The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-01
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.
Publishers and Printers Accused o
Working for Corner.

Publishers and Printers Accused of
Working for a Corner.
WASHINGTON, April 30.-The interna-
tional copyright bill was again taken up by
the Senate to-day. The amendment here
tofore offered by Mr.. Morrill, las to republi-
cations of magazine and newspaper articles)
was withdrawn by his authority, and an-
other amendment was offered for him by
Mr.. Chase, who said he would accept it as
matter of compromise. 1t was that any
publishers of a newspaper or magazine may
import for his own use, but not for sale,
not more than two copies Of any. newspaper
or magazine published in foreign country.
The amendment was adopted.
Mr.. Vest moved to strike out the words
"from type SET" so as to have the clause
read 'book or dramatic composition printed
within the limits of the United States :"
This proposition elected good deal of de-
bate, and was finally rejected without
division. In the course of the discussion
Mr.. Beck spoke against the bill as one
which proposed to give an absolute monop-
oily 20 a few favored individuals in the
United States in combination with foreign
authors, and said that the demand of the
typographical unions to have the printing
all done here would increase the price of all
foreign books to the American people.
THE ALLEGED OBJECT.
The object of the bill was not to carry
out the constitutional provision ''to pro
mote science and useful arts" but to en-
hance the price Of all things that tended to
develop either science or the useful arts
Referring to the point that the effect of the
bill would be to prohibit the i'm
portation of books from which a
revenue of S6S4, 900 was collected last year,
he argued that the bill was a money bill,
and, therefore, one which could not consti-
tutionally be originated in the Senate.
Waving that point, he said that Con-
gress had been denounced as guilty of rob-
berry and piracy and dishonesty in all its
forms because it has not heretofore passed
such law. He Thought there
ought to be little more
modesty about the matter. Whenever the
bill had been brought before Congress 10 ok
ing to the promotion of science and the
useful arts, it was opposed by the printers
and publishers, who wanted a monopoly.
Mr.. HAwLEY's BILL.
They had defeated such a bill last year
| (Mr. Hawley's) that was a reciprocity bill,
giving equal rights to authors In every
country. 1t had been protested against
| by all the publishers in America,
and by all the Typographical Unions in
America, because tney could not get their
share in the monopoly. The pending bill he
| characterized as a measure to allow COM
binations of publishers and type-setters to
pat up the price of every book. 1t was
protection gone mad. 1t was a bill for
trusts, pools, combinations, exclusive rights
| to certain men. He went on to say
that if the pending bill were to become
| law, the American people would no longer
have the benefit Of cheap books, because
the union of publishers and the union of
printers would force their publication at just
such prices as they saw fit to ask. That was
the object Of the bill, as was confessed by
all the witnesses who had appeared before
the committee, and who had formerly pro-
tested against the Hawley bill of last year.
| Mr.. Jones, of Arkansas, moved to strike
out all of section 2 occurring as part of
the conditions of copyright, printed copies
of books and works of art to be sent to the
Congressional library, the books to be
printed from type set within the United
States) This proposition caused another
long debate. When the vote was taken it
stood IA yeas to 19 9nays-no quorum voting.
Tho Jana ia than adiournad