Montgomery County sentinel., 1888-03-09
IyTERNA T1ONAL COpYRIGHT.


competition Of foreign labor. Every writer
of books in the country, from James Russell
Lowell, down 10 the newest of new fiedg-
ings, claims that his business is injured by
the introduction Of foreign books on which
no royalty is paid, and which can be turned
out from any press in the country in guam
titles limited only by what the people want
The people are not excited over inter-
national copyright. They began to get
books at reasonable prices when the cheap
reprints from England and the cheap trans
lations from France and Germany became
the fashion only a few years ago Give the
authors and publishers control of the mar
ket and we would be in danger Of having to
pay the old sums of between 81 to IS for
books that we now get from ten to twenty
cents. Comparatively few of the volumes
we buy are worth preservation. Not one
novel in hundred does man care to bur-
den his shelves with. Even the rich man
does not wish to pay one dollar for one
which can be sold for ten cents, and the
poor mans family cannot buy books at all
at the old prices.
The authors are making much stir for
nothing. With International copyright their
earnings would be slightly if at all increased.
The usual ten per cent. royalty Is not what
makes the book cost. If the novel had
merit enough to secure wide circulation,
the author would get as much money and
would reach many times more people if his
publisher would put it.in chesf& town, u la
the publishers who are warmest In the pur-
suit of the change OF the law. The five or
six firms that do nearly all the book pub
fishing in the country would under its op-
Grafton handle by means of copyrights and
royalty bargains all the books, whether
written by American or foreign authors.
They would use the form whence they could
get the largest profit for the money and risk
involved, and that form would be the cost
| ly, well bound volume. American readers
would then get in cheap form only classics
and works on which the copyright had ex-
pired.
The poor American and workingmen
wish their boys and girls to read. About
the only thing they get at cheap rates are
farm produce and books. Everything else
costs them bonus and helps to eat up their
small incomes. They can give their chill
dren the best English books at a very small
cost and If American publishers will not
print American books in the popular form
they ought to be satisfied with the class of
readers they can get by the system they
employ.
| 1t is the fault of the American writers if
they cannot compete with the French, Ger
man and English in the art OF making books
the people like to read. Other things be-
ing equal an American book will sell better
here than foreign book. Let the pub
Usher put out cheap editions and let the roy
alties be fixed according to just profits. That
would be fair all around and the American
writer who did not succeed would fail be-
cause he brings to the public nothing that
commands their admiration.
We have established our institutions on
the basis of the highest possible education
for the multitude. 1t is wrong to shut the
people out from the enjoyment of good
literature at low prices. 1t is wrong to tax
the reading public enormously for the bene-
fit of half dozen millionaire publishers.
In our magazines and newspapers the
American author has the chance to make
a reputation if he has the ability, and no
man who has made reputationfis without
a constituency Of readers.
The American writer has an exclusive priv
ilege among sixty millions. That is enough
of q monopoly to give one publisher. For
it must not be forgotten that copyright is
not an inherent right. 1t is an artificial
privilege conferred by such country on its
own literary men to encourage literary pro-
duction. In its nature it is not system for
the benefit of class, but policy supposed to
work in the long run towards the general
good of the country. Therefore its applca-
tion is to be governed by the greatest good
of the general public.