The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-09-16
Frederic Haslkin's Lette1
About c opyrishts.

long made . specially a -.
ing certain types Of novel; vS.e
they believe the public ~
pecially western stories vifs
men and cowgirls. detective p
and sentimental love stor,Ss
writing, no less than The ps,,s
ing and selling Of such hocss n.
become . perfunctory and ~.
organized business. like ~
duction and distribution n s
The books have become mo,s
more artificial and hollow -,
year. Yet such books an ~.
profitable, II only because q ~
great organization which 49,. Il
sell them, and any novel ~.
does not accord with their ~
worn standards has q har6
getting into circulation. Al
suit Of this condition, he ~
arc beginning to turn AVN 49,
the fiction-mush factories "a 8, -.
non-fction books. At the ~
time they display a slightly -.
tendency to find and read The ~
Of authors who do more oris;.s,
work.
All Of this vast food Of ~.
which goes through the copyrisss
office every year. finds 4 ~.
place In the library Of consrsss 3
nowhere else. Two copies a -
book copyrighted in this cusss,,
are sent there and kept thera n.
result is that the library q -.
gress has become the sreatnt =,
lection of unchosen and un6aast
ed works in the world. 1t co6lsi's
mountaiDs Of stun which = ~
has ever read and which s 4.
ever will read, but at the -.
time it has a peculiar value, ~
can find things in the lib1xy =
congress that you could find -
where else. Suppose, for eysusIa
that you want to learn sometHins
about life in Montana in the I'M
70's. Here you can find the opeer
county histories. the old trsyel
books and such like things which
perhaps contain the only detailel
Information in existence on II,
subject.
| A Million Books
| When you learn that since lSs
the number Of books copyrights,
in this country is 1,0T,ll3. yol
realize something of the propor
tons Of this store Of material.
is an impressive experience /
wander through the stacks Of TIL
great library. It is a veritable III
erary catacom0. Here, embalme
in silence and dust. is the litersr
history OF nation. And every On
I Of these little chunks Of papa
most of which have, been % Ion
forgotten, many of which ha,
never been noticed at all, SOM
time represented to someone d
, SEPARATION and hope and toll.
I The musical compositions az
close second to the books in nun
bers, nearly a million of them hs,
ing been copyrighted in the sau
length of time. Photographs con
along close behind the songs, VII
|, more than half a million, while
prints and illustrations there q
nearly four hundred thousand.
/! Few people understand the n
ture and extent OF copyright pr
lection in this country. 1t beg
back in 1888, when it was regaf,
ed as a matter for state rathI
than federal coptrol. Natural
this did not work at all. A THU
protected in one state could
pirated in all the others. while
get protection in all states Wa
long and expensive business.
this way the doctrine Of stat
rights got one Of the first Of
many set-backs, for in 1890 CO
gress made copyright protection
federal function. Since then I
, law has grown and expanded IN
bcwildering way, the most impt
tant single step being the esta
lishment Of international COZ
right.