New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-05-18
THE COPY4TGHT ELL.

Tie Publishers Weekly proposes that the
authors and other friends of an honest copyright
law. who have been supporting the DOrsheimer
bill. should abandon their resistance to " a mod
crate manufacturing clause" and consent to an
amendment conhning the benefits of interna-
tional copyright to books printed in this
country. The reason assigned for recommend
inc this surrender is that certain traders in
Philadelphia and elsewhere are so holly OPP
posed to giving q foreigner his own property
unless they can first make something ont OF 1t,
and that the vested interest in literary piracy is
so strongly represented in Congress, that ex-
IRENE views" are not at present likely TO be
odopted Let the authors be reasonable, there
fore. says The Weekly, and take what they can
get Hereafter they can ask more
We hone that no friend of international copy
right, of fair play, of international justice, VIII
assent to any such proposal. The scheme OF
amendment now brought forward Is what we
have been expecting, ever since Mr. Dorshelm-
er's measure was introduced. We have been
eypecting it as a trick of the pratical party to
turn TO their own advantage bill intended to
remove a grave reproach from our country and
to give authors their plain rights. An interna-
tional copyright law with the manufacturing
clause attached to it is nothing but an arrange
ment for protecting one pirate against all rival
pirates The United States has no reason for
engaging in any such enterprise. 1t is better
that piracy should not be protected. Let the
unauthorized reprintcrs cut one anOthers
throat, and by and by honest authors may como
TO their own For this reason among others,
we wish To see no halfway delusive reform.
We dissent entirely from the opinion OF The
Publishers Weekly that the first step" which
it adyises will be better than nothing, and will
not interfere with something more valuable
hereafter. This proposed first step " is step
in the wrong direction and if it il taken we
shall have to begin the reform all over again
with fresh obstacles against rs. We shall
create new class Of vested interests opposed
to ii true international copyright and increase
the Discrimination of the average Congressman
to bother himself about a business which APP
parently does not touch politics. What is more,
we shall give a quasi-sanctiOn to piracy by
statute. The worst that can be said of Amer
lean law now is that it will not interfere to pre-
vent a palpable wrong. But the moment it de-
crees that wrong shall be treated as a wrong
only under certain arbitrary conditions, it be-
comes IN accomplice in the injustice.
The demand for international copyright is
treated as a claim for authors. Ii is the claim
of all men who love and understand justice,
and are sensitive about national honor. We
trust that there viii be no compromise, no sur
render, no faint. beartedness. If the DORIS
hemer bill can be passed at this session, we
shall rejoice. If it cannot, at least let us keep
ourselves in a condition to try again. and the
discussion of the past winter VIII not have been
thrown away. This seems to be case in
which no bread is better than half loaf.