be to a greater or less extent      
manufactured in ,england1 and the       
business of making these copies may be  
lost to ,american printers1 binders1 and
 paper men4 ,he is namely1 much more    
concerned for the protection of the     
makers of the material casing of the    
book than for that of the author who    
creates its essential substance4  ,it is
 evidently to the advantage of the      
consumer1 upon whose interests the      
,philadelphia resolutions laid so much  
stress1 that the labor of preparing the 
editions of his books be economized as  
much as possible4  ,the principal       
portion of the cost of a first edition  
of a book is the setting of the type1   
or1 if the work is illustrated1 in the  
setting of the type and the designing   
and engraving of the illustrations4  ,if
 this first cost of stereotyping and    
engraving can be divided among several  
editions1 say one for ,great ,britain1  
one for the ,united ,states1 and one for
 ,canada and the other colonies1 it is  

evident that the proportion to be       
charged to each copy printed is less1   
and that the selling price per copy can 
be smaller1 than would be the case if   
this first cost has got to be repeated  
in full for each market4  ,it is then to
 the advantage of the consumer that1    
whatever copyright arrangement be made1 
nothing shall stand in the way of       
foreign stereotypes and illustrations   
being duplicated for use here whenever  
the foreign edition is in such shape as 
to render this duplicating an advantage 
and a saving in cost4  ,the few         
protectionists who have expressed       
themselves in favor of an international 
copyright measure1 and some others who  
have fears as to our publishing         
interests being able to hold their own  
against any open competition1 insist    
upon the condition that foreign works to
 obtain copyright must be wholly        
remanufactured and republished in this  
country4  ,we have shown how such a     
condition would1 in the majority of     

cases1 be contrary to the interests of  
the ,american consumer1 while the       
,british author is naturally opposed to 
it because1 in increasing materially the
 outlay to be incurred by the ,american 
publisher in the production of his      
edition1 it proportionately diminishes  
the profits or prospects of profits from
 which is calculated the remuneration   
that can be paid to the author4  ,the   
measure of permitting the foreign book  
to be reprinted by all dealers who would
 contract to pay the author a specified 
royalty has at first sight something    
specious and plausible about it4 ,it    
seems to be in harmony with the         
principles of freedom of trade1 in which
 we are believers4 ,it is1 however1     
directly opposed to those principles2   
first1 it impairs the freedom of        
contract1 preventing the producer from  
making such arrangements for supplying  
the public as seem best to him2 and     
secondly1 it undertakes1 by paternal    
legislation1 to fix the remuneration    

that shall be given to the producer for 
his work1 and to limit the prices at    
which this work shall be furnished to   
the consumer4 ,there is no more equity  
in the government's undertaking this    
limitation of the producer and          
protection of the consumer in the case  
of books than there would be in that of 
bread or of beef4  ,further1 such an    
arrangement would be of benefit to      
neither the author1 the public1 nor the 
publishers1 and would1 we believe1 make 
of international copyright1 and of any  
copyright1 a confusing and futile       
absurdity4  ,a ,british author could    
hardly obtain much satisfaction from an 
arrangement which1 while preventing him 
from having his ,american business in   
the hands of a publishing house selected
 by himself1 and of whose responsibility
 he could assure himself1 threw open the
 use of his property to any dealers who 
might choose to scramble for it4 ,he    
could exercise no control over the      
style1 the shape1 or the accuracy of his

 ,american editions2 could have no      
trustworthy information as to the number
 of copies the various editions         
contained2 and if he were tenacious as  
to the collection of the royalties to   
which he was entitled1 he would be able 
in many cases to enforce his claims only
 through innumerable lawsuits1 and he   
would find the expenses of the          
collection exceed the receipts4  ,the   
benefit to the public would be no more  
apparent4 ,any gain in the cheapness of 
the editions produced would be more than
 offset by their unsatisfactoriness3    
they would1 in the majority of cases1 be
 untrustworthy as to accuracy or        
completeness1 and be hastily and        
flimsily manufactured4 ,a great many    
enterprises1 also1 desirable in         
themselves1 and that would be of service
 to the public1 no publisher could1     
under such an arrangement1 afford to    
undertake at all1 as1 if they proved    
successful1 unscrupulous neighbors      
would1 through rival editions1 reap the 

