The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-02-19
A VOTE FOR COPYRIGHT.
THE SENATE P ASSES THE BILL AS
AMENDED.

The Attachment of the Amendments
sends it Back to the House-If a
Conference Committee Can be Sc
cured From the House the Bill Will
Undoubtedly be Eventually Passed
WASHINGTON. Feb. 1s.-The status of
the copyright bill passed by the Senate to-
day is not so good as its friends desire, nor
CO bad as its enemies wish. The attachment
of three amendments sufficed to send the
bill back to the House, and senators op-
posed to the bill, realizing that their COM
binsd opposition would not defeat the
measure on direct vote, aided in
loading 1t down with amendments SO as to
handicap it in the House. Only one of
these amendments, however, is really OBJ
noxious to the friends of the bill That is
the Sherman Carlisle amendment, which,
by allowing the importation at fixed rates
of duty of copyrighted works of foreign
authors, threatens at one blow TO divorce
the interests of thu publishers from those Of
the authors. But the conference committee
appointed by the Senate is believed to
have been selected with view
to the triumph of the original House bill,
and 1t is not expected that they will offer
any very serious objection to dropping the
amendments, one and all, in conferences, nor
is it at all probable that the Senate would
refuse to accept such a conference report,
for a number OF senators, sufficient to turn
the scale, voted for the amendments, who
would willingly consent to their omission If
it came to the issue of dropping tn EN- or
losing the entire bill.
TIE MAIN OBSTACLE
The main obstacle lies In the House. The
bill as amended lies on the speakers table,
and whenever business on that table is
reached, which may be any morning when
an appropriation bill does not inter-
vene, the bill will be In pc
culiarly fit position for immediate
action. As it involves no appropriation,
when it is laid before the House any mem
Der may, as a privilege, move to grant the
request of the Senate for a conference. If
this motion prevails the final success of the
bill will be assured. But the difficulty aris-
ing at that stage will probably be found in
the opposition Of Messrs. Payson and
Hopkins OF Illinois, who, 1t is said.
will attempt to defeat the motion to ap-
point conference and endeayor to send the
bill back to the committee. The copyright
men, however, are preparing to strengthen
their forces, and feel confident that they
cient to send the bill to conference.
TO BE HARD FIGHT.
Especial Dispatch to the Nesos.)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1S.-The copyright
bill goes back to the House loaded down
with amendments put on with the intent TO
kill it. 1t is not expected to survive, except
by a few faithful friends. Others are still
hopeful that It may yet get through in spite
OF its crippled condition. They are encour-
aged by the fact that the Vice President
appointed as conferees on the part of the
Senate Messrs. Piatt, Hiscock and Gray,
all of whom are friends of the
bill and voted against all the amendments
In the Senate, and win fight hard to get the
bill safely out of conference. Speaker Reed
is not so favorable to the bill and will prob
ably not appoint such friendly conferees
even after the House has agreed to a con,
ference, which will take time. The short
ness of the time before the session closes viii
tell against the bill.