New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-02

THE AMERICAN VIEW OF THE c0P1RiSS sGa
QUESTION. Reprinted from " The broadway Msea-
srne," May 1865; with Postscript BY RicuAhp
GRANT WHITE, Secretary az the Execnnve Conu nv
tee OF the Copyright Association l2mo Pp. ~
London and New. York George Routledge q sons
Twelve years ago Mr.. Richard Grant White con-
tributed to The Broddray Magazine vigorous arti-
Gle entitled " The American View Of the Copyrignt
Question" II is evidently with no little satisiac-
ton that ne finds his statement of the question IN
1865 equally applicable now TO the solution OF the
difficulty as taken from bis point OF view, whch Is
that of o free trader. The same obstacles whch
stood in the way then OF law which should reuuer
full Justice 10 authors, have not been removed in
the least he thinks. by subsequent discussion aud
oycrtures. In his postscript nearly as long as the
original article he recites what was done by the
Executive Committee of the Copyright Association
in 1872 toward getting bill through Congress " 10
secure TO authors the right of property in their work.
and uses the facts Of that failure and several points
recently in discussion to emphasize MS previous
views He stontly maintains that authors have as
natural a right OF property in tue written ana
printed products of their brains as farmers have I'D
the fruits of their titled fields. But he says Ibere
Is a way Of muddlug this question OF literary
property ami Of maunde-ing abont 1t that is very
apt to provoke mon of common sense and common
hone.ty 10 wrath" Aud in connection with this he
mentions Mr. Matthew ArnOld's recent statement
that the question Of the authors natural right Is
eumplited for him by the conviction that men II
they 20 down into their own minds and deal qute
freely with their own consciousness, will hud that
thoe have rot any natural rights at all" ms
"st,apge notion ur. White finds coupled with Sir
Louis Mallets dicfum that property arises from
limitation of supply "a characteristics example
he says of the politieO-economlca moonshine
which is sometimes cast az light upon plain
coulnon-sense subjects And of the doctrine
that the public cool demands the partial
conscaion of the property OF authors for the well
fare of society lc Says i. would snt well nation
of footpads. Justice is more beDefcent than cheap
reading. Honesty is better than culture"
The author risat in his property he believes
would be fully secured by the common Law that Sc
cures 10 citizen alien his property nights III bis
horse or his tuck. whether he be IN England or the
United States. Bnt the Queen Anne copyright law
of England and the copyright law OF the United
States make literary property Tie creation of statute
law and limit the authors rights IN each country re-
spec.yely by their provisions, and debar tie author
of one county FROM having proprietary right his
literary work in the othey country. If each country
would repeal It's copyright law Mr.. White thinks
Authors would come by their own again, and the
question of international copyright would be settled
in England ana the United States. At this point
however, he asks virtually, What is the use of
talking about the authCr's right " When the qucs-
ton from the very start resolved itself into the pro-
lection of American publishers. paper-makers. type
founders printers and book binders against their
British competitors. Mr. White concludes TINS: AN
international copyright law which prescrbes when.
where, how and by when the foreign author shall
publish his book is somewhat insulting, and IS
against the interests of ost foreign authors and of
ali foreign publishes