New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-06-12

farming brother third has given himself up to
the study of mechanics and engineering and has,
after many dsappointments, perfected new steam
engine whereby the power required to move train
OF boat of so many tuns at given rate per hour is
reduced at least twenty-five per cent. The fourt h
has addicted himself to literature, art and poetry
and has produced book which one hundred thou
sand Of our people annually read deriving pleasure
and instruction therefrom which they would rather
pay him for than forego. ask why this inventor
and this author havenOt as fairly earned and are not
justly entitled tOhe price that Others preferto give
rather than fOrego the advantage pleasure derived
from their products, their brethren the farme
and the lOcOmotive-builder, to like remuneration
for the use of their prOductsi IT. as Theirs forcibly
says,l The ndestructbe foundation of the right of
property is Labor then, surely the right of prop
erty in Elias Howe to that combination of the needle
with the shuttle which gave practical existence and
value to the Sewing Machine of Alfred Tennyson TO
The Princess" y" Maud :" In MemOriam, and Tho
Lotus Eaters" is perfect any right of property
can be- For the craftsman merely fashions adapts or
recasts, materials cOexistent with the earth, and
which may be regarded in sense once the COM
mon property of mankind; while She inventor, the
pOetbuild the void space, makes chaos luminous,
and adds potentially and as it were by original crea
ton, 10 the enduring wealth of mankind / cannot
perceive how why his right Of property in his pro-
duct not at least as perfect and pervading as that
of the maker Of locomotive, the grower of grain
Ihaye considered what has been urged in favor OF
restriction of this right of property to the material
thing wrought upon-tO the particular locomotive
built by the inventor the authors manuscript copy
of his pOem-and it seems to me palpably absurd.
For what the inventor has labOred twenty years to
perfect is not the single, particular locomotive on
which he expended his handiwork, but all lOcOmo-
tves to be thereafter bult-his efforts were melted
and upheld by desire to make all locomotives hence
forth less costly or more efficient. This he has
achieved OF nothing; herein he has succeeded not
at ALL Once completed, the machine whereon he has
labored so long may accidentally take fire and burn
to ashes yet one surely would thence INFER that
his labor had been in vain.
Suppose now, one who differs from me on this
point were to drop in at friends house. while some
one was there reading aloud Childe Harold, and
should be asked in whisper by nOn-literary ac-
quaintance, Whose poem IS thatP cannot doubt
that he would truly answer, Lord Byrons" no
matter though he saw the letter-press, and read
I" Published by Harper q Brothers" the titlepage
The rights of author and publisher in the premises
are perfectly distinct, and nowise clash with each
other The fact that those are Tor were) citizens of
different countries natives of diverse hemspheres
does not vitality affect them.
l deeply regret that any one who upholds the
Rights of Labor and the duty of protecting those
rights devolved on Government. should question the
policy Of international Copyright. Were there no
other reason than that afforded by patriotism, /
should insist according copyright to foreign au-
thors. In its absence, their works sold in our
markets for the bare cost of paper and printing and
bought because of their relative cheapness by the
great mass of our less instructed least rejecting
readers whose opinions are thus moulded by Bulwer
Alison, Disraeli, Dickens, Mcheet, Prof Wilson,
Victor Hugo George Sand. Thackeray, Wilkie Col
Inns, the Trollopes far more than by our own best
writer's do not regret that foreign authors are ex
tensivey read here do not deny that some of them
are eminenty deserving of their American popular
ty but protest against the legislation or lack of
legislation the part of our rulers whereby foreign
works are habitually-nay, necessarily-proiiered
cheaper to our people than those of authors
This is unjust to both alike-to those whom it de-
Drves of readers and those whom it gives more than
their fair proportion of readers, but denies compen
,aton for their work. Walter Scott barely escaped
living a bankrupt when one cent per volume from
his American readers would have saved him from
pecunary embarrassment, smoothed his downhill of
life. and perhaps enabled him to live longer and
write more and better l wish we had rendered him
naked justice.
AS to the abolition of the Patent system, which
has of late been infuentially advocated, shall be
more easily reconced to it when learn that 1t is to
be swiftly followed by repudiatiOn of 0Hrghts of
property whatever-Or more strictly, of all legal
and defenses of such rights Whenever
the laws of my country shall refuse to protect the in
ventor they should, in simple consistency, bid the
1.-THE bond-hOlder, the merchant, the
banker. Take care Of yourself, and Of all that
Won call your ownw Assuredly no mans right to the
wild lands conceded TO his ancestor by a European
who never saw. and knew not how, even
TO bound them accurately, can be better than that
of Eli Whitney was TO his Cotton Gin, or thatof
Dapuerre TO Photography. When these shall be sue
cessfnllv denied be sure that rights of property
can be secure.
"Then, why not make Patents and Copyright alb
soIute and perpetuali" is often asked. answer,
There are no absolute rights Of property The land
Won bought of the Government yesterday may be
taken from Won for the bed of some highway rail-
road tomorrow, and you have no redress al rights
of property are held subordinate to the dictates of
National well-being; and the Government will bat
Ter down or burn to ashes your house, if it shall have
become Through no fault on your part harbor or de-
tense of public enemies and make you no compensa-
ton therefor. only insist that Intellectual Prop
erty shall be recognized by law as standing on
common foundation with other property and equally
accorded the protection of the State and the respect
of all who hold property robbery but justly enti-
tied to Difference and support from the Wise and the
good
The Rights Property; Retaliation Of Communism ana Social
ism: By orhe Theirs