benefit of his judgment and his         
advertising4 ,in fact1 the business of  
reprinting would fall largely into the  
hands of irresponsible parties1 from    
whom no copyright could be collected4   
,the arguments against a measure of this
 kind are1 in short1 the arguments in   
favor of international copyright4 ,a    
very conclusive statement of the case   
against the equity or desirability from 
any point of view of such an arrangement
 in regard to home copyright was made   
before the ,british ,commission1 in     
#ahgg1 by ,herbert ,spencer4 ,his       
testimony is given in full in the       
,popular ,science ,monthly for          
,november1 #ahgh1 and ,february1 #ahgi4 
,the recommendation had been made that1 
for the sake of securing cheap books for
 the people1 the law should give to all 
dealers the privilege of printing an    
author's books1 and should fix a        
copyright to be paid to the author that 
should secure him a fair profit for his 
work4 ,mr4 ,spencer objected that--     

,first4 ,this would be a direct         
interference with the laws of trade1    
under which the author had the right to 
make his own bargains4 ,second4 ,no     
legislature was competent to determine  
what was a fair rate of profit for an   
author4 ,third4 ,no average royalty     
could be determined which could give a  
fair recompense for the different       
amounts and kinds of labor given to the 
production of different classes of      
books4 ,fourth4 ,if the legislature has 
the right to fix the profits of the     
author1 it has an equal right to        
determine that of his associate in the  
publication1 the publisher2 and if of   
the publisher1 then also of the printer1
 binder1 and paper-maker1 who all have  
an interest in the undertaking4 ,such a 
right of control would apply with equal 
force to manufacturers of other articles
 of importance to the community1 and    
would not be in accordance with the     
present theories of the proper functions
 of government4 ,fifth4 ,if books are to

 be cheapened by such a measure1 it must
 be at the expense of some portion of   
the profits now going to the authors and
 publishers2 the assumption is that book
 producers and distributors do not      
understand their business1 but require  
to be instructed by the state how to    
carry it on1 and that the publishing    
business alone needs to have its returns
 regulated by law4 ,sixth4 ,the prices  
of the best books would in many cases1  
instead of being lessened1 be higher    
than at present1 because the publishers 
would require some insurance against the
 risk of rival editions1 and because    
they would make their first editions    
smaller1 and the first cost would have  
to be divided among a less number of    
copies4 ,such reductions of prices as   
would be made would be on the flimsier  
and more popular literature1 and even on
 this could not be lasting4 ,seventh4   
,for the enterprises of the most lasting
 importance to the public1 requiring    
considerable investment of time and     

capital1 the publishers require to be   
assured of returns from the largest     
market possible1 and without such       
security enterprises of this character  
could not be undertaken at all4 ,eighth4
 ,open competition of this kind would1  
in the end1 result in crushing out the  
smaller publishers1 and in concentrating
 the business in the hands of a few     
houses whose purses had been long enough
 to carry them through the long and     
unprofitable contests that would        
certainly be the first effect of such   
legislation4  ,all the considerations   
adduced by ,mr4 ,spencer have1 of       
course1 equal force with reference to   
open international publishing1 while    
they may also be included among the     
arguments in behalf of international    
copyright4  ,with these views of a      
veteran writer of books may very        
properly be associated the opinions of  
the experienced publisher1 ,mr4 ,wm4 ,h4
 ,appleton1 who1 in a letter to the ,new
 ,york ,times in #ahgb1 says3  ,the     

first demand of property is for         
security4444 ,to publish a book in any  
real sense--that is1 not merely to print
 it1 but to make it well and widely     
known--requires much effort and large   
expenditure1 and these will not be      
invested in a property which is liable  
to be destroyed at any moment4 ,legal   
protection would thus put an end to evil
 practices1 make property secure1       
business more legitimate1 and give a new
 vigor to enterprise4 ,nor can a policy 
which is unjust to the author1 and works
 viciously in the trade1 be the best for
 the public4 ,the publisher can neither 
afford to make the book so thoroughly   
known1 nor can he put it at so low a    
price1 as if he could count upon        
permanent and undisturbed possession of 
it4 ,many valuable books are not        
reprinted at all1 and therefere are only
 to be had at ,english prices1 for the  
same reason that publishers are cautious
 about risking their capital in         
unprotected property4  ,the copy-book   

