https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/491/1904-03-01-The-Author-14-6.pdf 25326fb45f91ddfb045419897c7562f0 PDF Text Text ���������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1904-03-01 Volume 14 Issue 6 Pages Page range in volume 141–168 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19040301 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Che Hutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. FOUNDED BY SIR Monthly.) WALTER BESANT. Vou. XIV.—No. 6. TELEPHONE NUMBER : 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS : AUTORIDAD, LONDON. ———_—____¢—~<>_-4- NOTICES. —_1——+—_- OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the opinion of the Committee unless such is especially stated to be the case. Tue Editor begs to inform members of the Authors’ Society and other readers of The Author that the cases which are from time to time quoted in The Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. — 9 List of Members. Tue List of Members of the Society of Authors published October, 1902, at the price of 6d., and the elections from October, 1902, to July, 1903, as a supplemental list, at the price of 2d., can now be obtained at the offices of the Society. They will be sold to members or associates of the Society only. 4 —_——+—— The Pension Fund of the Society. THE investments of the Pension Fund at present standing in the names of the Trustees are as follows. Vou. XIV. Marcu ist, 1904. [PRICE SIXPENCE. This is a statement of the actual stock; the money value can be easily worked out at the current price of the market :— COMBOS OR 8 ieee £1000 0 0 Wbocal Loans: 30.0... 500 0 0 Victorian Government 8 % Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ............... 291 19 11 War log... ck. 201 9 8 Mota a. £1,995. 9° 2 Subscriptions from October, 1903. & s. d. Nov. 13, Longe, Miss Julia . : : 0 5 0 Dec. 16, Trevor, Capt. Philip 5 0 1904. Jan. 6, Hills, Mrs. C. H. . : ~ 0-50 Jan. 6, Crommelin, Miss . : . 010 0 Jan. 8, Stevenson, Mrs. M. E. . 2600 50 Jan. 16, Kilmarnock, The Lord . - 0 10 0 Feb. 5, Portman, Lionel . : ~ 120 0 Feb. 11, Shipley, Miss Mary : 7005 0 Donations from October, 1903. Oct. 27, Sturgis, Julian 4 : . 50 0.0 Nov. 2, Stanton, V.H. . ; — 5°08 0 Novy. 18, Benecke, Miss Ida. 1 0 0 Noy. 23, Harraden, Miss Beatrice ~ 5 0.0 Dec. Miniken, Miss Bertha M. M.. 0 5 0 1904. Jan. 4, Moncrieff, A. R. Hope . = 5 0 0 Jan, 4, Middlemas, Miss Jean . . 010 0 Jan. 4, Witherby, The Rev. C. . <0) D0 Jan. 6, Key, The Rev. S. Whittell . 0 5 0O Jan. 14, Bennett, Rev. W. K.,D.D. . 015 0 Jan. 2, Roe, Mrs. Harcourt : . 010 0 Feb. 11, Delaire, Miss Jeanne . « 010 0 There are in addition other subscribers who do not desire that either their names or the amount they are subscribing should be printed.  FROM THE COMMITTEE. oo HE second meeting of the Committee in 1904 was held on Monday, February Ist, at the offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate. Mr. Douglas Freshfield was re-elected Chairman of the Managing Committee, and Mr. A. W. a Beckett was re-elected Vice-chairman. The next business was the election of members of the Society, and, as in January, the number of applications was well . maintained—twenty-two members and associates being elected. The list, as usual, is printed below. It was decided to offer the London County Council a replica of the Besant Memorial, as the subscriptions received justified the Committee in taking this step. The funds in hand do not, how- ever, cover the whole expense, and the Committee would be glad to receive further contributions. The date of the General Meeting of the Council (the shareholders of the Society) and of the members, has been fixed for Wednesday, March 16th. Notice of the meeting, together with the report and balance-sheet, will be sent to all inembers in due course. The place of the meeting will be the large rooms of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, 20, Hanover Square, W., and the time 4 p.m., precisely. Mr. Percy White and Mr. E. W. Hornung were elected members of the Council of the Society of Authors, and subsequently members of the Com- mittee, to fill the places left vacant by the resigna- tion of Sir Gilbert Parker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ‘There is no need to set forth the literary claims of the two new members of the Council. Both have, for many years, taken great interest in the Society’s work, and the fact that they live in London will enable them to attend the meetings of the Committee. This is a qualification which limits the Committee’s choice. Many writers, well known in the literary world, and most eligible otherwise as members of the Committee, are pre- vented from serving owing to the fact that, living in the country, they would be unable to attend its frequent meetings. V'he date of the Annual Dinner of the Society has also been settled. It will take place on Wednesday, April 20th, at the Hotel Cecil. Ac- cording to the rule in force, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Douglas Freshfield, will again take the chair on that occasion. The question of the sale by street hawkers of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s “ Barrack Room Ballads” at 1d. and 2d. a copy, was brought before the Com- mittee, and they decided to take such steps as they THE AUTHOR. might be advised were possible and expedient, in order to stop piracy of this kind. A case against an American publisher was con- sidered. The Secretary, on the Committee’s in- structions, has written to the Society’s agents in the United States to obtain a legal opinion on the exact position. The Committee desire to record the fact that one of the plaintiffs in the action that was taken to the House of Lords, has contributed a sub- stantial sum towards the costs incurred by the Society. a Cases. During the past month thirteen cases have been taken in hand by the Secretary. Of these seven have been settled satisfactorily, the remainder are still incomplete. The nature of the cases was as follows :— One, infringement of copyright ; one, infringe- ment of title ; three, lost MSS. ; three, accounts ; three, money and accounts; two, money. Of the cases left open from last month there is only one still unsettled. This will be completed in the course of a few days. + February Elections, The Hon. 9, Little College Street, S.W. 49, Ashworth Mansions, Elgin Avenue, W. Trusley Manor, Trusley, Derby. Kingsley Hotel, Hart Street, Bloomsbury, W.C. Putford Rectory, North Devon. Rosenhein, Guernsey. Moor Garth, Lkley. 79, Truro Road, Wood Anstruther, Mrs. Burroughes, Miss R. Coke, Desmond F. T. Geil, W. E. Gratrex, J. J. Henderson, Miss M. Hering, Henry A. . Hinson, Mrs. Mary Green. Hodgson, W. Hope Park Mount, Revidge, Blackburn. Jones, Miss E. H. . Hotel D’Itali, Mont Estoril, Portugal. Lacey, The Rev. T. A. 8, Park House Road, Highgate. Malcolm, Ian, M.P. Kentford lodge, Wadham Gardens, S. Hampstead. Malcolm, Mrs. Ian, Kentford Lodge, “ Jeanne Malcolm.” S. Hampstead, N.W. Power, A. D.. ‘ ‘  THE AUTHOR. 6, Onslow Studios, 183, King’s Road, Chelsea. Avon Cottage, Dews- bury, Yorks. Shiel, M. P. . 2 . 7, Medina Mansions, Gt. Titchfield Street, Wo South Wold, Suffolk. Kenilworth House, St. " Andrews, N.B. 47, St. Leonards Road, Hove, Sussex. Langdale House, Park Town, Oxford. Reynolds, Frank Saintsbury, H. A. . Shipley, Miss Mary E. Watson, Gilbert Wooton, BE. L. Wright, Joseph, Ph.D. —_____+—» + —___ OUR BOOK AND PLAY TALK. ——+ R. J. Beattie Crozier is at present engaged on Vol. IV. of his “ History of Intellectual Development.” He hopes to have it ready for publication some time this year. Mr. Crozier has in hand an article for the Fortnightly Review entitled “Some Unused Political Assets.” Mr. Sidney Lee’s “Life of Queen Victoria” is now issued by Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. in a cheap edition. Its price is 6s. Madame Sarah Grand is at work upon a short novel, a play, and a new lecture. His Majesty the King has graciously accepted a copy of Mr. F. Stroud’s book for the royal library at Windsor Castle. The title of the book is “The Judicial Dictionary or Interpreter of Words and Phrases by the British Judges and Parliament.” Messrs. F. V. White will shortly publish a new novel by Miss Gertrude Warden. It isa study of the temperaments of two cousins. The opening scenes are laid in Venice. We understand that Dr. H. Bellsyse Baildon, of University College, Dundee (author of “ Robert Louis Stevenson: a Life-Study in Criticism,” and other works), has been working during last summer on an edition of “ Titus Andronicus” for the “ Arden Shakespeare ” of Messrs. Methuen & Co. In his introduction Dr. Baildon goes thoroughly