Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-12
Authors Who Search for Types
w. w. Jacobs Amusing Experience
Our London Literary Letter.

' Morrison, though writing from dia-
metrically opposite literary view
points, are close personal friends. ia
cobS gives up more time TO his farm
than Morrison, but they often swap"
products. exemplifying the true Eng
fish principles OF free trade. Jacobs
raises all his own vegetables while
Morrison goes in for poultry. They are
| thus able to keep each other supplied
| On a sound business basis. of course
| with certain necessities for the table.
Jacobs went in for raising hens at first
but finally gave up in despair. He
says he would not move away from
Morrison simply because he knows he
can always depend on getting fresh
eggs, his own poultry having refused
to lay long ago. Jacobs has studied
the psychology of the hen, but failed
to find out why 1t lays for Morrison
and refuses to lay for him.
INTERESTS PROTECTED.
English authors are just now max
ing strenuous efforts to protect their
interests in the American market.
Many OF them are even going to the
expense of having their entire books
put into type, even though the books
do not seem to interest American pub
fishers. Quite a number OF others are
having only short extracts from their
works printed in America, evidently
not being aware of the fact that this
affords them no protection The copy
righting of foreign books in America
is a good thing for the American print
ers; but 1t is very doubtful if the eN-
pense is ever justified. AS rule,
American publishing firms are only too
glad to obtain good books that will
sell we'll in America, and the usual pre-
sumption is that If a book is not taken
up over there by some firm of standing.
it will not have sale. While this
view is not always borne out by the
Observation-Disclosures being a lottery
almost equal to marriage--it is quite
true that, where one accepted book
makes a hit II brought out by the au-
thor himself, hundreds of others are
never heard of. Still, the copyrighting
of English books in America by their
authors goes merrily on, and the print
ers in the United States should well
come the development of what prom
isse to be a very fourishing trade.
There is however. another very in
teresting phase of the copyrighting
business Many English authors,
whether they have been able to take
out their American copyrights or not,
insert on the title page of their books
the words copyrighted in the United
States of America-All rights reserved
They take their chance of running the
gauntlet of the authorities, and they
think that the words 'StaVe OFF, would
be pirates. Naturally enough. a would
be pirate who knows his business can
readily ascertain whether or not legiti-
mate copyright had been secured, and
act accordingly. but there is another
phase of the question which English
authors seem to have overlooked. If I,
book h,aars the words stating that it
has been copyrighted. whereas it has
not. The United States government tAss
the right to seize the edition. ana
charge a fine for every copy so marked.
Indiscussing this subject with prom
inent London publisher recently. he
shed considerable light on a rather
dark subject with which authors would
do well TO acquaint themselves. Among
other things he said:
LIABLE TO "A FINE.
81 always advise authors bringing
out books with my firm never to claim
copyright III the United States unless
they have actually secured it. Aside
from the fact that ii renders the books
liable to fine for each copy erroneous
ly claiming to be protected. it has the