motto1 ,honesty is the best policy1     
fails often enough to come true 7at     
least as to material results7 in the    
case of the individual1 simply because  
his life is not always long enough to   
give an opportunity for all the results 
of his actions to be arrived at4 ,the   
community1 however1 in its longer life1 
is subject to the full influence of the 
certain though sometimes slow-working   
relations of cause to effect1 relations 
which1 among other things1 bring out the
 essential connection between economics 
and ethics1 and which show in the       
long-run the just method to be the wise 
method4 ,an enlightened self-interest   
finds out the advantage of equity4 ,if  
the teaching of history makes anything  
evident1 it is that in the transactions 
of a nation1 honesty pays1 even in the  
narrowest and most selfish sense of the 
term1 and nothing but honesty can ever  
pay4 ,among the many classes of         
interests to which this applies         
international copyright certainly       

belongs4  ,rejecting the                
,elderkin-,sherman suggestion of an open
 market for republishing as in no way   
effecting the objects desired2 the      
,baldwin-,cox plan of giving protection 
only to books of which the type had been
 set and the printing done in this      
country1 as narrow in principle and     
uneconomic in practice2 and the         
,bristed-,morgan proposition to extend  
the right of copyright without          
limitation or restriction1 as not giving
 sufficient consideration to the        
business requirements1 and as at present
 impracticable to carry into effect--we 
would recommend a measure based upon the
 suggestion of the ,british ,commission1
 coupled with one or two of the         
provisions that have been included in   
the several ,american schemes3  #a4     
,that the title of the foreign work be  
registered in the ,united ,states       
simultaneously with its publication     
abroad4  #b4 ,that the work be          
republished in the ,united ,states      

within six months of its publication    
abroad4  #c4 ,that for a limited term1  
say ten years1 the stipulation should be
 made that the republishing be done by  
an ,american citizen4  #d4 ,that for the
 same term of years the copyright       
protection be given to those books only 
that have been printed and bound in this
 country1 the privilege being accorded  
of importing foreign stereotypes and    
electrotypes of cuts4  #e4 ,that1       
subject to these provisions1 the foreign
 author or his assigns shall be accorded
 the same privileges now conceded to an 
,american author4  ,i believe that1 in  
the course of time1 the general laws of 
trade would and ought to so regulate the
 arrangements for supplying the         
,american public with books that1 if    
there were no restriction as to the     
nationality of the publisher or as to   
the importation of printed volumes1 the 
author would select the publishing      
agent1 ,english or ,american1 who could 
serve him to best advantage2 and that   

that agent would be found to be the man 
who would prepare for the largest       
possible circle of ,american readers the
 editions best suited to their wants4   
,the foreign author would before long   
recognize that it was to his interest to
 be represented by the publisher who    
understood the market most thoroughly   
and who had the best facilities for     
supplying it4 ,if ,english publishers1  
settling here1 could excel our ,american
 houses in this understanding and in    
these facilities1 they ought to be at   
liberty to do so1 and it would be for   
the interest of the public that no      
hindrances should be placed in their    
way4  ,the experience of our ,american  
houses1 however1 who have had business  
with ,english authors and publishers is 
that it takes some little time for them 
to obtain a clear perception of the     
requirements of the ,american market and
 of ,american readers1 and of the very  
material differences existing between   
the status here and in ,great ,britain4 

,and it would be my fear that1 if the   
copyright were granted at once without  
restriction1 there would be an          
interregnum of some years1 during which 
these authors and publishers were       
obtaining their ,american education1    
before the ,american readers could      
obtain freely the books they wanted in  
the editions they were willing to       
purchase4  ,our friends on the other    
side could not resist the temptation of 
experimenting1 before providing what was
 really wanted1 as to how long our      
market would stand their expensive #g1  
#e1 and #c editions of books that we    
have been accustomed to buy here for    
#b4ej1 #b1 and #a2 and as a consequence1
 they would sell books by dozens or     
hundreds that ought to be sold by       
thousands2 their authors would receive  
an inconsiderable copyright1 and the    
,american public would be badly served  
and would become indignant4  ,but if the
 channels of communication between the  
,english authors and their ,american    