into the much-disputed question of authorship of this tragedy, and comes to the conclusion that the play is, to all intents and purposes, Shakespeare’s. This conclusion, if correct, has an important bearing, not only on the author- ship of the earlier plays attributed to Shakespeare, but on the Baconian and other anti-Shakesperian theories in general. Miss A. Maynard Butler’s book “The First Year of Responsibility,” which was published last 143 September, to which the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, contributed an introduction, is now going into a third edition. “he Cardinal’s Pawn,” K. L. Montgomery’s novel, was issued the other day by Messrs. F, Fisher Unwin-in their First Novel Series. The action of the story moves principally in Venice, and centres round Capelli and Medici intrigues concerning Bianca Capelli and her struggle for the crown of a Grand-Duchess of Florence. “Rita’s” articles on the “Sin and Sunday of the Smart Set”? have now been published in book- form. A special copy has been accepted by H. M. the Queen. “The Trackless Way,” just published by Mr. Brimley Johnson, is the third of the four books in which Mrs. Rentoul Esler continues to treat of the pivot on which individual history turns. “The Way of Transgressors” dealt with love of the lover, “The Wardlaws” with love of the family, ‘The Trackless Way ” deals with love of the race. When the fourth volume is ready for publication the set will be issued in uniform binding. The sub-title of “The Trackless Way” is “The Story of a Man’s Quest of God.” Mr. John Long will publish shortly Mrs. Aylmer Gowing’s new novel, “A King’s Desire,” which describes how Prince Conrad, born and bred an Englishman, owing to a separation between his parents, succeeds to a throne in Germany. ‘The young King has left behind him Elfrida Fountaine, a county heiress, whom he is bent on marrying. Etiquette and precedent, as represented by an all- powerful Minister, combine to cross “A King’s Desire,” together with a revengeful woman, an accomplice of the Anarchists, by whose aid her designs are all but carried through. The S.P.C.K. is bringing out a book for children called “ Peterkin and His Brother.” It is written by Miss E. M. Green, authoress of “ The Child of the Caravan,” “The Cape Cousins,” etc., etc. In his book, “ Omnibuses and Cabs: Their Origin and History,” Mr. Henry Charles Moore urged the local authorities to remove the name “ Regent Circus” from Oxford Circus—the circus at the intersection of Oxford Street and Regent Strect. He gave strong reasons for its removal, and the London County Council has now called the Marylebone Borough Council’s attention to the matter, with the result that the latter body has decided to remove the name. “Omnibuses and Cabs” has been quoted several times before the London Traffic Commission now sitting. Messrs. Seeley and Co. have just published a new story by Miss Beatrice Marshall. It is a tale of London life in the seventeenth century, and is entitled “An Old London Nosegay, Gathered from the Day-book of Mistress Lovejoy Young,  144 Kinswoman by Marriage of the Lady Fanshaw.” It is illustrated, and the price is 5/-. Mr. Grant Richards has just published Volume I. of “The Twentieth Century Dog,” by Herbert Compton. The first volume treats of the Non- Sporting Dog. : : Mrs. Philip Champion de Crespigny is engaged on a novel which she hopes to have ready by the spring. It is a story of the time of George I., and the scene is laid in both town and country. The heroine is one of the Princess of Wales’ Maids of Honour. Mr. G. Bernard Shaw has issued, through Messrs. Constable and Co., a volume entitled “ The Common Sense of Municipal Trading.” It consists of a preface and twelve chapters, dealing with such subjects as, ‘The Commercial Success of Municipal Trading,” “Commercial and Municipal Prices,” “ Difficulties of Municipal Trading,” ‘ Electrical Enterprise,” and “‘ The Housing Question.” Miss Ellen Collette is about to make arrange- ments for a copyright performance of a three-act cantata playette. The music is by Miss Natalie Davenport, daughter of the authority on harmony. In addition to the playette, Miss Collette has written a good many lyrics. Two lectures were delivered last month by pro- minent members of the Society. On the evening of February 6th, the Poet Laureate lectured at the Royal Institution on “The Growing Dislike for the Higher Kinds of Poetry.” The Duke of Northumberland was in the chair, and the audience was a largeone. On the afternoon of February 9th, Mr. Edmund Gosse delivered a lecture on “The Influence of French Literature on English Poetry ” in the hall of the Geographical Society, Paris. The subject of the lecture was suggested to Mr. Gosse by M. Brunetiére, M. Edouard Rod, and M. Gaston Deschamps on behalf of the Société des Conférences. We must congratulate Mr. Gosse on his appoint- ment to the office of Librarian to the House of Lords. The third volume of Mr. Andrew Lang’s “ History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation” (Blackwood), covers the period from the death of James VI. to the death of Dundee. Mr. Lang examines the forces which went to the making of the Scottish folk. He also sketches the life and manners of each period. A romance by Jean Delaire, the author of “A Dream of Fame,” will be brought out this month by Mr. John Long, under the title of “ Around a Distant Star.” Another romance by Jean Delaire (founded on pre-medizeval French history), is at present appear- ing serially in Womanhood under the title of “Waldrada the Fair.” THE AUTHOR. Mr. Somerset Maugham’s play, “A Man of Honour,” was produced at the Avenue Theatre on the evening of February 18th. A year ago this piece was produced by the Stage Society. Since then Mr. Maugham has re-written the last act. 4 =~ tt PARIS NOTES. a MONG the new books are “Les Petites A Provinciales,” by M. Gabriel Trarieux ; “T’Kcole des Rois,” by M. Reepmaker ; ‘“‘ Fantome de Terre-Neuve,” by M. Léon Berthaut; “ Sceur Alexandrine,” by M. Champol. “ Cagliostro,” by M. Henri d’Alméras, is a biography as interesting as any novel. The diffi- culty in writing about this famous personage is not that historical documents with regard to him are wanting, but that they are too numerous, and it requires a great amount of time and patience to discover which are true and which are false. “ La Vie et les Livres,” by M. Gaston Deschamps, is a volume containing many of the articles published by the author in Le Temps. He divides the articles into three series, “Cycle de Napoléon,” “ Cycle de Ja Guerre,” and “ Exotisme Colonial et Pittoresque.” “La Russie Economique,’ by M. A. Anspach, comes at an opportune moment. The author evi- dently knows his subject well, but this is not to be wondered at, as he has lived in Russia for twenty-seven years. Among the translations are “ L’Idéal Américain” by Roosevelt, translated by A. & E. de Rousiers; and “Ta Merveilleuse Visite” by H. G. Wells, translated by M. Barron. Few serial writers have as much encouragement as the author of the “ Mystéres de Paris.” Eugéne Sue, whose centenary has just passed, received six hundred letters from readers of his famous serial, while it was running in the paper. Some of the principal articles in recent numbers of the Reviews are ‘Vers Ispahan,” by Pierre Loti; “Revue des Deux Mondes;” ‘“ L’Art Francais 1 Rome,” by M. Bertrand ; ‘“‘ Le Théatre de M. G. d’Annunzio,” by M. Dornis ; “ La Corée,” by M. Villetard de Laguérie. In the Revue de Paris there is an article on “La Question du Radium” by M. Marcel Magnan, and one by M. Victor Bérard on “ Lord Curzon et le Tibet.”” Madame Marie Anne de Bovet continues her serial, “ Ame d’Argile.”? In the Renaissance Latine, “ Le Trans- formisme de Spencer,” by M. Frédéric Houssay ; “ Walden ou la Vie dans les Bois,” by Henri-David Thoreau ; “ Le Dualisme Austro-Hongrois,” by M. Albert.  