New-York tribune., 1886-01-30
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.
IS THERE PROPERTY IN LITERATURE
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL REPLfiN" 0"n
THE VIEWS or GARDNER HUBBARD
tyY1xlsGRAPH To THE TR GUNE.l


tyY TEI..GRAPH To THE TR BUNE j
,v.o,,,vcrov Ian. 29.-The hearing ac-
W 49,, ,na senate Committee on PatoDts today on
,ho srhect Of an International copyright III" a'''"
n large audience which crowded the spacious oo ,,.
room and listened attcntively TO the arguments sum sum
rcd nv James Russell Lowell. MT Estes ''c no''" - ,
Iisner and Others IN of the BILL as wen Us " |
o-t. of Gsrdpo, G. Hubbard in opposition 10 any
convriebt law Mr.. LowcPs comments upo" p -
Mr. Hubbards speech were severe anu Soeln'"
enioyed heartily by most OF the audience MI "e'n
Of philadelphia presented tho views oi American
ircmen engaged in tho mechanical work OF bookmakhG
in a plain and attractive manner ana MS ro,n"iN
o,,cted a number OF questions from Mr. LoweH anu |
members Of the committee. Mr.. Estes auIo," ,
international copyright from tho American PuoHhoi'
point of view. The committee may listen 10 oner a'
ruments on the subject before agreeing upon Dill out
IL the understanding that more formal hearings
will be granted Chairman Platt remarked atter TO-
DAYS session that the drift Of opinion Indicates na.
bill will be reported with provisions SUBSTANTIALLY A
| those contained in tn Chace DILL
Gardner g. Hubbard maintained that an interha-
tonal copyright bill not in the Interest OF tne
American people The property right of an author IN
his work Is different from that OF any other Knu VI
property right While he holds the manuscripts VI MS
thoughts I'm his own possession 1t s his oWn OuV WIZ"
he gives IL TO the world becomes the property ol te
| world Copyright is modern hng. Inc hrS.
| copyrights were granted for the protection Oh
| nnnishers and not for that OF authors. lhere
| was distinction between the copyrisn'S
OF England and America. The English rights were no"
given for the protection OF authors Those OF 'hs oou
,rv were for the benefit Of the public and Congress-
under the Constitution had right to pass copysh
c, for NE beneht OF authors Mr. Hubbard read memo
rapda from which he showed that the American reprint
was sold much cheaper than the Enslsn Pii"- ~
seemed to him the inevitable enect OF 'ho Pae's0
of the awley bill would be to give the whoIe puohc"
ton OF books foreign houses, and that scarcey SIN
| Gle book would be reprinted mere Who WAS IL VINO
favored the passage OF this bill The Ehghsh au
because II would the demand Tor ana the P''o
~ their books The publishers favored the DIN OF soma
tor Clac. because 1t would give them the entire con
| troll OF the market. ,,
Jares Russell Lowell, president OF tho international
copvrtght League said that Mr. Hubbard entertained
the common fallacy that there could Oe no sucn '"s
as property idea There was feeling 'ha oooN.
like umbrellas were hrae nGtTas. NOBODY suPPoSou
that tbere could he property In idea but thero was
property in the fashion given TO the idea Inc CohsV
tutton had already recognized that IL cOnierrng the
power TO great patents. Patents were nothing ou'
ideas fashioned In certain way. For instance tno
Bell Telephone precisely a plrahei case VIII"
books and there great many peopeIn TINS cou"
try Interested In the Bell Telephone IL seemeo 10 n''n
that many things said opposition TO the internatoha
copyrght wero ike the statements OF Mr' hupparu
purely Hypothetical Mr. Hubbard had SAID that Such
right would make books dearer. He the sp aKer ala
t linn, tbero WA. the slightest evidence upon which
wa. that IL would mako books cheaper Mr. Hubbard
had also said tnatu would tempt publishers 10 H'aAo
large profit. on small editions lie should nave h"'
more general knowledge Of the book trade Inc pi'n
was based the practice in England OF pnD"'h"R "H
expensive edition first But even III bn-'HnN '"o f'
! OF books soon falls
Mr. Iawen wa, perfectly satisfied that the ro'nit ot
copvrght law wond DO transfer the great Dnk oi the
book trade to America II seemed to him that 'here
yas certain for thinking 50 IN "hh was h""H
ofths instinct. and tendencies OF trade. l'he "r<e'
market was here, n books had to be printed OF ue
obeaper form n order suit that market he thought
they would printed. 30 far n tue American Puo
was concerned seemed to him that th'J nave 'ne
books cheap did not 80 much matter whore th') "'
printed lie took tho moral view OF tho question: ITO
h,,,.vos ,b, IL was a simple question OF morality ana
Justice and that many OF the arguments when MT hno
| bard used arguments which might DO u'eu lot
plck ing a mau's pocket One could live great deal
cheaner from other people without auy labor; but The
practice was called honest when ho Was young he
couId not lie think AK that book which was read
much more whcu ho young VI" right Ia saying thA'
| rlghteous mess eEAiteth a nation.