readers were once fairly established1 as
 they would be1 ,i think1 under the     
arrangements suggested1 it would not1 ,i
 believe1 be possible at a later date to
 interfere with them1 even if all       
restrictions were removed4 ,when        
,american readers were buying by        
thousands a suitable edition1 at a      
moderate price1 of a work by a standard 
,english author who was himself         
receiving a good return from his        
enlarged sales1 this author would be as 
little likely1 at the expiration of the 
ten years1 to restrict those sales by   
insisting that his work should be sold  
here in the costly and unsuitable       
,english edition1 as to stipulate that  
it should be sold here in a ,russian    
translation4 ,it is probable1 also1 that
 the including in the measure of these  
restrictions1 even if but for a limited 
term of years1 would gain for it some   
support that would be important for its 
success4 ,it seems probable that1 if the
 present conditions of trade are        

maintained1 ,american book-makers need  
not be especially troubled ten years    
hence by the competition of books       
manufactured in ,england1 and that1 if  
the various duties affecting the        
manufacture could be abolished1 we could
 well spare the duty on books           
themselves4  ,i can1 however1 imagine no
 state of affairs in which it would be  
economical or desirable to insist upon  
two settings of type for a book designed
 for different groups of                
,english-speaking readers2 and the more 
generally this first and most important 
part of the cost of a book can be       
economized by being divided between the 
two markets1 the greater the advantage  
in the end to author1 public1 and       
publisher4  ,a proposition will         
doubtless be made in the course of a    
year by the ,british ,government for the
 appointment of an ,international       
,commission for a fresh consideration of
 the subject1 and our government ought  
to prepare for this ,international      

,commission by the early appointment of 
a ,home ,commission to give due         
consideration to the several interests  
involved in the question1 to collect    
again the different sets of opinions1   
and to harmonize these as far as        
practicable4  ,by the time our ,english 
friends are ready to talk the matter    
with us1 we ought to have informed      
ourselves definitely as to what kind of 
a measure is on the whole most          
desirable1 and how much of this it is at
 this present time practicable to carry 
into effect4  ,there has undoubtedly    
during the past ten years been a growth 
of enlightened public sentiment on the  
question1 but ,i should still be        
indisposed to entrust its settlement to 
the ,house of ,representatives1 and     
should suppose that it could probably be
 handled to best advantage by the       
,senate in the shape of a treaty4  ,it  
is due to ,american publishers to       
explain that1 in the absence of an      
international copyright1 there has grown

 up among them a custom of making       
payments to foreign authors which has   
become1 especially during the last      
twenty-five years1 a matter of very     
considerable importance4 ,some of the   
,english authors who testified before   
the ,british ,commission stated that the
 payments from the ,united ,states for  
their books exceeded their receipts in  
,great ,britain4 ,these payments secure 
of course to the ,american publisher no 
title of any kind to the books4 ,in some
 cases they obtain for him the use of   
advance sheets by means of which he is  
able to get his edition printed a week  
or two in advance of any unauthorized   
edition that might be prepared4 ,in many
 cases however1 payments have been made 
some time after the publication of the  
works1 and when there was no longer even
 the slight advantage of advance sheets 
to be gained from them4  ,while the     
authorization of the ,english author can
 convey no title or means of defence    
against the interference of rival       

editions1 the leading publishing houses 
have1 with very inconsiderable          
exceptions1 respected each others'      
arrangements with foreign authors1 and  
the editions announced as published by  
arrangement with the author1 and on     
which payments in lieu of copyright have
 been duly made1 have been as a rule not
 interfered with4 ,this understanding   
among the publishers goes by the name of
 the courtesy of the trade4 ,i think it 
is safe to say that it is to-day the    
exception for an ,english work of any   
value to be published by any reputable  
house without a fair and often a very   
liberal recognition being made of the   
rights 7in equity7 of the author4  ,in  
view of the considerable amount of harsh
 language that has been expended in     
,england upon our ,american publishing  
houses1 and the opinion prevailing in   
,england that the wrong in reprinting is
 entirely one-sided1 it is in order here
 to make the claim1 which can1 ,i       
believe1 be fully substantiated1 that in

