New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-26
AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER
II.

THE FARRAR-CASSELL CASE AND some
y, PUBLISHERS VIEWS OF IT AND THE PUB
s IxsHNG BUSINESS.
Lendons Oct iS:
81 n raxrar- Cassell oorssspondesee has @saA1s
sae neutrality-suspicious. Is apt to, wide fans
n rrfSonal issue between the particular au.uof
esnA q SArtieular publisher gave place. afteF
to Z general discussion Of the rem'lons
nat exist, and Of the other relations thai ous"s
% exist, between these two interesting GLASSES oiS
eyhe community. Various sorts Of peope ha ov
Sken hand in It, and their .contriou''ohs .is
altoeether rather more than twelve Columns "
sThe Times" They would make rspec."",e
volume; very amusing and INSTRUCTIVE wv
snv American publisher likes to act on TINS hin'
h nav do 10 without fear Of copyright, or royalty
ar any demand for payment from any author whom
soever; least Of all from the author OF one hih''
But he should, think, have the courage 70 re-
mint an, and not part merely. Some OF the
Letters, Mr. Harry Cutters, for example may
not seem to him, or TO anybody. huLnslcaily
valuable, but they are all so connected as 10
make one whole.
Il might not be easy to say what the I'M
rsession Of the whole ia on the general public
matters In any controversy where the interests
Of trude ore concerned, this very commercial
Journal is prone to take the trade side. 1t does
70 in this case. There is a plausible case though
not . real case for Messrs.. Cassen. and the
great organ Of the great nation OF shopkeepers
makes the most Of it. Messrs Cassell gave
Archdeacon Fsrrar some thousands Of dollars more
tban they were bound TO give him; therefore
they were generous to him; therefore DC
ought not TO complain. Such is, in substance
the view Of this journal; view which Ignores
nearly everything that has been said from the o1ncr
point of view, and takes no account OF the Iac'
that 1t was Messrs. Cassell. not the Archdeece@'
who published the figures on one side only Oh un'
transaction. and on the strength OF inns QUO
sided statement appealed to the puono " 10y
whether thsy had not behaved eQuitaoiy' Inc
challenge to ret forth the facts on the o'nef eiu
remains unanswered. We know what MeSsrs.
Csssen paid Archdeaoon Farrar for the Lie Oh
Christ; some 81 900 in all. We do not Know
and they stubbornly refuse to tell, what their own
nroats were. and their silence leaves us mourning
better than the conjecture Of my last letter 10 ~
upon They are supposed to have mace AZ ies1o
q Quarter of million. Is 1t, then, an equi'~of0
transaction by which the author Of book makes
1000. and the publisher S25o,OOO?
Some Of the letters printed during the last "eeN
are written by publishers; not the ieast ih'el-
extinp bv any means. 1t Is well when the pun
Usher unbosoms himself, and states his eiain'
nakedly One of them thinks the notioh .h'' cie
division of profits in this case may nave oeeh III
equitable an "impudent' notloh' Ahe '"
of the property was in very large measure w.
to the publishers, and the author was pa,o III nc
asked, and, presumably, all ne "@h'eu. w.
Andrew w. Tuer, whose view is less extreme IMAM
those Of most Of his colleagues. says: III an
author is to share profits with the puoHsher he
must in equity be made partner In tho business
and then be shares losses also" This is one oi
those arguments which proves too much. Every
author who is paid by a royalty is, IN the sense
Mr.. Tuer means, n sharer in profits. lie ID paiu
IN proportion to the sale Of the BOOK but ne uoeS
not share losses on other books. Inc partnership
between him and the publisher so lar as IL eAist'
at all is confined to the particular book OF Wthch
he is the author II Messrs. Casseil had agreed
to nav Canon Farrar fair royalty on every copy
soId his share of the profits might still have oeen
much lees than theirs, but it would have Deeh
share of the profits.
Anon. the most cynical of these correspondents
are a firm who sign themselves con'ehIeuV "''V
End Publshers.p ut is believed" say these
gentlemen. THAT the Life Of Christ was judi
c,ouslv advertised, and the work being made well
known by that means in our opinion made Arch-
deacon Farrar as an author And they ask
th. question is favorite one with the leloer-
,ur,tino publisher: Would the reverend gente-
man have recouped Messrs. Cassel for their large
outlay if the work had been failure! froo'
ably not. but whether he would or not 1he ques-
t,on frequently and triumphanty as II Is put mas
absolutely nothing to do with the point uhuer us,
CUSTOM The point is not whether Messrs Cassen
Maid all they agreed to, and more besides. IL Is
admitted they did The point is simply whethe1
upon. q voluntary statement BY Messrs Cassch OF
what they paid Archdeacon Farrar ana continuing
concealment Of what they themselves made' they
are in q position to ask the pubic 70 say 'na'
the adjustment and distribution OF the prohts de,
rived from the Life Of Christ was or was no'
equitable
our amiable friend Mr.. f. Marston-he too
A a publsher-asks similar question: II paio
an author SEQ, 900 and lost 81 1000 oy the DOOR,
.voula be renay me the difference? If not, why
should share profits with him IL l make gov,
ooo,n Such ia Mr.. Marston's question, stripped
- oi,cnmocutions. and put, hope, not less point
ally and not less strongl yfor the publisher than
~ nuts It. Leaving the dispute between Messrs
Csssell and Farrar On one side, the question Is
an. which Mr. Marston is entitled to ask, though
do not imagine he will be satisfied with the
answer. For the true answer can only De gwen
nv referring once more to the relations that have
IN times past existed. and to some extent 10 SUI
exist, between the publisher and the author
Is. in fact, a question Of circumstances can
imagine . case in which should answer yes 70
The first part Of the question, and say the author
OUGHT to make good the publishers loss bu'
such cases would be infrcquent for TINS reason
Nineteen times out of twenty the puDhsher iS
man Of business. and the author is not con
.,.ot "a entered into between two parties, one Of
chs other knows nothing. The publisher draws
+b. contract. fills it full Of technical clauses de
.,~r.d 10 protect his own interest," each one