Mr. J. W. Harper moved that "a committee of five be appointed by the President, who, together with the President, Secretary, and Treasurer, shall be an Executive Committee, with power to coöperate with a corresponding committee of the Authors' Copyright League to secure international copyright. The committee shall report to the League on the last Thursday in May, 1888, and before that time or thereafter as often as it may deem expedient. It shall have power to fill its own vacancies. It shall have charge of the funds of the League, and may employ counsel and such other assistance as may be necessary to attain the object of the League." prosperity of the American publishing trade is inseparably identified with the development of American authorship. Give us, in this country, the best authors, and our publishing-houses will have the best trade, no matter what the copyright law is. While we have our own preferences as to the kind of bill that should be drafted, we shall heartily favor any bill that your Authors' League may agree upon. Our confidence in the near future of American authorship is great enough to cause us to dismiss all anxiety at the removal of any special protection for the publishing trade in this FUNK & WAGNALLS. country. NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 1887. George Walton Green, Esq., Secretary of the Authors' Copyright League. Mr. Wood moved the following addition to Mr. lishers of this city are taking steps to coöperate Harper's resolution : The amendment was accepted by Mr. Harper, and the resolution was then adopted. The Chair appointed as such committee : Messrs. Joseph W. Harper, H. O. Houghton, Craige Lippincott, A. D. F. Randolph, and Dana Estes. A general discussion then ensued, participated in by Messrs. Roswell Smith, Scribner, Clapp, Dodd, Kimball, Wood, Randolph, and others, concerning the advisable form for an international copyright law. This discussion made it apparent that, while there was some diversity of opinion as to the best provisions for an ideal measure there was a very general readiness to waive personal preferences in order to bring about concerted action in behalf of any bill through which might be secured the essential principles of the desired reform. The meeting adjourned, subject to call. The following letters, expressing adhesion on the part of some who had inadvertently been omitted from the list of invitations to the meeting, will be read with interest. Mr. J. B. Alden has also expressed his adhesion to the movement and joined the League. 18 & 20 ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK, December 30, 1887. Mr. George Walton Green, Secretary of the Authors' Copyright League. DEAR SIR: Through some oversight we were not notified of the meeting of publishers at Delmonico's yesterday to consider the copyright question. As our absence may be misunderstood by the public, permit us to say that we most heartily favor international copyright, believing that an author should have protection at least equal to that granted to the ordinary inventor. No policy could be more hurtful in the end to the American public than the one which would make American authorship unprofitable. The ultimate DEAR SIR: We are happy to see that the Pubwith the Authors' Copyright League in promoting international copyright. Although we have not been invited to join in the movement, we desire to say that we are heartily in favor of an international copyright law, and desirous of doing all that lies in our power to forward any measure that will secure recognition of authors' rights, and compensation to them for the use of their property at home and abroad. Very truly, etc., GEORGE MUNRO. NEW YORK CITY, Jan. 10, 1888. To the Editor of The Publishers' Weekly. DEAR SIR: I wish it understood that I most emphatically favor international copyright. We are all brothers and sisters, and one's right in the work of his brain is as good as another's. Faithfully yours, H. S. ALLEN. SECOND MEETING. Several meetings of the Executive Committee of the League were held at the house of W. H. Appleton, Esq., 3 Madison Avenue, one of them being a formal conference with the Executive Committee of the Authors' League, and a deputation consisting of Mr. G. H. Putnam, Secretary, and Mr. A. T. Gurlitz, counsel for the Publishers' League, and Dr. Eggleston, Chairman, and G. W. Ginn, Secretary and counsel for the Authors' League, had an interview with Senator Chace in Washington. To report progress and receive further instructions, the Committee convened a second meeting of the League at Delmonico's, New York, Saturday, January 21, 1888. At this time the following publishers were enrolled as members of the League: Amer. Publishing Co., Frank E. Bliss, Pres., Hartford, Conn. Armstrong, A. C., & Son, 714 Broadway, N.Y. Dodd, Mead & Co., 755 Broadway, N. Y. Dillingham, G. W., 31 W. 23d St., N. Y. Estes & Lauriat, Boston, Mass. explain that as they were already members af the Boston Copyright Association, they supposed it would not be necessary for them to give their the same cause has doubtless operated to prevent certain other Boston firms, whom we know to be heartily in accord with our purpose, but from whom we have not heard, from sending in their names. Fords, Howard & Hulbert, 27 Park Place, N.Y. subscriptions also for the National League, and Lockwood, Geo. R., & Sons, 812 Broadway, N. Y. Munro, George, 17 Vandewater St., N. Y. Randolph, A. D. F., & Co., 38 W. 23d St., N.Y. Taintor Bros. & Co., 18 Astor Place, N. Y. Webster, Chas. L., & Co., 3 E. 14th St., N. Y. Whittaker, Thomas, 2 Bible House, N. Y. Wood, Wm., & Co., 56 Lafayette Place, N. Y. Wiley, John, & Sons, 15 Astor Place, N. Y. Young, E. & J. B., & Co., 6 Cooper Union, N. Y. W. H. Appleton, Esq., presided, and Mr. G. H. Putnam read the following report of the Executive Committee: JANUARY 21, 1888. The Secretary submits to the League, on behalf of the Executive Committee, the following report of its operations