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Show t ) . ,..,,.. - -- ., - i (EnpHrigljt Haw lufust fa Autljnr mxh & jpfiuatrifg By 5AMUEL M. CLEMEN (MARK TWAIW)", 3Tr f Nearly 7,000 books aiipenr in America every year; PTcn nmy Ihii 28 years, nml by tlm rcnuwal of their copyright tlimr lives may be extcmlcd to- 42 years. The nutlior dies about that time. His copyright per-ichort per-ichort just in. time to permit his children to stnrve, which is not quite fair. It is a 'fallacy that the public gels the benefit when n copyright expires. There is a vngun idcu in the congressional mind Hint ft is not a fullncy, and that by placing the present restriction on the author a benefit is being conferred on the nation. The member of congress thinks that by the restriction ho is making the nation a present of a book, but us n matter of fact ho is making a publisher a present of a book; If all books lived tin's would lie nil right. But when there arc only a few, what is the use of Diking away the little scrnpof bread and butler but-ler which the nuthor'a children gut front a copyright? In the early DO's, I remember the record shorted' (hut of the books launched 28 years before only two had been recopyrighted. In those jears 5,000 books were puWfsl'ied each jcur, and only two of them lived'. These tuo books were "Christian Science and Henltiyky Mary HukcrG. Kddy, and my "Innocence Abroad." I am inclined to ihintc (hat (lie copyright on the latter will expire before this billls passed. I shnll hardly be in heaven before my children will not have a book (o live-on., , When you hnvo passed' (0 you arc not laboring for yourself any mote, i'ou are laboring for tho wife-nnd the children. This is true of everybody every-body except the nuthbr, .who- is stopped by tho government nt a ccrtnin time, ills income 13 restricted, while the publisher, under the present :opyrighl law, may take tho profit that properly belongs to the nuthor ami udd it (o his own. Tho publisher ought to learn by experience that the very mintflc (lie copyright on n published book expires half a dozen publishers are ready .to rush in to bring out n cheap-edition, with tho result timt nolrody gels any profit. The books which hnvo been profitable right along under the copyright law cense to bo so when the copyright expires. After the half-dozen publishers pub-lishers have rushed in It is very likely that tho book will bo left nlono for home j ears; no publisher wants to tnko hold of it nnd burn his linger ngain. Sometimes n publisher will bo hardy enough to bring it out, but the book no longer has the vigorous life it would have had had its prosperity prosper-ity remained unbroken. A limited copyright law damages literature just us much as it damages dam-ages (he author. There aro few books that live 42 years. I should really like to know-how know-how many books this country hnrpdnccd since it liecnnw n republic whielt-Btill live. There aKTrTrtrflnnnrtvirgreat many, although we lime published in America in this time 220,000 books. What is tho use of putting a limit on tho American books that lmvi xhmi published during tho last century, when not more than l,00ll of the otnl number have survived? |