THE AUTHOR. In La Revue des Idées, “Le Radium et la Radio-Activité de la Matiére,” by Dr. Georges Bohn ; “La Valeur Scientifique de l’ceuvre de Renan,” by M. Vernes. In the Weekly Critical Review “ The Need of a Minister of Shipping,” by Arthur Bles. There is also an article in this review which is causing much discussion in Paris. It is written by M. A. Mariotte, and is an attempt to prove that the picture known as Raphael’s “ Belle Jardinitre” in the Louvre Museum is not an authentic painting by the great master. La Revue is continuing its “ Enquéte sur le Patriotisme devant les sentiments internationaux.” The opinions are given of M.M. Déroulede, Deschanel, Dion, Estournelles de Constant, Lock- roy, Haeckel, Franz Kossuth, Lombroso, Maeter- linck, Nordau, Lord Avebury, and others. In Le Carnet is an excellent article on ‘“‘ Barbey d’ Aurévilly,” by M. Louis Sonolet. The discovery of M. and Mme. Curie is responsible for the floating of a new monthly paper devoted to the news of radium in all parts of the world. M. Curie gave a lecture on the 18th of February, at the Sorbonne. He made various experiments and gave some very interesting details with regard to radium as an electrophage. Mr. Edmund Gosse, who was invited by the Société des Conférences to lecture here, chose for his subject “The Influence of French Literature on English Poetry.” After the lecture a banquet was given by the Société in honour of Mr. Gosse. M. Faguet pre- sided and M. Marcel Schwob, and M. René Doumic, spoke. Among the guests were M.M. de Herédia, Rodin, Maeterlinck, Verhaeren, Davray, Dumur, Uzanne, Mr. Barnard, Mr. Heinemann and Mr. Stanton. M. Porel has at last produced the much dis- cussed play by M. A. Guinon, entitled “ Decadence.” The subject of this piece is very much the same as that of “ Retour de Jérusalem,” and is based on the idea of the impossibility of Jewish and Christian marriages. In ‘“Décadence” the situations are reversed; the bride is the daughter of a French aristocrat of the profligate type, and the man she marries a wealthy Jew. The general opinion seems to be that the author of the play has exaggerated the vices of the types he has taken to such a degree as to make them untrue to life. The French aristocrat, his daughter and her friends all behave in such an extraordinary way that one wonders where such types of the aristo- eracy are to be found. In a remarkably fine article by M. Leon Daudet on this subject, we learn that M. Guinon lives a great part of the year away from his fellow creatures 145 in the solitude of the country. “A quiconque veut chatier le monde” writes M. Daudet, “je déclare : ‘Sois mondain et sache ce dont tu parles, Fréquente et observe les milieux.’”’ Further on, he adds : ‘‘ Les types les plus caractérisés de décadence, si l’on se donnait la peine de les rechercher, se découvriraient, sans doute, parmi les parvenus.” The piece will probably have a certain amount of success, as it is daring, cleverly written, and, of course, well staged. After ‘Monsieur Betsy,’ in which Madame Réjane has been appearing, the Variétés is re- producing ‘‘La Boule,” by M.M. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. London used to have a French theatre giving representations at stated times every year. It was under the direction successively of M.M. Raphael, Felix, Valnoy, and, until his death just recently, of M. Mayer. Madame Sarah Bernhardt’s London performances were given under the direction of M. Mayer, who was a most able impressario. On the 7th of March the Avenue Theatre is to give a series of French plays under the direction of M. Victor Silvestre. Some interesting cases with regard to authors’ rights are now being tried here. M. Rouff, a publisher, made arrangements some years ago with M.M. Théodore Cahu, Pierre Decourcelle, Demesse, Mario, Mary and others, for the publication of a certain number of works by these authors. At present this publisher is-bringing out a periodical, Les Grands Romanciers, in which he is republishing some of these works and advertising the others as the next ones for his paper. The Société des Gens de Lettres, in its own interests and in the interests of the authors in question, has brought a case against M. Rouff, claiming that the novels were not sold for publica- tion in a journal. M. Mario will next bring a case against M. Routf for advertising in his paper the forthcoming pub- lication of “the works of M. Mario,” as this gives the idea that M. Rouff has the sole right of pub- lication of this author’s novels. M. Mario. will demand a contradiction of this in the Parisian and provincial papers, as the circulation of the first numbers of M. Rouff’s Grands Romanciers was 1,800,000. These two cases are to be followed by others. The Société des Gens de Lettres is, from a finan- cial point of view, specially interested in this matter, as a certain commission is paid to the Société by authors whose works are reproduced in newspapers and magazines. French daily papers publish either one or two serial stories in every number, and the weekly papers, fashion journals, and many other >  146 publications, give a supplement containing a serial. Very much of this fiction is reproduction. One of the more important daily papers publishes an author’s work in the first instance, the author retaining all his rights, except this first serial use of his story. He then announces in the paper issued twice a month by the Société des Gens de Lettres, that this novel “may be reproduced by all papers having a treaty with the Société.” There are at present over thirteen hundred news- papers which have signed a contract with the Society. By this contract they engage to use annually repro- ductions of work by members of the Society to a given amount, paying the same sum per line to all authors and supplying the Society with a copy of their journal containing these reproductions. At stated times the accounts are made out, a com- mission is deducted by the Society, and the author has no trouble with his financial affairs for the reproduction of his stories, except to call at the offices of the Society and receive the money that is awaiting him. When he publishes his novel for the first time in serial form, he usually stipulates that a certain number of the corrected proof sheets be supplied to him. As the Society does not under- take to furnish the journals with the copy, the author must attend to this himself. By this scheme the Société des Gens de Lettres is a sort of huge co-operative society or syndicate, and there can be no partiality shown to any members, as the Society very wisely refrains from sending out copy. Newspaper editors having a contract with the Society, can write to any authors for stories they may wish to read, or the author can find out suit- able papers for his work and send it in himself. He may be sure, though, that if a story of his should be used in a dozen different papers, he will receive a dozen payments for it, less the commission deducted by the Société des Gens de Lettres for secretarial work. The number of journals having a contract with the Society is steadily increasing year by year. . there were 1051; at present there are The system is extremely simple for all parties concerned. Editors who have a contract with the Society pay a deposit which covers, I believe, their three or six months’ account, and this is held as a security as long as their contract exists. As publishing syndicates appear to be making such enormous profits in England, could the Society of Authors not help its members to form a syndicate on the same lines as that of the Société des Gens de Lettres ? There is a similar institution in connection with the Société des Auteurs Dramatiques here. The author’s rights are paid into that Society so that THE AUTHOR. financial questions do not hamper the French author in the same way as they do his English confrere. Auys HaLuarD. Oo LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL PROPERTY. ae aT. United States Copyright in Books of Compilation, T was held lately by Judge Lacombe, of the I United States Circuit Court, in the case of the Colliery Engineering Company against Fred W. Ewald and others, that the owner of the copyright in a school book, a law digest, a dictionary, a gazet- teer, business or social directory, or any book which is not a work of creative or imaginative literature, cannot prevent a subsequent writer upon the same subject from comparing the copyrighted work with the original sources, eliminating therefrom all that was not copied from such sources and then repub- lishing the rest of the book. While Judge Lacombe thinks this rule a harsh one, he feels constrained to follow it, inasmuch as a recent decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals seems to sanction the principle involved. Judge Lacombe gives the following hypothetical case to show that the rule may at times produce inequitable results: A., we may assume, prepares an entirely new classified business directory of the city of New York, wholly from original investigation, and publishes the same. The undertaking is an enormous one, and can be accomplished only by the employment of hundreds of men at the cost of thousands of dollars. B. undertakes thereafter to publish a directory of all the architects in New York City. To cull their names out of the world of business activity in such a hive of industry as this by original research would be a task nearly as difficult and costly as the one A. undertook. But if the defendant could take only the list of architects found in A.’s book and then visit the places named therein to “see whether the existing facts concur with the descrip- tion,” retaining the name, address, names of partners, etc., where such occurrence was found and striking them out where death, removal, or withdrawal from business had eliminated them, B. could prepare a “Directory of Architects in New York City” at a mere trifling expenditure, because A. had already done the work which B, thus appropriated. This decision is contrary to that established in the English Courts, and if confirmed by the highest Courts in the States, would make the pro- duction of Directories a labour of love only. It would seem, therefore, in the land of the almighty dollar that the producer of Directories must cease to exist or be a millionaire philanthropist.  