since the organization of the League on the 29th of December. A brief report of the proceedings at this organization meeting, accompanied by a letter of explanation from the Secretary, and a form of subscription to the League, was forwarded early in January to some 400 firms whose names appeared on the Trade-list as publishers. Thirty-one firms have returned the subscription blanks with their signatures. Twenty-three of. the firms whose names appeared in the original call have thus far failed to send in their signatures to the Secretary. The Secretary has, however, assumed that the part taken by these twenty three firms in the original organization was sufficient evidence of their desire to become members of the League, and has included their names in his roster, which now contains in all fifty-three firms. The Treasurer has received payment of initiation fees, and (with a few exceptions) of annual dues also, from twenty-eight firms, and will doubtless hear in due course from the others before the time specified for such payments in the articles of organization, the date of the February meeting. Messrs. Ginn Bros., of Boston, have written to Among the subscriptions (accompanied by payments) which have been received are the following: From the music houses, O. Ditson & Co. From the subscription book publishers, Hubbard Bros. and Gebbie & Co., of Philadelphia, and the Amer. Publishing Co., of Hartford: and among the firms whose business interests have been largely concerned with reprinting, Messrs. Geo. Munro, The John W. Lovell Co., and J. B. Alden. From Messrs. W. A. Evans & Bro., of Boston, the following response was received: G. H. Putnam, Secretary, etc. DEAR SIR: Our firm is not in favor of international copyright, is not prepared to coöperate in the efforts now being made to secure its establishment, and do not desire to be enrolled as a member of the American Publishers Copyright League, but will subscribe quite a little sum to prevent the consummation of your devilish plot. W. A. EVANS & BRO., Boston, Mass The Secretary has written letters to forty-four of the leading booksellers throughout the West urging the desirability of the formation of local Copyright Associations, or Committees, which might interest themselves in working up public opinion in their respective towns in behalf of the desired reform, and the secretaries of which might bring influence to bear upon the Congressmen of their States in behalf of pending, legislation. He has received a number of favorable replies to this suggestion, but finds that it will be easier for these local committees to get to work when the League has actually committed itself in behalf of some specific bill, to which such committees could refer, and for the support of which they could ask aid among professional men and other buyers of books. The Secretary's correspondence has also made evident to him the desirability of securing in the work of our Association the active coöperation of leading booksellers throughout the country, whose business interests are as directly, if not as considerably, at stake as are those of the publishers. As one step towards securing this coöperation, an 'Address to the Booksellers" has been drafted, which will shortly be put into print for general circulation. The Executive Committee will be pleased to receive at this meeting such suggestions as may occur to those present concerning any practical means of associating the booksellers directly with the work of the League, and at the same time of avoiding as a result of such association any risk of confusing the work which the League has undertaken in presenting more particularly the opinions and requirements of the publishing interests. In addition to the above "Address to the Booksellers," an address has been prepared by the American Copyright League (the authors' organization), which it is proposed to circulate, in the shape of leaflets or bookmarks, in the books distributed by the various publishing-houses. It is supposed that it should be practicable in this way to reach within a short time a large number of readers and buyers of books, and such of these as may be interested are requested to send in to their respective Congressmen, with their signatures, a brief petition, form of which will be annexed to the leaflet. The Committee regrets that these two addresses are not yet in shape to present at this meeting., Bearing in mind that the original suggestion for the coming together of the publishers was made at the instance of the Committee of the Copyright League of Authors, the Executive Committee decided that a conference with the representatives of these authors was among the first things to be arranged for. The two committees (of the authors and publishers) have met in conference from week to week, having before them, as their more special purpose, the arriving at an agreement concerning the amendments that would be required in the Chace bill to render this acceptable to the two associations and to make it a practical working measure. At the conference meeting of these two committees held January 7, it was decided that to put this bill in shape to meet the several requirements two amendments would be essential, and your Executive Committee has framed these amendments and now reports the same for the approval of the League. The Chace bill as now on the calendar provides that the entry for copyright of the title of a foreign work to be protected in this country shall be made simultaneously with the date of the entry in the country of its origin, and provides, further, that a term of three months subsequent to the date of such entry shall be allowed for the completion and publication of the American edition and the perfecting of such copyright by the deposit in the Congressional Library of two copies of such edition. It appeared to us that the foreign author could, as a rule, if he attached importance to the value of the American market, delay for a month or two the