New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-02-21
VIEWS ON THE COPYRIGHT Question:
TIE MATTE prscrssKp BY COMPETENT cEIncs

TIE MATTER DISCUSSED BY COMPETENT CRITICS
BEFORE THE COSGsEG ,TIOVAL CLUB.
The interest in the subject Of international copyright
was well shown by the large attendance mt the discus
sion OF the question last night before the monthly meet
ing Of the Congregational Cu, at No. % West twenty
third-st The Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott, the vice pres
icnt introduced the speakers the frs being the Rev
DR.. Henry Van Dyke. His first peint was tnat the
notion that there Is property In Idle as is absurd lde~
can mot bo bought sold nor transferred, said he.
may preach for hour. trying tn give people an
idea and you get through you can't tell whether
they have got not" Only the particular FORM the
harness. "a 1t were OF thought is mans prop
erty In the second place, he said 1t is false that stat
utes in regard TO copyrights give one man ownership
OF ideas His third shot at the notion that man
weakens this right OF ownership by publication The
attitude of country the copyright matter Is sD
sfd practically says justice is to be denied 10
foreigners they Foreigners The first point
to be determined of simple righteousness. Tho
speaker cai that good men are discussing the
best OF doing with our intellectual brig
anage Two classes Ct pors tent to f , 1ns
worth discussing; and, secondly, the Pessinlsts.
who say the proposed change Utopian and not at all
likely be effected Yet the speaker sure that tle
wrsng would speedily be reetiied.
as the son OF a vino had fought for intern tona
cppyright ATTY years He spoke FROM the Standpoint
OF the business man. and ap"iogizrd Ior me ocehsi9n
necessity talking shop since IL wls bis part TO snow
that the OF the Copyright law would be tansl
bile gain dollars ami cents 10 tnls
the potency this Of with the average
and his presentation of the ca.e
L, cunlniter Of Congress. American authors, ne re-
marked, almost tie ouy class Of American Work
who Disseminated against in France am
Germany he sail, there awakening interest III
American authors But French German publisher
dare to the expense ~ franslang and erin1ng our
an American work, his fellow publishers would NJ
in and the benefit Of his enterprise o
did believe International COPYRIGHT woolh destroy
cheap books and declared that II is now Impossible or
large publishers TO enter upon work that needed nch
previous planning, for instance Valuable science
bN
He closed by showing the between slavery ana
condition the American literary market
and when the literary federation OF the
world would lie achieved.
Branler Matthews read from manuscript, opening ms
address with quotations. from lowell and ,feIrse VIII
lam Curtis He said books were made cheaper by re-
prints chiefly of English Fully forty OF the hfty
two works which appeared in the Seaside or Frank
lin Square library every reprints or English
novels and there food for reflection III the TACT mat
no over ten or twelve good novels appear yearly In
England Out of the various lists Of hundred best
hooks" recently printed not six or eight can De
found in the cheap libraries
George Cary Eggleston also spoke. and general
0lls we'd. The audiences was unit Tor Inter
national copyright.