 respect to the recognition of the      
rights of authors unprotected by law1   
their record has during the past        
twenty-five years been in fact better   
than that of their ,english brethren4   
,they have become fully aroused in      
,england to the fact that ,american     
literary material has value and         
availability1 and each year a larger    
amount of this material has had the     
honor of being introduced to the        
,english public4 ,according to the      
statistics of #ahgh1 ten per cent of the
 works issued in ,england in that year  
were ,american reprints4 ,the           
acknowledgments1 however1 of any rights 
on the part of ,american authors have   
been few and far between1 and the       
payments but inconsiderable in amount4  
,the leading ,english houses would      
doubtless very much prefer to follow the
 ,american practice of paying for their 
reprinted material1 but they have not   
succeeded in establishing any general   
understanding similar to our ,american  

courtesy of the trade1 and books that   
have been paid for by one house are1 in 
a large number of cases1 promptly       
reissued in cheaper rival editions by   
other houses4 ,it is very evident that1 
in the face of open and unscrupulous    
competition1 continued or considerable  
payments to authors are difficult to    
provide for2 and the more credit is due 
to those firms who have1 in the face of 
this difficulty1 kept a good record with
 their ,american authors4  ,one ,london 
publisher in ,london made a custom for  
years of sending a liberal remittance to
 the author of the ,wide1 ,wide ,world  
for each new volume sent to him4 ,but   
the competition of the unauthorized     
editions had proved so sharp that he    
told me he got no profit from his       
purchases1 and did not see how he could 
continue them4  ,the fate of the author 
of ,helen's ,babies was still harder4   
,of his first book seven editions were  
issued by different ,british houses1    
aggregating together an enormous sale1  

from which he received hardly a penny4  
,for the advance sheets of the sequel to
 this one firm paid him ,l#ej4 ,but so  
fierce was the scramble for it among the
 half dozen or more publishers who      
hurried through their reprints from the 
,american journal in which it was       
appearing as a serial1 that one         
energetic house sent it out to the      
,british public minus the concluding    
chapter1 while another1 still more      
enterprising1 had the last chapter of   
his edition added by an ,english hand1  
and the moral of the story was entirely 
transformed4  ,of the books of          
,longfellow1 ,lowell1 ,holmes1 ,mrs4    
,prentiss1 ,mark ,twain1 ,dr4 ,mayo1    
,miss ,phelps1 ,miss ,alcott1 ,mrs4     
,stowe1 ,bayard ,taylor1 and most of our
 more popular authors1 there are1 in    
like manner1 various rival editions1 and
 no one house1 however good its         
intentions1 can afford to make a        
practice of paying these authors1 as its
 neighbors cannot be depended upon to   

respect its arrangements4  ,on the other
 hand1 the leading ,english authors1    
like ,george ,eliot1 ,miss ,mulock1     
,william ,black1 ,r4 ,d4 ,blackmore1    
,wilkie ,collins1 ,thomas ,hardy1 ,mrs4 
,alexander1 ,tyndall1 ,huxley1 and very 
many others1 have received and are      
receiving liberal payments from their   
,american publishers1 who are           
accustomed1 as ,i have said1 not to     
interfere with each others' purchases4  
,in past years there have been sharp    
criticisms on the other side of an      
,american habit of adapting and         
reshaping ,english books1 so that the   
authors1 in addition to the grievance of
 receiving no compensation for their    
,american editions1 had the further     
cause for complaint that these editions 
were not trustworthy and did not fairly 
represent their productions4 ,it was    
also charged that ,english material was 
occasionally annexed bodily by ,american
 authors1 without any credit being      
given4 ,for both sets of charges there  

have doubtless been grounds1 but the    
instances have certainly during the past
 quarter century grown very much fewer4 
,indeed1 the last kind of appropriation 
would to-day be almost impossible1 as   
the knowledge of ,english current       
literature is so thorough that detection
 would follow at once4 ,appropriated    
material could not be sold4 ,in         
,england1 however1 while ,american      
literature is1 as ,i have shown1        
beginning to be appreciated1 it is not  
yet at all thoroughly known1 and there  
is therefore much less risk in making   
use of it4 ,as a matter of fact it has  
been so made use of by literary hacks to
 a considerable extent1 and there are   
some amusing instances in which the     
,english publishers and ,english critics
 have been imposed upon by material that
 was not original4 ,mr4 ,randolph1 the  
publisher1 relates how he was innocently
 led to reprint some essays brought to  
him by an ,english friend1 which seemed 
to him very fresh and original1 and     