THE AUTHOR. be paragraphed during the week make it impossible for the reviewer to obtain more than a superficial Serial Rights. A member of the Society has sent to the office the following form of agreement which he has received from the editor of a well-known paper :— “To “The Editor of has considered the MS. entitled ss ” submitted by you, and is willing to pay you the sum of per thousand words for rights. If you accept this offer a cheque will be sent you on publication ; if you do not the contribution will be returned. Kindly state Yes or No, and post this form in the accompanying envelope. Reply Name Address If the amount per thousand words is fair and the rights the author is asked to convey are not _ too large, then the arrangement would be eminently satisfactory, but for one striking exception, namely, “the cheque will be sent on publication.” This is much too indefinite, and every editor ought to arrange to fix a definite date on which the money must be paid should publication not have preceded it. It is possible that the financial side of the contract as it stands could be enforced, owing to the fact that the Courts would consider that publication must take place within a reasonable time ; eer and editors do not desire to have the troubfe and worry of an action ; and finality in a contract should always be obtained prior to execution. With these exceptions the contract is by no means unsatisfactory. Any method under which the contract is clearly set fortin before the work is set up in type must be better than the system so often referred to, and exposed in Zhe Author, by which no acceptance of a MS. is given, and no communication made with the author until he receives a cheque, the endorse- ment of which purports to be a conveyance of the copyright. The author should, however, remember, on returning this present form of contract, to keep an accurate copy of it, as the editor does not as a rule send it in duplicate. he author’s copy would, in the absence of primary evidence, be sufficient to establish the terms that existed. Ethics of Reviewing. THE vagaries and errors of modern book re- viewers—we can hardly call them critics—ar\ constantly before the minds of those members oi the society whose works come under their ken,’ In many cases the number of books which have to knowledge. 147 The tendency therefore, is to praise the book rather than to decry it—whether the reviewer is justified or not—as praise will bring no evil consequences, but blame may lead the author to commence an action for libel. In the case about to be quoted there are some curious misstatements of facts. The review appeared in a well-known Scottish newspaper. STATEMENT BY THE REVIEWER; 1. A young man_ goes abroad to California and is seen making his way out there, haunted, however, by home sickness and so indig- nant when he learns that he has at home been given out for dead that he throws himself in a sort of religious agony under the protection of a Spanish padre. 2. The young man had been married before he went away, and though his wife has died she has left a son. 3. The tracing out of this connection accompanied by the remorse of the Marquis and the dreams in distant lands by which the Son’s existence is suggested to his Father forms the business of the latter part of the tale. Its end is likely to be long anticipated by an experi- enced reader. ACTUAL FACTS, The young man never exhibits the slightest symp- ton of home sickness, never throws himself in a religious agony under the protection of a Spanish padre, never indulges in the remotest approach either to a reli- gious agony or religious emotion of any kind. The young man had not been married when he went away, nor was he married until nearly eleven years later, and, in consequence, no child was born at that period. There are no dreams, and the one narrated is dreamed hy the sox, and naturally contains no suggestion of the son’s existence, but is indeed a revelation of the Father’s desire to welcome the son’s return. Curiously enough, the same book has received another review containing some misstatements, in the columns of a religious paper. In the latter case, however, the Editor has, after a letter of remonstrance from the author, confessed his errors, and at the end of the paragraph says: “Our reviewer owns up to the fact that he read the later chapters rather hurriedly, and trusted over- much to an uncertain memory in summarising his impressions,” and proceeds : ‘‘ The story is original and romantic. It would have gained, however, by some compression.” The Editor of the religious paper must be com- plimented on his Christian spirit and his frank acknowledgment. General experience tends to show that, as a rule, the author or contributor is completely at the mercy of the editorial pen. It is essential for a good Editor to be full of Christian charity, especially when he is in the wrong. :  148 MR. “ABSOLUTE’S” AGREEMENT. ———+— AGREEMENT made this day of BETWEEN of (hereinafter called the AUTHOR) of the one part and of (hereinafter called the PUBLISHER) of the other part, WHEREBY it is agreed as follows :— 1. The PUBLISHER agrees to purchase and the AUTHOR agrees to sell the entire copyright, without any reserve, in the United Kingdom and all other parts of the world, of a work entitled , the completed manuscript executed in a proper manner of which the AUTHOR has delivered to the PUBLISHER, and all future editions thereof in considera- tion of the following payments, viz. : A royalty of on the published price of all copies sold up to 3000, a royalty of after 3000 (this last increase only taking place as long as the book is not reduced in price lower than 6s. and as long as 500 copies are sold in each year). 2. The PUBLISHER will according to his own judgment and in such a manner as in his unfettered discretion he may consider advisable at his own cost print and publish a first edition of the said work, and further editions if in his judg- ment further editions are required, and in his absolute discretion advertise the same, and shall determine all details and in his absolute discretion make all arrangements of and incidental to the printing, publishing, advertising, sale price, and reviewing of the said work. 3. The PUBLISHER shall in his absolute discretion have the right to sell, exchange, assign, or otherwise dispose of all and every right of publication or of translation of the said work on any terms and for any period and either wholly or partially or exclusively or otherwise as he shall think expedient for the colonies and foreign countries, and an amount equivalent to 50 per cent. of the net profits realised and actually received by the PUBLISHER shall be paid to the AUTHOR. 4. If the PUBLISHER shall sell an edition (or such number of copies as may be fixed on by the PUBLISHER in his own absolute discretion as constituting an edition for the purpose of this clause) to a publisher or bookseller in the United States of America, the provision as to royalties in clause 1 hereof provided shall not apply, but the AUTHOR shall be paid a royalty equivalent to one half the royalty that would be paid were the copies in question sold to the English trade. 5. If the said work shall be included in any edition of works published in England for exclusive sale in any colony, the royalty shall be 2d. on each copy sold. 6. The PUBLISHER may, in his absolute discretion, sell, exchange, assign, or otherwise dispose of the remainder of any edition at remainder prices, and the AUTHOR shall not be entitled to any royalty in respect thereof, but shall in lieu thereof be entitled to a payment equivalent to 5 per cent. of the net profit realised by such sale and actually received by the PUBLISHER. 7. The AUTHOR shall revise and return for press with all reasonable speed the proof sheets of the work so that the same may be printed without interruption. 