San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-12-07
SAN ANTONIO TEXAS FRIDAY, DEC zMBER 7. 1855. On
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.

The American Press association
have entered the lists against the
passage of the international copyright
bill which was before congress at Its
last session, and passed that body,
and is expected to come up shortly in
the house. The press association is
sues its circular, calling for petitions
against the passage of the bill on the
ground that the till is missioner.
That while it processes to be an Iuter-
national copyright bill, it has none of
the elements of an International char
acter about it. That its provisions
have never been subject of mutual
consideration and treaty between the
representatives ofnations interested in
such international copyright law,
and there are no evidences in the
bill, nor elsewhere, that any recip-
rocity underlies the privileges which
it guarantees the authors of foreign
nations. The bill on the face of it
seems better calculated to take away
from American readers the privileges
and benefits of cheap literature than
tor any other purpose, and it
should be carefully considered
in all its bearings before it is enacted
into law. While there may be
some need for restricting the pratt
cal raids upon brains by which
authors sometimes lose i'm a measure
the result of their labor, it is also true
that the evils arising from the present
copyright laws are not to be COM
pared to those which would follow the
passage of the proposed law which
would virtually give every English
publishing house the same rights in
America that it has in England and
tie our people down to the necessity
of paying,iust such prices as may be de-
manded by authors and publishers in
any com bination that they may effect.
1t is really a bill creating great pub
fishers trust with extra territorial
jurisdiction, that is extending to for
eign countries as well as our own, and
is one which will act most detriment-
ally upon the intelligence of our pee
pie, curtailing the spread of know
ledge and putting it out of the power
of persons of ordinary means to pro-
cure or read mucn of the current lit
erature of the day. While some of its
provisions, as for instance that no
book can be copyrighted here unless
the composition is done in the United
States, may help American prin ters,
it is ali injustice to foreign authors
who have not inflated themselves in
to American notice, but whose works
may be of more real worth than those
sensational creations which find their
way everywhere and do little good
anywhere. The bill is proscriptive,
prevents the importation of foreign
works, copyrighted, into the United
States, and on this account should
not be permitted to pass. The twen-
ty-five per cent ad valorem now
charged upon foreign literature is
ample to protect us from ruinous CONF
petition. The authors of this bill are,
not satisfied with being protected in
their competition with foreign pub
fishers, but they ask proscriptive leg
islation positively prohibiting the i'm
portation of articles coming into conf
petition with their own.
The bill asks too much, and so far
as at present appears the LIGHT does
not think that Americans as a class,
that is, that the people of this coun-
Try, would on the whole be benefited
by its passage. and therefore sees no.
just ground for its becoming a law,