which proved to have been taken bodily  
from one of ,henry ,ward ,beecher's     
volumes4 ,mr4 ,randolph promptly called 
,mr4 ,beecher's attention to his own    
felonious conduct1 and handed him a     
check for the considerable amount due   
him for copyright on the sales4  ,a     
translation by ,charlton ,t4 ,lewis of  
,bengel's ,gnomon of the ,new ,testament
 was reprinted in ,london as the work of
 two clergymen of the ,church of        
,england4 ,mr4 ,lewis' version was      
followed verbatim1 with the single      
exception of the omission of some ,latin
 quotations4  ,dr4 ,s4 ,irenaeus ,prime 
had sent to him a volume bearing the    
name of an ,english author1 with the    
inquiry as to whether1 in his judgment1 
it was likely to prove of interest for  
,american readers4 ,he found he was     
hardly in a position to give an         
impartial answer to the inquiry1 as the 
book was one of his own1 for several    
editions of which the ,american public  
had already shown a hearty appreciation4

  ,these are but incidental examples of 
one kind of appreciation that has been  
accorded to ,american literary work1    
which may be complimentary but can      
hardly be called satisfactory4 ,i refer 
to them not because they can be         
considered as any legitimate extenuation
 of similar ,american misdeeds1 for ,i  
do not admit that in questions of       
equity1 the tu quoque forms any argument
 or defence4 ,they are worth mentioning 
only for the sake of emphasizing to our 
,english friends1 what they have not    
fairly appreciated1 that there are at   
least two sides to the evil of the      
present state of things1 and that the   
demoralization produced by it has not   
been confined to our side of the        
,atlantic4 ,these instances of          
misappropriation are not of course      
fairly representative of the ,english   
publishing or literary fraternity1 any  
more than similar ,american instances1  
which have formed the text of various   
,english homilies1 can be accepted as   

indicating the standard of literary and 
trade morality with us4 ,we ,americans  
simply say for ourselves that the evils 
and demoralizing tendencies of the lack 
of international agreements are fully   
recognized by us1 and that while certain
 conditions of manufacturing have       
heretofore formed a troublesome obstacle
 in the way of the establishing of such 
agreement1 we are glad to believe that  
this obstacle is now in a fair way of   
being overcome4 ,in the meantime1 we    
claim that1 in the absence of law1 our  
,american publishers1 especially those  
of the present generation1 have1 of     
their own free will1 given to ,english  
authors a large part of the advantage   
that a law would have secured to them1  
and have done this without any          
corresponding advantage of protection   
for themselves4  ,we are also fully     
appreciative of the credit due to such  
of the ,english houses as 7in the face  
of perhaps greater difficulties7 have   
made similar efforts to do justice to   

,american authors4  ,one of the not     
least important results to be looked for
 from international copyright is a more 
effective co-operation in their work on 
the part of the publishers of the two   
great ,english-speaking nations4 ,they  
will find their interest and profit in  
working together1 and the very great    
extension that may be expected in the   
custom of a joint investment in the     
production of books for both markets    
will bring a very material saving in the
 first cost1 a saving in the advantage  
of which authors1 publishers1 and public
 will alike share4  ,it seems probable  
that the courtesy of the trade which has
 made possible the present relations    
between ,american publishers and foreign
 authors is not going to retain its     
effectiveness4 ,within the last year    
certain libraries and series have sprung
 into existence1 which present in       
cheaply-printed pamphlet form some of   
the best of recent ,english fiction4    
,those who conduct them reap the        