8. If the printer’s charges for author's corrections of the first or any other edition of thesaid work exceed an average of 6s. per sheet of thirty-two pages, the excess shall be repaid to the PUBLISHER by the AUTHOR and may be deducted from royalties due or to become due hereunder or from any moneys held by the PUBLISHER on account of the AUTHOR. 9. The AUTHOR shall revise with all possible despatch any new edition of the said work and correct the proots and otherwise assist as may be required by the PUBLISHER. 10. The AUTHOR shall not write or publish, either THE AUTHOR. ‘it for the benefit of members. directly or indirectly, any other work on the same subject of such a kind that the sale of the work shall bein any way prejudicially affected, and should he write another work on the same or cognate subjects he shall in the first instance give the PuBLISHER the right to acquire the work by’ purchase or otherwise as may be arranged. 11. This agreement is entered into by the PUBLISHER on the warranty by the AUTHOR that the said work does not infringe any copyright, and that the said work does not contain anything of a libellous nature. If the said work does contain anything constituting or alleged to constitute’ a breach of such warranty, and proceedings are threatened or brought for any alleged infringement of copyright or for any alleged libel, and it is deemed advisable by the PUB- LISHER in his absolute discretion not to contest the matter but to arrive at a settlement thereof, or if the action is successfully contested, then and in every case the AUTHOR shall pay in advance to the PUBLISHER a sufficient sum to cover the estimated costs of the PUBLISHER in defending such action or threatened proceedings, and shall at the same time give to the PUBLISHER security satisfactory to him to indemnify him against any damage awarded in such action, and shall on demand repay to the PUBLISHER all costs {as between solicitor and client), damages, and expenses incurred by the PUBLISHER in respect of or resulting from or incidental to the publication, advertisement, withdrawal of, and other dealings with the said work, to the effect that the PUBLISHER shall have full and complete indemnity from the AUTHOR in respect of all out of pocket expenses in connection with the said work. 12, The PUBLISHER shall keep proper books of accounts. showing the number of copies of the said work sold, and also accounts showing the sales up to the 30th day of June’ and the 31st day of December in every year, as far as can be accurately ascertained, shall be delivered to the AUTHOR. as soon as practicable after these respective dates, and the royalties due and payable shall be paid not 1 than the ensuing 30th day of November and the 31st day of May respectively in every year, and in estimating such royalties thirteen copies of the said work shall be counted as twelve. 13. The PUBLISHER shall give to the AUTHOR free of charge six copies of the said work. 14, Nothing in this agreement contained shall constitute or be taken to constitute a partnership between the parties. T is the custom to print from time to time I and comment on agreements which from the Author's point of view are exceptionally unsatisfactory. This system has two distinct advantages: (1) in the case where similar terms are placed before a writer he is able to recognise them and act accordingly ; (2) in the case where the agreement is forwarded to the offices of the Society, it is possible to forward a copy of The Author to the member concerned, and thus save the time that must necessarily be spent in writing an elaborate and exhaustive criticism of the separate clauses. The agreement printed above appeared in The Author some four years ago. The copies of the issue containing it have almost all been sold owing to the fact already mentioned. Tn consequence, as examples of this agreement are still being placed before the members of the Society, it has been thought expedient to republish Ae  THE AUTHOR. The agreement contains nearly all the faults which, from the Author’s point of view, it could possibly contain. These faults have been criti- cised over and over again in The Author, and also in the work published by the Society en- titled ‘© Forms of Agreement issued by the Pub- lishers’ Association, with Comments by G. Herbert Thring and Illustrative Examples by Sir Walter Besant.” Ciause 1.—The author sells every right he has in the world in England, her Colonies and Dependencies, in the United States, and under the Berne Convention. The folly of this course is evident. The English publishers should only hold a licence to publish in England, her Colonies and Dependencies. All other rights are generally left. in the hand of an agent, and much better so than in the hands of publishers, for this reason—that a publisher does not as a general rule undertake the work of a literary agent ; that his office is not to place literary work in other hands, but to produce literary work for the author; that work of this kind left in the hands of publishers is not likely to receive anything like the same attention as it is if left in the hands of a literary agent; that the publisher is the only person who gains by having control of this work, and that the author loses by leaving it in his hands. It should be pointed out further that the publisher does not anywhere in the agreement undertake to secure the United States copyright for the author, nor even to do his best to obtain it. It may pay an English publisher better to sell sheets or stereos to America and pay the author a royalty as per clause 4. It should be added (see clause 3) that for this agency work, while the literary agent charges 10 per cent., the publisher generally asks from 30 to 50 per cent. (in this case 50 per cent.). Out of a large series of agreements before the Society from all sorts and conditions of pub- lishers the lowest charge for this literary agency business has been 25 per cent., and this only in one case. Farther, a publisher who makes his profit out of the English book publication looks upon the increase in his profits from these other sources as little extra luxuries. He does not push to get a fair price for the author or to keep up the author's position in the literary market, but he readily accepts any offer that is made. An example was recently before the Secretary where the serial rights of a 6s. novel, held by the publisher, were sold for £30. The book was by an author of no mean reputation, who could obtain without difficulty £100 if his work had been fairly marketed. There is another point—that publishers very often delay the publication of a book in order to 149 market these minor rights, and it is quite pos- sible that, as the agreement stands, if the pub- lisher was desirous of serialising both in England and the States the publication might be delayed almost indefinitely. That there should be a rising royalty is only fair if the author cannot claim the highest royalty at once. On this point, nothing further need be said, the amount that an author can obtain in royalty being merely a matter of bar- gaining, but attention should be drawn to the latter part of the clause, which is inserted in brackets. It might lead the unsuspecting author into considerable difficulty, as the publisher nowhere undertakes to produce the book at 6s., and it is possible that he might, if the sales were averaging about 500 a year, stop them before they reach that number. In Cuause 2 Mr. “ Absolute” has everything at his “unfettered discretion ” and practically takes all the powers into his own hands. He does not mention the date when he will publish, and he does not mention the form in which he will publish, nor does he mention the price at which he will pub- lish, and at his ‘‘ absolute discretion” he adver- tises or not, and at his “absolute discretion-”’ he makes what arrangement he likes with regard to the production of the book. He is particularly “absolute” in this clause. It is needless to say that such a clause as this is “absolutely” bad from the auther’s point of view. Some of the difficulties of CLAUSE 3 have already been pointed out when commenting on CLAusE 1, but Mr. “ Absolute” makes his position exceedingly clear to the unfortunate author. The publisher, as already pointed out, pockets 50 per cent. of the profits, for which the negotiations, in many cases, entail the mere writing of one or two short letters ; and again it should be pointed out that the sale of these minor rights may entail great delay in publication in addition to the efforts of the publisher being careless and half-hearted. Again, in Cuause 4, the publisher safeguards - himself should he fail to obtain the United States copyright. As a general rule, it does not pay a publisher to obtain this copyright for an author. In Cuauss 4, if he does not obtain such copyright, the author is to have half the royalty that he would obtain if the copies had been sold to the English trade; this, quite irrespective of any bargain which Mr. Absolute”? may make with the American house with which he is dealing. The arrangement may be an exceedingly good arrangement for the publisher ; no doubt he will see that it is a good arrangement, otherwise he will not accept it, as the acceptance or rejection lies entirely with him. - In Cuause 5 it will be noticed that the author ”  150 is to have 2d. on each copy sold to the Colonies. As the book to which this agreement refers is presumably a 6s. book (no price being actually fixed), it is as well to point out that the ordinary price paid to an author is from 4d. to 43d. a copy. The arrangement by which the author gets 2d. is an exceedingly good one for the publisher. The next clause (6) is also a dangerous clause for the author. It is wearisome to repeat the reasons, but attention should be drawn to the fact that the author is paid 5 per cent. on the nef projils, the publisher taking the rest. With regard to CuauseE 8, it is fair that the publisher should be protected against the heavy expense of corrections brought about by the author, but the amount of 6s. per sheet of thirty- two pages, quoted in this agreement, is perhaps the smallest amount that has been allowed to any author in any agreement that has come before the Society. In Chavusz 9, again, the author is entirely at the beck and call of the publisher. The work is the author’s, but he is not allowed to revise it unless the publisher desires him to do 80, and his revision, even, is subject to the publisher’s discretion. In CLAUSE 10 the author is forbidden to publish a work which is likely to conflict with the interests of Mr. “ Absolute,” but it would be possible, under this agreement, for anyone who desired to control the market in a certain style of publication to kill a book at his “absolute discretion” in order that it might not in any way conflict with a work owned by himself on the same subject already on the market. If the author is bound not to produce, it is only fair that the publisher should be equally bound. CLAUSE 11 is perhaps the most absolute clause of this absolute agreement. If the book was the author’s, and the publisher had a licence to publish, it is fair under certain circumstances, and to a certain limited extent, to guarantee the publisher _against infringement of copyright and libel ; but as the book is the publisher’s, he ought to protect himself before the purchase. In any case, the author is asked to concede much too much. A case once arose in which the publisher of a scientific book dealing with the sex question on scientific lines was prosecuted by the police. The publisher pleaded guilty to obscene publication, and the author, although his book was approved by some of the greatest scientists in Europe, had no power of clearing his character. This case is not an exact analogy: but power is given to the publisher to make any agreement and the author has no opportunity to clear himself. It is possible that under similar circumstances the publisher might consent to the payment of a large sum to satisfy THE AUTHOR. a case rather than permit the author to vindicate his character with regard to what he had written. Besides, the fact that the publisher is protected from all loss would necessarily render him careless as to the costs he might incur, the settlements he might make, and his whole course of action. The author would be powerless under the clause as it stands. It must be repeated that where a publisher makes an out-and-out purchase, as he does in this agreement, the motto should be caveat emptor, and the author should not give a guarantee to the publisher. The account clause (12) is not satisfactory ; it is not, however, as bad as some. The irony of clause 14 is perhaps its most amusing point. Apology must be made for but a slight com- mentary on this extraordinary agreement. If any member of the Society would care to have further details he must apply to the Secretary. There is no space to unravel further the mystery of Mr. “ Absolute’s ’’ methods. WILSON vy. THE UNICORN PRESS, LTD. a N Friday, January 15th, 1904, an action, brought by Mr. G. Wilson against the Unicorn Press, Ltd., for damages for breach of contract was tried by His Honour Judge Wood- fall in the Westminster County Court. Mr. Horace E. Miller (instructed by Messrs. Harding and Leggett) appeared for the plaintiff. The facts of the case are as follows :— Mr. Wilson, on June 17th, 1903, paid to the defendants a sum of money, in consideration of which they undertook to publish a book written by the plaintiff, not later than August 15th of the same year. Defendants failed to publish on that date, and after some correspondence, a later date was agreed upon for such publication, but the defendants again failed to produce the work as agreed ; and the plaintiff, being unable to obtain a fulfilment of the contract, on December 3rd, 1903, instituted the present proceedings. A few days before the trial, defendants made certain overtures for the withdrawal of the action upon terms which the plaintiff could not accept. When the action came before the Court, the defendants did not appear, and, after plaintiff had been called in support of his case, His Honour entered judgment for him, for the return of the money originally paid for the publication of the work, £3 3s. Od. damages, cancellation of the agreement, and costs.  THE AUTHOR. THE PROPERTY IN A TITLE. — LL cases decided, either in the United States Courts or in our Courts of Justice, which deal with vexed questions of Copy- right Property must contribute, to some extent, to the further interpretation of existing diffi- culties. Disputes about property in titles, in that they do not come under any special copyright statute, but are argued on the analogy of trade marks law, are especially interesting. We quote the following case from the United States Publishers’ Weekly :— “In the case of W. H. Gannetts, publisher of the magazine entitled Comfort, against William F. Rupert, publisher of the magazine entitled Home Comfort, to restrain the latter from using the word ‘comfort’ in connection with his title, Judge Coxe, of the U. 8. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, in granting an injunction to restrain the defendant, said : ‘This is a trade mark case pure and simple. It is not a case of unfair competition. It is founded on a technical, common law trade mark. With this distinction in mind it is obvious that many of the propositions argued by the defendant are irrelevant. For fifteen years the complainant and his predecessors have published a monthly periodical called Comfort. Under this name a large, lucrative and growing business has been established. A person publishing a newspaper or a magazine may give it a name by which it is known and by which its authenticity is attested. This name is entitled to the same protection as if it were affixed to other articles of merchandise. The purchasing public know it by that name and no other. The name is a badge of origin and genuineness. It is as much a part of the proprietor’s property as his counting room or printing press. A rival pub- lisher has no more right to appropriate the name of the periodical than the individual name of its owner. But it is objected that “Comfort” is a standard English word not fanciful or manufac- tured, but descriptive, suggesting the purpose and errand of the paper. It certainly is descriptive ; but of what ? Surely not of a family newspaper. Some of the synonyms of comfort are consolation, contentment, ease, enjoyment, happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, but would any of these be used by a rational being to describe a monthly journal intended to circulate in the rural districts ? Would the word ‘“‘ease,” for instance, when conveyed to a newspaper convey to the reading public any accurate information of its errand or purpose or the character of its contents? It is thought not. 151 «“ Comfort” is, it is true, a common English word free to all, but so are century, cosmopolitan, forum and arena. The last two are suggestive of ancient contests, physical and intellectual, but not of a modern literary review. Such words are con- tinually being selected, arbitrarily, to designate publications which in time become known solely by the names so bestowed npon them, and such use is protected by the courts. ‘The