publication of his book on the other side, until he had had an opportunity of submitting duplicate manuscript or duplicate proofs to publishers on this side, and that the number of works for which copyright need be lost would probably diminish from year to year. Even if a certain number of desirable books should fail to secure protection, we thought that something definite could be accomplished if we could secure this protection for 95 books out of the 100, leaving the protection of the remaining 5 to be cared for at some later date. The Chace bill, as now worded, further provides that after the entry for copyright of the titlepage of a foreign work, the importation of any copies whatsoever of said work shall be a misdemeanor. The purpose of this provision is, in conjunction with the clause providing that the book copyrighted shall be printed in this country, to insure the supplying of the American market with books of American manufacture. The difficulty of the provision is the injustice that would be done to certain classes of bookbuyers, particularly those among the scientific societies, colleges, libraries, etc,, who justly claim that they have a right to purchase the original edition in case such edition may be more effective for their educational work. If such a restriction should become law, it might easily happen that a scientific work published at two or three guineas and reprinted here in cheaper form (possibly with, a smaller selection of illustrations), at two or three dollars, would in its original form be absolutely unobtainable by American purchasers. The purchasers whose interests would be chiefly affected by this restriction, while possibly not comprising a very large group, are a group possessing very considerable influence through the literary and scientific press, and irrespective of our own sense of the justice of their position, it seemed to us that it would be very unfavorable for the prospects of the success of our copyright measure to antagonize this class of influence. Under the present wording of the bill, in case the American edition required three months for its completion, the American reading public might be prevented altogether during such term from securing any copies whatsoever of the work, whether American or foreign. If, on the other hand, the present wording should be modified so as to permit the importation during such term of three months of the original edition of said work, it would be possible for the foreign publishers, particularly those that work through American agencies, so fully to supply the American market with the foreign edition as to leave little possi-Under this clause the importation of copies of bility of securing at the end of such time, a remunerative sale for an American edition, and as to render of comparatively little value the American copyright, Your Committee recommends the substitution for this clause one providing for the publication of the work in this country simultaneously with its publication in the country of its origin. It is recognised that such provision entails certain specific disadvantages, partly in connection with the possibility of loss to an unknown author of the copyright on his first book, for which he might not have been able to secure in advance an American (or an English) publishing arrangement, and partly in connection with the inconvenience to the American reprinter in being prevented from having such revision or additions made to a foreign work as might in his judgment render it better suited for the American market. These disadvantages, however, seemed to be not sufficiently important to outweigh the material advantages of the alternative plan, which corresponds, I may mention, with the provisions of the present English law. Our Committee has recommended as its substitute for this provision the equivalent prohibitory provision in the present domestic act, section 4964 of the Revised Statutes. foreign editions of American copyrighted books is also prohibited and made a misdemeanor, with the exception that such importation is permitted under authorizations from the author or holder of the copyright, such authorizations being in writing and bearing the names of two witnesses. The practical working, under the Custom House regulations, of this provision, renders necessary the attaching of these written authorizations to the importing invoice containing any such foreign copies. It is our opinion that this restriction, coupled with the mannfacturing clause and the provision for simultaneous publication, will carry out the main purpose of the bill in regard to supplying the American market with American editions, while it will also permit the importation under certain conditions of the limited number of copies of foreign editions which would be required by scientists, libraries, and others. The authors acting in conference with us were unanimously in accord with the above recommendations, and these recommendations are now presented as the unanimous conclusion of your Executive Committee. These two amendments have been submitted by your Committee to Senator Chace for his opinion, and he has the same now under consideration. It seemed to us in order, however, in connection with the original instructions of the organization meeting, that we should secure the opinion of the League as a whole before taking further measure in connection with the Chace bill. It is possible that Senator Chace, while giving full weight to the difficulties pointed out in connection with the probable working of the bill as it stands, may not find himself in a position to approve the amendments now suggested by your Committee, and we think it desirable to ask the League to give us within such limits as may seem to the League desirable authority to arrive at final conclusions with the Senator and with his Committee, so that no time may be lost in pressing to success any such measure as may finally appear to meet all the requirements. Senator Chace and