Mr. lowell was In favor OF cheap books, but not III
favor of books poorly printed In order to make hen
cheap From what little experience he had had win
some OF the books printed in this country he cOud not
read them for He would ike to ask In answer
to one Of the points Mr. Hubbard made-the notion that
there is no law property IN Dook'-"h"t Is 'ho
origin OF propertyt The general theory that IL WAS
force that the strongest got possession oi "haI nc
could and kept what he got. The copyright was hrs'
I Issued to pubshcIs. simply because the publisher
bought the right publication. Mr. Hubbard had SAID
as nit were a shameful thing that tho EnSiS" ap'Hol
wanted TO get more money for hs book Ito could not
bclp wishing that Mr. Mccarthy had Dten mere tat u,
i might have given hs views win tok1ru 70 VIC r,s W
g his history lie Thought II natural that he shOu WISH
Ia pei more money for his book. NE Lowrl cOulu ho
& thnkinW that there was property tho idea ~ IN
h paIemi. Take Tor example shaKe.yeara. lie tool
IN. s;ory OF the Merchant Of Venice from an l'a
> novelist but did not Shakespeare put something NV
e lie Merchant Venice tntt nODOly else ny h,)
human possibility could put into III DI ne hol o''o
= -n IN that way much right In his work as the III
In reply question Mr. Lowell expressed tno op,n
ID right bl would raise the staud.rd Of liter
n works tended To diminish American authorship by les
NJ sening It's rewards. lie had found In England at lh
" nghrst authority WITH whom ne hau 10 uta
DO our copyright believed there was no such th'hH
property either IN books or patents ihey hnI pefIe
,s the notion about patents lhAt MI uOpaiu '
m mo MI Clemens said that It be granted that II tn
AZ Of foreign literature already here must remain here an
scriousy present and In addition there IGa ss
r the English books a9%eE "ey 40 40 Ds pof
NJ OF the lood aud at the rn OF % e ~
IN would come In was not tha' tf"o' MI Lo"o'
lanes Welsh. president of Typographical Union
w. graphical unions tho country read to tho comme
10 address agreed upon by the Unions saons{ Su'po
a ing tho Chaoe bill aud Opposing the IL WHEY DIL D.,
Dana Estes OF Estes * Laurlat. publishers preierre
ng to Inc vaue SloOOOO0 year, ho had been obige
h. To- refuse TO tho idea OF publishing an Amer
can manuscript, aud returned many scores even hul
ed drrds of manuscripts OF American authors unopened
simply from that IL was impossibe To make m
IN bo1k oil most authors unless thcy "ct
- first published and acquired recognition through III
NJ OF the magazines.
he r. X BowkcT OF Now- York. formally presented TO VI
nd committee memorial signed by about zoo OF the c
ing authors the country, In support OF the ia"e
er hI A printed memorial by Henry Z. Lea, or Plili
ed uelFht" .n,tr,tt.c Air lea advocates the pa
:" sage OF the Chace bill.
! QUESTION
zen CHANGING GOSlIiONo Wv iH-'"iN-' S'''
en w ,sU1NGTOS Jan. % (SpeCidt). - In III
eli w "''''' -, u.'.,.,. 90 aar ,tot
nat House committee U" '''"i'N
Morrill, OF Kansas I'm accordance with the instruction
OF the conmittee voted a week ago. submit ted bis