defendant is publishing a monthly paper circulating, in part at least, in the same territory as the complainant’s paper and covering a somewhat similar field. He calls his paper Home Comfort. This is enough to justify the relief prayed for. It is of no moment that the proof fails to show deception, confusion or injury to any marked extent. Such proof is unnecessary where infringe- ment of a valid trade mark is clearly established. The defendant is using the complainant’s property, and, as he is acting without color of right, the complainant is entitled to have that use discon- tinued. If the defendant’s contention be correct that actual damage must be proved before an injunction can issue, it follows that if to-morrow a new infringer should commence the publication of a paper with a Chinese copy of the complainant’s trade name on its title page, the Court would be powerless to grant relief until the infringement had been carried on long enough to cause actual provable damage. Equity is not so helpless and impotent. It is the policy of the law to arrest the pirate before he actually makes off with the plunder. ‘The complainant has waived an accounting. It follows that the decree must be reversed with costs, and the cause remanded to the circuit court with instructions to enter a decree for an injunction restraining the defendant from infringing the complainant’s trade-mark.’ ” —_—_—__+—_>_+_____—- THE UNITED STATES BOOK TRADE. + —~— 4 Imports and Exports of Books and other Printed Matter. HE summarised statement of the values of the imports and exports of books and other printed matter of the United States for the month ending November, 1903, and for the eleven months ending at the same date, compared with the corresponding periods of 1902, shows the following result (page 152) as regards books, music, maps, engravings, etchings, photographs, and other printed matter :  152 THE AUTHOR. y VALUES OF BOOKS AND OTHER PRINTED MATTER, FREE, IMPORTED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, Month ending November, 11 months ending November, 1902, 1903, 1902, 1903, Imported from : United Kingdom... os me ap set +» | $118,301 $138,472 $1,057,909 $1,327,750 France Se z “ = i es oe 16,180 20,002 174,236 167, 965 Germany oe ve ai ae see te ae 58,505 68,239 615,140 623, 889 Other Europe... ae ec ay a ae 25,636 24,863 379,047 264,037 British North America . as a on ‘” 3,471 3,252 42,091 33,563 Other Countries a aes a cs Oe 3,967 2,843 20,379 21,658 Totals ee Ne ie ies fe oe 226,060 257,671 2,288,802 2,438,862 VALUES OF BooKS AND OTHER PRINTED MATTER, DUTIABLE, IMPORTED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. Imported from: ‘ United Kingdom ... os bes ae ee | $134,273 $132,138 $1,112,017 $1,181,049 France oe mes ie <s a oe ace 11,989 9,519 76,201 82,800 Germany ay oe ie ce me oan Ae 30,018 34,257 261,464 307,691 Other Europe... “ee oe oe i ee 6,967 6,066 83,059 96,381 British North America bse a as ae ea 4,366 3,404 48,228 46,127 China .., Gee pee nee ose as De Ae 56 5 3,308 3,728 Japan ... ao nk me ie et oh 1,928 787 15,256 21,117 Other Countries th a yee pe m ie 513 1,503 5,869 5,266 Totals aes oe ae me me a 190,110 187,679 1,605,402 1,744,159 VALUES OF BOOKS AND OTHER PRINTED MATTER, OF DOMESTIC MANUFACTURE, EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES BY COUNTRIES. Countries to which Exported : United Kingdom eee cae Ss eee a a $118,339 $102,015 $1,094,341 $1,102,248 Belgium a ae oS sad ee ue bes 3,080 1,916 25,183 27,251 France oe eh Re ae ee sy Me 6,001 4,912 70,143 49,852 Germany = 11,270 12,914 199,060 193,125 Maly 36, es oo ae 1,923 1,060 17,317 27,038 Netherlands ... a ae ese a ae ee 1,339 1,383 11,695 10,735 Other Europe... bes te sc an ae 2,988 2,073 35,867 33,294 British North ecacy a ae ee 150,049 155,711 1,362,903 1,557,331 Central American States and British Honduras... ee 1,840 1,100 19,475 15,978 Mexico ook ai as ms Ss oS os 18,444 16,806 220,129 152,499 Cuba . a se ce a 5,110 21,955 70,134 80,864 Other WwW est Indies and Bermuda 5 ay a me 2,494 1,915 31,517 32,316 oo ne a oat eee vA 6,600 9,488 35,232 46,911 Brazil . ne os eee es ete ae ee 2,702 676 30,927 40,199 Chili... oe oe um pe ses iy a 4,903 8,209 44,488 37,582 Colombia os Be ee Oey ees i as 11,742 129 36,612 10,237 Venezuela... oe see a ue Be 494 170 19,700 3,499 Other South America f aS ave se ce 3,252 2,272 47,115 61,951 Chinese Empire ate oe eis oe See ae 3,100 2,032 30,740 25,750 British East Indies ... ee aye ee i a 6,846 4,824 29,796 22,826 Japan ... ak as he nae a oe TA57 4,153 59,897 56,083 British ‘Australasia aes te oe oes ee va 32,421 15,355 239,677 191,031 Philippine Islands... a ees ee sae sae 3,390 4,543 140,881 52,159 Other Asia and Oceanica ... eke a ee ae 1,285 1,206 23,258 20,698 British Africa oc oe ne sa ec se 6,334 9,522 109,293 50,164 All other Africa a oe ie a sal ie 1,096 771 11,465 9,979 Other Countries a ~~ ec ae a aa — — — ' 34 Totals ee Pea Be oe os 414,499 387,110 4,016,845 3,911,634 Although the war between Japanand Russiais ab- scope to some of the wonderful dealers in figures. sorbing the attention of the majority of people, there They will undoubtedly be able to prove either that is still a little interest left in the fiscal question. the trade of England is progressing or that the The columns printed above will no doubt give British Empire is on the high road to ruin,  THER AUTHOR. Tt is not our intention to admit either the one or the other, but there are a few points which may be noted. In the list headed the “values of books and other printed matter, dutiable, imported from other countries,” it would appear that the imports from the United: Kingdom have increased in 1903 to the extent of 60,000 dollars, whereas the exports from the United States into the United Kingdom have only increased about 8,000 dollars. These figures cause some surprise, as it has been asserted, with apparent truth, that the United States have been providing their own literature, and have been producing less work from the pen of British authors during the past few years. If this is the case, how is the increase accounted for? It must be remembered that the imports into the United States do not alone represent the production of English literary labours; to them must be added the books printed under the United States Copyright Act, in the States themselves. A satisfactory explanation of an apparent contradiction would prove interesting. Again, the imports into the United States from British North America have decreased about 2,000 dollars, whereas, exports from the United States to British North America have increased nearly 200,000 dollars. It seems clear, therefore, that this enormous increase of exportation into British North America arises from the fact that postage is cheaper, and that it is easier for the Canadians to obtain their supplies of literature from the States than from the Mother Country. The result is bad, not only from the financial point of view, but also, on account of the sentiments with which the rising generation in British North America must be imbued. It is compelled to read the literature of the United States in preference to the literature of the British Empire, to study the sentiments and views of those who, not infrequently, bitterly hostile to everything British, do not hesitate in plain terms to say so. The Imperial point of view is of importance. An analogous case may be quoted to show that the same difficulty has arisen at other times in other countries. It was not long ago that a deputation of Hungarians applied to their Government to join the Berne Convention, putting forward this im- portant reason that the literature circulated in Austria-Hungary was the pirated literature of other countries, calculated in every way to destroy the national feeling of the Hungarian, or if not actually calculated to destroy it, at any rate, not calculated to foster the great traditions of the past, or inculcate ideals for the future welfare of their country, 158 The other items need but little comment. Speaking generally, the imports to the United States appear to have increased, the exports to have decreased, and this in spite of Protection. —_————__+—>_+__—__ UNITED STATES NOTES. 