other legislators in Washington who are interested in international copyright are, we may report, very favorably impressed with the fact that the publishers and authors are now working in accord for a measure, as this has not been the case in connection with any previous attempts to secure copyright. For the Committee, G. H. PUTNAM, Secretary. Mr. Putnam, in presenting this report in behalf of the Executive Committee, also spoke of the difficulties under which Senator Chace is at present laboring, and of his earnest desire to put a measure into shape which should secure adequate support from all classes interested and from all classes whose influence would be important for success. He mentioned that while Senator Chace had not yet accepted the amendments recommended by the Committee, he had given them favorable consideration and that the Committee expected to receive shortly either his decision accepting the same or some alternative suggestions for consideration. He stated further the fact that the President was cordially interested in the undertaking and had promised that such international copyright bill as might be passed should not be vetoed, and that Mrs. Cleveland had also expressed her personal interest and that her influence would doubtless prove of importance later whenever the bill should come to a vote in the Senate or the House. After some discussion, in which Mr. Stokes, Mr. Lovell, Mr. Putnam, Mr. Roswell Smith of the Century Co., Mr. Randolph, Mr. Kimball of the J. B. Lippincott Co., took part, the following resolutions were passed, the first with but one dissenting vote (on the part of a member who explained that he did not except to the general principle, but wished to see the bill made clearer in one particular), the other by a unanimous vote : Resolved, That the Chace copyright bill, with the amendments now recommended by your Executive Committee, appears fairly to meet the several requirements of American writers, readers, manufacturers and sellers of books, domestic and foreign, and has the approval of this League ; and our Executive Committee is hereby instructed to take such action as it may find requisite to secure the passage of the bill with these amendments. Resolved, That, recognizing from the history of previous attempts and from the statement of the present obstacles, the difficulty of securing any legislation on international copyright (an undertaking in which such a variety of interests are involved, and in connection with which such diverse views are being pressed upon Congress) our Executive Committee is hereby authorized, in the event of its proving impracticable to secure the adoption of the bill in the precise form in which it is now recommended to them, to support on behalf of the League this bill, or a bill on the general lines of this bill, with such modifications as may prove requisite to secure the necessary Congressional support; provided always that no modifications be accepted that fail to provide for the printing in this country of foreign books securing American copyright. Mr. Putnam then explained the desirability of instituting an associate membership for the purpose of widening the influence of the League, and more particularly of securing the active coöperation of the booksellers throughout the country, and a resolution was passed referring the suggestion to the Executive Committee with power. The meeting then adjourned. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT ASSOCI ATION OF NEW ENGLAND. On the afternoon of December 27, 1887, about fifty well-known ladies and gentlemen assembled in parlor No. 12 at the Parker House, Boston, to organize a local copyright association. Among those present were J. R. Lowell, President Eliot, of Harvard College, John D. Long, Dana Estes, James Parton, Arlo Bates, Rev. Dr. Edward Everett Hale, A. S. Parsons, C. W. Ernst, B. H. Ticknor, O. B. Frothingham, H. O. Houghton, J. T. Trowbridge, J. F. Hunnewell, Charles E. Lauriat, Richard A. Dana, Nathan Appleton, Mrs. Abba Goold Woolson, Louis Prang, Darwin E. Ware, Curtis Guild, Henry L. Pierce, Henry Lee, W. H. Rideing, Nathan H. Dole, Alexander Young, E. H. Clements, and Godfrey Morse. Mr. Dana Estes, in calling the meeting to order, said: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: This meeting is the outcome of the action of the American Copyright November, a discussion ensued upon a series of At its annual meeting in League of New York. resolutions which came up in the ordinary course of business, and which would involve, as they were prepared by the Executive Committee of the former year, the clinging to the policy which had been adopted by the League, and followed for several years. I was present at that meeting; and, after a warm discussion, a series of resolutions were adopted involving a change in the policy of the League. That policy, as most of you know, has been to confine the efforts made in the direction of international copyright reform to the authors of the country, without coöperation from other branches especially interested in the subject, such as publishers, paper-makers, printers, or other persons generally. A large number of the speakers advocated the enlargement of the scope of the agitation, and a series of resolutions were finally adopted, leaving in the hands of the Council and the Executive Committee full power to coöperate with any and all persons who had made a study of the subject, or were interested in favor of the reform. This caused a change in the personnel of the Executive Committee, as well as in the policy, and the result has been that the committee approved of forming local assemblies or associations to coöperate with them in their work; and, at their request, I have prepared and have issued the call upon which you are assembled here. "I rejoice to say that I have met with the warmest encouragement, not only from authors, but from publishers, paper-makers, printers, binders, and others directly interested in the