advantage of the literary judgment and  
foreign connections of the older        
publishing houses1 and1 taking          
possession of material that has been    
carefully selected and liberally paid   
for1 are able to offer it to the public 
at prices which are certainly low as    
compared with those of bound books that 
have paid copyright1 but are doubtless  
high enough for literature that is so   
cheaply obtained and so cheaply printed4
  ,these enterprises have been carried  
on by concerns which have not heretofore
 dealt in standard fiction1 and which   
are not prepared to respect the         
international arrangements or trade     
courtesies of the older houses4  ,to one
 of the cheap series the above remarks  
do not apply4 ,the ,franklin ,square    
,library is published by a house which  
makes a practice of paying for its      
,english literary material1 and which   
lays great stress upon the courtesy of  
the trade4 ,it is generally understood  
by the trade that this series was       

planned1 not so much as a publishing    
investment1 as for purposes of          
self-defence1 and that it would in all  
probability not be continued after the  
necessity for self-defence had passed   
by4 ,a good many of its numbers include 
works for which the usual ,english      
payments have been made1 and it is very 
evident that1 in this shape1 books so   
paid for cannot secure a remunerative   
sale4 ,it seems safe to conclude1       
therefore1 that their publication is    
not1 in the literal sense of the term1 a
 business investment1 and that the      
undertaking is not planned to be        
permanent4  ,a very considerable        
business in cheap reprints has also     
sprung up in ,toronto1 from which point 
are circulated throughout the ,western  
,states cheap editions of ,english works
 for the advance sheets and ,american   
market1 of which ,eastern publishers    
have paid liberal prices4 ,some         
enterprising ,canadian dealers have also
 taken advantage of the present         

confusion between the ,united ,states   
postal and customs regulations to build 
up a trade by supplying through the     
mails reprints of ,american copyright   
works1 in editions which1 being flimsily
 printed1 and free of charge for        
copyright1 can be sold at very moderate 
prices indeed4  ,it is very evident     
that1 in the face of competition of this
 kind1 the payments by ,american        
publishers to foreign writers of fiction
 must be materially diminished1 or must 
cease altogether4 ,these pamphlet series
 have1 however1 done a most important   
service in pointing out the absurdity of
 the present condition of literary      
property1 and in emphasizing the need of
 an international copyright law4 ,in    
connection with the change in the       
conditions of book-manufacturing before 
alluded to1 they may be credited as     
having influenced a material            
modification of opinion on the part of  
publishers who have in years past       
opposed an international copyright as   

either inexpedient or unnecessary1 but  
who are now quoted as ready to give     
their support to any practicable and    
equitable measure that may be proposed4 
,i have endeavored to give in the       
foregoing pages an outline sketch of the
 history and present position of the    
question of international copyright1 and
 to briefly indicate some of the        
relations in which it stands to ethics  
and political economy4  ,we may1 ,i     
trust1 be able1 at no very distant      
period1 to look back upon1 as exploded  
fallacies of an antiquated barbarism1   
the beliefs that the material prosperity
 of a community can be assured by       
surrounding it with ,chinese walls of   
restrictions to prevent it from         
purchasing in exchange for its own      
products its neighbors' goods1 and that 
its moral and mental development can be 
furthered by the free exercise of the   
privilege of appropriating its          
neighbors' books4         99       99   
99       99       99    ,,free ,,trade1 

,,as ,,promoting ,,peace    ,,and       
,,good ,,will ,,among ,,men4       ,a   
paper read before the ,new ,york ,free  
,trade ,club1 ,feb4 #bj1 #ahgi1      by 
,charles ,l4 ,brace4  ,to the moralist1 
,free ,trade is not most of all         
important as a means of producing and   
distributing wealth1 7though in that it 
be the most efficient7 but rather as a  
portion of that movement of humanity    
which1 receiving its greatest impulse   
eighteen centuries ago1 has been        
steadily ever since removing prejudices1
 lightening burdens1 doing away with    
abuses1 and bringing together into one1 
different classes and peoples and races4
 ,living under the influence of this    
great humane impulse1 we do not enough  
remember what effects it has already    
accomplished1 what slow but permanent   
victories it has won1 and what it proves
 itself adapted to win in the centuries 
to come4  ,it will better show us what  
changes await the world in such parts of
 its progress as relate to ,free ,trade1

 to note1 briefly1 a few of the         
improvement wrought by the spirit of    
humanity and by right reason in ,europe 
during the last thousand years4