The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1885-04-24
A QUESTION OF KoNoR.
Shall Literary Property be Protected ,
The Right for an international
Copyright Law.

Snnh LiteEarJ Property be Protected ,
The right for an International
Copyright Law.
The American Copyright League have
Issued the following address which "a
attractin ng much attention Its clear and
sutspoken tome and the prominent
names attached to It will commend IL To
the attention Of all thinking men and
women:
NEW YORK, APRIL 8, 1855.
TO TIE FUbNc: The American Copy
aght League, Tor fourteen months has
urged the passage Of an international
soPyr1Sht Law, giving foreigners property
m their books when published IN this
country. "A oil was introduced last win
Yer ~ the House Of Representatives and
another bill In the Senate this winter
but the Forty-eighth Congress has ad,
lonTned without acting upon either.
Ihls neglect tntiicts great Injustice on
American citizens engaged in author
ship
Nearly fifty years have passed since in
sernatlonal copyright was first pressed
upon Congress. 1t has received the SUD-
port of webster, Clay, Everett, Sumner
And other statesmen. Ii has been recOry7
mended in Presidential messages. Yet
1llls, petitions, executive recoTnmeuda-
tions, have all failed to procure action by
our lawmakers Clay and Webster in
1887 made report, saying:
.--..sJl. authors S and inventors are among the
y.
II being established that literary propartv
Is entitled TO protection, II results that this
protection ought TO be afforded wherever
E1e property Is situated We
should all be shocked II the law tolerated
the least invasion Of the rights Of proDertv
IN the case Of merchandise, whilst those
,f,l-. walcn ,s Justly oelong to the works Of su-
LhoEs are exposed to daily violation 1"
We are not working for a scheme To
make books dear In France, where liEer-
Ary property is sedulously guarded and
raE fFtfar-u l.. ~
authors, the system Of cheap books hour-
lshes- But the price Is regulated fairly, by
the law q supply and demand, as in the
case Of other commodities
We are not working in favor Of q mon
Opoly. The only question OF monopoly In
yolved is that Of the men who are now
allowed 70 mOnopOlize without cost the
work OF other mems brains and hands
Our object is not to injure any industry
either type making, paper making, print
ing, or publishing. 1t is simply to defend
that form Of industry which produces
written works, pictures, and musical COM
positions American authorship struggles
against ruinOus competition with foreign
works that are not paid for.
How would day-laborers ike II. II they
We're forced to compete with other laborers
kidnapped from abroad and Obliged to
work here gratis, without even being pur-
chased, as slaves were What would type
founders and paper-makers think Of the
situation, II type metal and paper-etock
were stolen from abroad and sold here.
against goods which they had bought
honestly How would Senators and Re
preSeutativcs relish the notion that tb sir
speeches and services, being merely the
expression Of ideas, ought not to be paid
for ? What would lawyers and physicians
say II told that their knowledge, put into
the form Of written or spoken opinions
was public property and not entitled TO
pecuniary reward
Congress excludes Chinese labor. be-
cause It interferes with white labor But
Congress sttl cOmpels the American who
writes a book to offer his labor in the
market against labor which Is not merely
cheap, but Is actually unpaid
The property VI foreign patentees Is de-
fended In this country the foreign play
here, In his acted play But the 0reign
author Of q book is condemned to status
worse than the slAye's he Is the victim
OF public plunderinR
by permitting such an outrage the
United States is destroying it's own snthors
at home, and leaves them exposed 10 ex-
tensfYe piracy abroad. Such a policy,
based upon dishonesty and injusti ce, must
undermine all the supposed benefit to
popular intelligence, derivable from the
conhscation OF foreign literature
we call upon every one who cares for
national honor and dignity, for fair play,
Pubhc morality, or the spread OF American
Ideas In n free and vigorous American
literature, TO aid in agitating this subject,
and IN securing at least full discussion
OF II from the Forty ninth Congress. We
DeueVe that the people will heartily ap-
prove the suppression Of q petty meannesa
towards foreign and American authors
which Is unworthy OF any enlightened
nation-especially nation that assumes
~ % '' l-0-al "a well as rich
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
American Copyright League.
John Bigelow, Laurence Hutton,