The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-03-18

be taxed solely to enrich foreign
authors out of the pockets of AmerI-
cans, and that another, and much
larger, class may be interdicted from Its
right of access to foreign books. To-
day Levers, or Chas. Reds, last novel
can be bought,o the Riverside Library
edition, for fifteen or twenty cents, and
the humblest and poorest can buy and
read it. Enact international copy
right and the price of the book would
be the denial of it to seven-tenths OF
the American people, while the money
of the three-tenths who could buy 1t,
would 60 directly into the pocket OF
the foreign author, and benefit him ex-
clusivelv. This is what interna-
tional copyright means, and what the
American government is asked to do.
1t was the denial of this to Dickens
that drove him to write and publish
volumes of revilings of the American
people. 1t is the American people
that are the big oyster for literary
men everywhere, and which they want
the American government to help
them get hold of, to devour. The reg
ulation of literary property has aglta-
ted European literary societies ever
since, as a great and growing oyster
adapted to the foreign literary palate,
we had the honor to deserve their at
tention. No.one ever heard of inter-
national copyright till then.
Two years or Whereabouts ago, a
Partisan "SoCiety of Men of Letters, y
with Edmond About as chairman, pro-
posed an international literary con-
yress, to be held in Paris during the
universal exhibition then to ensue. 1t
was announced that old Victor Hugo,
the greatest author and orator of
France, had accepted the presidency,
and that the principal literary celebrl-
ties abroad would be invited to it. The
literary celebrities they chiefly wanted
we're the American. The American
people were willing to allow Victor
Hugo and the Partisan Literary So
clety to gobble their "principal literary
celebrities" and to throw the rest in.
We are not aware what, if any, con-
gress assembled. 1t is probable the
Partisan Society found out, what Dick
ems had learned long before, that Amer
lean literary celebrities did not control
much of America. 1t was, of course,
not for their own sakes they wanted
those innocent gentlemen. They were
gong for the American government.
We were not aware that internation-
al copyright had, at this time, any vi
tality. The whole scheme is prepos.
ferrous. 1t is bad enough to tax our
own people in our own country, by
means of copyright, for the benefit of
authors-of whom we have so many of
the kind it furnished that they are
plague-but to inhict upon our people
such tax, or take from them such ben
ehts, for the benefit of foreign authors,
would be a monstrous. outrage. The
effect of our own copyright is to take
from the poorer classes, who most re-
quire them, access to the only works
it is desirable they should read,
while it floods the country with a per-
niclous literature that vitiates the pub
lie taste, and depraves the public NOR
ais. Even home copyright should be
denied. The moment copyright ceased
to be a benefit to our people, the gov
eminent ceased to have the right to
grant copyright.
But, as we have said, there is no such
thing as International copyright. 1t is