St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-23
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.
An Interesting Talk Upon a
Highly tmportaur Subject.

An Interesting Talk Upon a
Highly important Subject.
George Haven Putnam, secretary of
the Authors and Publishers Copyright
league, lectured last evening before the
the Union league, upon the proposed
international copyright law. President
Eustis introduced the gentleman as a
descendant of that hero, Israel Putnam.
who went down into the cave to dis
patch the wolf VINO had been feeding
upon the flocks. Now" he said, Mr..
Putnam will asSail the wolf that has
lOosed itself in the flower garden of
literature"
Mr.. Putnam spoke of the interna-
tional congress which met in Berne,
switzerland, at which representatives
of all nations signed an agreement of
copyright to protect the brains of the
several countries, excepting those of
the United States. He stated that the
failure of the move so far was owing TO
the lack of interest manifested
by the American people, due chiefly
to the fact that the newspapers have
not talked up the matter as they should
have done. He stated that the general
idea was that such a copyright law
would give monopoly 10 authors and
publishers. He explained in this sense
that the only monopoly desired was not
in the subject itself, but III the authors
peculiar manner of stating the subj
He claimed that the lea gue which he
represented does not seek to so exclude
books of foreign authors, so that an
added price would be put upon foreign
books above our own of the same kind;
bnt that the foreign books being pub
liShed by Americon publishers do not
cost them anything for manuscript, and
in that way they are enabled to sell so
low as to utterly ruin the incomes Of
American authors.
The principal claim for the advan-
tages of the measure lay in the asSer-
tloD, that with the international copy
right law, there would be larger
field protected for the sale of editions,
and therefore better plates could be
used and the books put upon the
market cheaper, at the same time Civ
ing to the author larger income for the
work of his brain.
He claimed that one cause for check
to the move had been the fight insti-
tnted by some papers using plates and
syndicate matter, who stated that the
bill would interfere with their publica-
lions by putting it out OF their power to
use this matter, which is mostly taken
from English magazines. He stated
that by new wording of the bill the
syndicate would not be interfcred with.
He claimed also that there were many
English editions that were not published
in America. because they were not of
wide enough interest to have them pub
lished in this country, with the danger
that there would be American competi-
ton. While one house might make a
profit from the publication, if two
houses should attempt it loss would
result. For that reason many works of
research, etc, are printed in England
and sold at an almost prohibitory price
in America.
In answer to a question, Mr. Putnam
stated that the English publishers were
even more piratical than their brothers
of America, and cited one case in which
an English house had one of heir au-
thors furnish the last chapter to an
American novel in order to be in adj
vance of their rivals. ITO the utter
consternation," said he. of the author.
who had worked the whole moral of his
story into the last chapter"
Mr.. Putnam is an enthusiast on the
subject, and has facts and data at his
tongues end ready to give at minute
notice. He gave it as his opinion that
the measure would soon reach sue
ceSSful termination. as its advocates are
gaming ground in Washington.