New-York tribune., 1910-08-28
Gbe Neln;Dofk Gribm,tes E
SUNDAY, AUGUST %, 1910.

vention of 1908 and among other changes, to
proong the term during which the author may
be protected. 1t is proposed that copyright
shall endure for the life of the author and fifty
years in addition. There is growing dlspo-
sition in Great Britain to consider that the
man who makes notable contribution to liter
ature should have 4 somewhat larger share In
the results of his labors. SO conservative
journal rs ''The London Times" says: with
less magnIoGuent talk about the gories of lit
prature has come d better time for it, franker
recognition of the material needs Of the writer
less nonsense about the fine work produced
under the pressure of starvation" To Lord
Macaulay is attributed the law of which Eng
lish writer's have long complained. 1t is re-
corded that he prevented by 4 single speech the
melting out of justice-a speech in which he
asserted of copyright that sit is tax on read
ers for the sake of giving bounty to writer's.
There is at least a prospect that the new Dill
may be passed That it will work no great
harm to the British reader, publisher and
printer is pretty certain. 1t is pointed out that
the tendency to-day is toward the publication
of cheap editions even of living authors, and the
circulation being SO much wider than or OLD
the profits large. $50 far says "Ihe Ihun-
derer" in conclusion, 1--WE have loaded our
favorite authors with praise given them bays
and other cheap rewards in abundance The
day is not far off when they will get justice
That day. however, Will bring no comfort to
the descendants of the chief British authors of
the last century, the men whose works will be
read while the language lasts. There Is
movement Just started in 4 popular magazine
in London to promote an International Dickens
Testimonial for the benefit of three of the
noveliSt's children and seventeen Of his grand
Children some of whom, from no fault OF their
own, are in poverty. 1t is proposed that every
owner of Charles Dickenss works should buy
and place in each volume more or less arts
tic penny stamp to be provided Tor that pur-
rose 4 is estimated that 24,0OO,OOO copies of
these works are in existence, and stamps in
serted in at least quarter of this number
would mean a goodly sum for the authors de-
scendants-s something at least to be added to
the So 30 a week which three of them receive
as pension from the Civil List. A large num-
Der of English writers have given their ap-
proval to the scheme, and the continued popu-
laritv of the novels suggests that the general
public NAV welcome it. What that popularity
is may be seen in the testimony Of the novel
lists own publishers Messrs. Chapman & Hall
'DeSpte the competition Of dozens of unau-
thorized editions, rendered possible by the
lapse of copyright, we find that the sales of
Dickens show 10 diminutiOn."
That veXe1 question as to the necessity and
desirability of starving a genius into the pro- |
ducion of great works will probably never be
decided. Lord Rosebery in a recent speech |
uttered his belief that all masterpieces, or
nearly all, have been produced under the press |
ure of poverty But who can say that these |
masterpieces would not have been brought forth
all the same if the genius had really had
enough to eat? We can hardly assert that the
rich man fails to produce great works because
of his riches. What about the poverty ystricken
men who do not reveal genius? GeniuSes are
rare birds at any time and it is not unreason-
able to suppose that they would be geniuSeS
under any conditions. An English commenta-
tor on Lord Rosebery'S opinions observes that
Dante was not extremely poor nor were
Michael Angelo, Milton and Goethe: and that
q poet may be wished enough money to keep
him out of the wOrkhouSe, but not enough to
make him quite comfortable. Probably an
oyerabundance of fat capon and hossheads of
fIalnsey might not be conducive to the issue
of great thoughtS-but how about the moderate
quantity of decent bread and butter which
diving genius, who has given JOY to millions
upon millions of readers, might without undue
selfiShness like to leave to his children?
The proverbial smile of the Cheshire cat was
a1lI- in before Tpnniel !