manufacture and publication of books, and also from college presidents and other educators, and from distinguished lawyers and the editors of our leading papers. So I think we may safely say that we can associate ourselves and form a strong local body to agitate in favor of this reform. "The chairman of the committee before whom the League appeared about eighteen months ago, is quoted as having made the cutting remark, -that 'What the authors wanted was a little less gush and a little more law;' and my idea is that we should secure the services of some of the best lawyers of the country to assist in drafting the law. I have seen bills introduced which would plunge the whole publishing business of the country into litigation if they had become the laws of the country. culty being that an aggressive negative movement is always, unfortunately, stronger than a positive one, because it is reënforced by the inertia of which I have spoken. "I will not undertake to give you a detailed history of the efforts made in the past. They have extended over a period of some fifty or sixty years. About the year 1872 the publishers waited upon a committee of Congress and urgently pressed for an international copyright law. Senator Morrill, who was chairman of the committee, replying to them after hearing them patiently, said that there was no possibility of Congress granting them any measure, because there were no two of them agreed upon what kind of a measure they wanted, and that killed the measure. Mr. "The next effort was made in the form of a treaty, which was made known as the Harper treaty, I think, originated by the publishing-house of the Harpers, and it was pressed very vigorously upon the Department. Negotiations were opened with the British Government, and during the Hayes Administration the measure seemed very likely to become successful. It was delayed, and was in the hands of the Department on the incoming of the Garfield Administration. Blaine, whom I saw after he was Secretary of State, assured me that the matter was being forwarded; that it had received the sanction of the British Government, and he was in communication with the British minister to complete the treaty. I have seen him since, and he assured me that he had no doubt whatever that a treaty would have been sent to the Senate for ratification if it had not been for the assassination of President Garfield. But "The next effort was known as the Dorsheimer bill, and it was warmly advocated by him. it was a very crude bill; it did not meet the views of either authors or publishers, and was likely to be deluged with amendments. Governor Dorsheimer succeeded in having it reported favorably by the committee, but it failed to become law or to go to the Senate. "The sentiment, as I have tested it in this community, is overwhelmingly in favor of the reform. I think, too, that the country is ripe and ready for the reform, and that the principal difficulties are, first, the inertia in Congress to be overcome before any measure, no matter how much needed, or how much believed in, can become law; the next, the fact that the reform itself is of a twofold nature, and has been looked at heretofore from one stand-point only, by many per- "The next effort was the Hawley bill, which was sons. It is, unquestionably, a moral reform, and the creation of the Copyright League. This, as as such is entitled to the support of all persons you know, was a very excellent bill, and if it who believe in moral reform. But it is also an could have become law-if it were not antagoeconomic reform, and as such has to have its lim- nized by certain strong powers-I feel confident itations in treatment, and it may be necessary to that it would be the best possible measure that take at the start a measure of legislation which is has yet been offered. But, unfortunately, when not an absolutely ideal measure. For myself, I it became known that it was antagonized by the believe in a law granting copyright to any foreign Typographical Unions of the country, particularly author without any limitations other than those by the constituency of General Hawley, he abanwhich are made for our own authors; and, speak-doned the bill himself and came before the coming as a publisher, I have no hesitation in saying I think the American publishers are strongly in favor of such a law, though they have not in the past, doubtless, always entertained the same sentiments; but they have become enlightened by the course of events. "There are, however, others who believe that there should be some restrictions as to the importations of editions and the domestic manufacture of books upon which the foreign author is allowed copyright. These are questions which must be discussed in a practical manner, and cannot be gotten rid of by resolution or otherwise. "The Typographical Unions of the country are a solid body, and they have it in their power to antagonize, and possibly defeat, any form of legislation which may be advocated by all the authors and all the publishers, and be enforced by the great moral sentiment of the country; the diffi mittee and spoke in favor of another bill, with some of the limitations I have mentioned. That bill is now the only one before Congress for discussion; a bill which is said to have been originally drafted by Henry C. Lea, of Philadelphia, and, as might be expected, with strong protective features. At the urgent request of many persons it has been somewhat amended, but it is still far from the ideal of the authors; and as its sponsor, Senator Chace, is the only person actively and earnestly interested in copyright legislation, it is probably our only hope at the present time. Senator Chace has always professed himself willing to amend his bill, providing persons antagonizing it would offer reasonable amendments, and become converted from opponents into aggressive and strong friends. "Governor Dorsheimer took the same grounds. He says: 'These people criticise my bill; but |