1+ he Library of Congress at Washington has issued a statement of the Copyright Busi- ness completed to December 31st, 1903. From this it would appear that the total number of entries touched very nearly 100,000—the exact number being 99,436, and the total fees received during the same year amounted to 70,230 dollars. The paper goes on to state that the entries for the new year promise to be large, as on the first legal day of the present year 4,031 were made, and the fees for that one day amounted to over 2,000 dollars. The department also issued a table of the fees received over a period of years. These show a constant increase, save in 1900 and 1901, when they fell from 65,000 dollars in 1899, to 63,000 in 1900, and 64,000 in 1901. Is it possible that this decrease had anything to do with the Boer War? It is very probable that this was the case. The Copyright Office seems to be running now on thoroughly satisfactory lines, and the staff is competent to deal with the enormous press of work that comes to hand. We quote from the article before us :— “ The question is frequently asked, How soon is it possible to obtain a certificate after an application has been filed ? The great variance in the number of titles filled per day leads to considerable unavoidable corresponding variance in the time of mailing the certificate or notice. Taking however, a fairly normal month for illustration ; during November, 1903, a month having twenty-four working days, the bulk of the certificates for two dates were mailed within three days ; for fourteen dates within four days ; for six dates within five days; and for two dates in six days ; but in the case of three dates certificates for certain classes required seven days before mailing, and on Novem- ber 28th, the periodical entries were so numerous that nine days were required to clear the certificates of that class. It should be remembered that the month included five Sundays and one holiday, Thanksgiving Day, Theaverage time, therefore, may be said to be about five days, although the certificates for sixteen out of the twenty-four total days were mailed within four days.” ‘ The United States Government have passed an Act to afford protection to exhibitors of foreign literary, artistic, and musical works at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. This action is very interesting and worthy of note. A copy of the Act is printed below, together  154 with a copy of the necessary formalities issued from the Library of Congress. It is possible that some members of the Society may desire to avail themselves of this privileged protection. An Act to AFFORD PROTECTON To EXHIBITORS OF FoREIGN LITERARY, ARTISTIC, OR Musical WORKS AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the author of any book, map, chart, dramatic composition, musical composition, engraving, cut, print, chromo, litho- graph, or photograph published abroad prior to November thirtieth, nineteen hundred and four, but not registered for copyright protection in the United States copyright office, or the heirs and assigns of such author, shall have in the case of any such book, map, chart, dramatic composition, musical composition, engraving, cut, print, chromo, litho- graph, or photograph intended for exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, copying, and vending the same within the limits of the United States for the term herein provided for upon complying with the provisions of this Act. Sec. 2. That one copy of such book, map, chart, dramatic composition, musical composition, engraving, cut, print, chromo, lithograph, or photograph to be exhibited as herein provided shall be delivered at the copyright office, Library of Congress, at Washington, District of Columbia, with a statement duly subscribed to in writing that the book or other article is intended for such exhibition and that the copyright protection herein provided for is desired by the copyright proprietor, whose full name and legal residence is to be stated in the application. Sec, 3, That the registrar of copyrights shall record the title of each volume of any such book or other article herein provided for, or if the article lacks a title, shall record a brief description of it sufficient to identify it, in a special series of record books to be designated the “ Interim copy- right record books,” and shall furnish to the copyright claimant a copy of record under seal of such recorded title or description, and the said title or description is to be included in the Catalogue of Title Entries provided for in section four of the Act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one. Sec. 4. That a fee of one dollar and fifty cents shall be paid to the register of copyrights for each title or description to be recorded and a certified copy of the record of the same, and in the case of a work in more than one volume the same amount, one dollar and fifty cents, shall be paid for each volume, and the register of copyrights shall deposit all such fees paid in the Treasury of the United States, and report and account for the same in accordance with the provisions in relation to copyright fees of the appropriation Act approved February nineteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. Sec. 5. That the copyright protection herein provided for shall be for the term of two years from the date of the receipt of the book or other article in the copyright office. Sec, 6. That if at any time during the term of the copy- right protection herein provided for, two copies of the original text of any such book, or of a translation of it in the English language, printed from type set within the limits of the United States or from plates made therefrom, or two copies from any such photograph, chromo, or litho- graph printed from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States or from transfers made therefrom, as deposited in the copyright office, Library of Congress, at Washington, District of Columbia, such deposit shall be held to extend the term of copyright pro- tection to such book, photograph, chromo, or lithograph for THE AUTHOR. the full terms provided for in title sixty, chapter three, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, computed from the date of the receipt of the book, photograph, chromo, or lithograph and the registration of. the title or description as herein provided for. Sec. 7. That in the case of an original work of the fine arts (a painting, drawing, statue, statuary, and a model or design intended to be perfected as a work of the fine arts) which has been produced without the limits of the United States prior to the thirtieth day of November, nineteen hundred and four, and is intended for exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the author of such work of art, or his heirs and assigns, shall be granted copyright protection therefor during a period of two years from the date of filing in the copyright office, Library of Congress, at Washington, District of Columbia, a description of the said work of art and a photograph of it, and upon paying to the register of copyrights one dollar and fifty cents for the registration of such description, and a copy of record under seal of such recorded description. Sec. 8. That, except in so far as this Act authorises and provides for temporary copyright protection during the period and for the purposes herein provided for, it shall not be construed or held to in any manner affect or repeal any of the provisions of the Revised Statutes relating to copy- rights and the Acts amendatory thereof. That no registra- tion under this Act shall be made after the thirtieth day of November, nineteen hundred and four. FoRMALITIES, The Congress of the United States has passed a law pro- viding protection upon any of the following productions made abroad and exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America, in 1904: Group I. Group II. Books, Original works of Art. Maps or Charts, Paintings, Dramatic Compositions, Drawings, Musical Compositions, Statues, Engravings, Cuts, or Prints, Statuary, Models or Designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts. The protection may be obtained by complying with the provisions of the law as explained. Chromos or Lithographs, Photographs. Group J. For articles in Group I., the author, or his heirs or assigns, is required to deliver at the Copyright Office, at Washing- ton, D.C., one copy of his book ; map or chart ; dramatic composition ; musical composition; engraving, cut, or print ; chromo or lithograph ; or photograph, together with a statement duly subscribed to in writing that the book or other article is intended for ‘exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904, and that copy- right is desired by the author (whose full name and legal residence should be stated), or by the author's heirs or assigns : in which case their names and legal residences should be given. Printed blank application forms to be used in making these statements may be obtained upon applying to the Register of Copyrights. In addition to the above statement of the applicant, there should be sent with each book or other article the fee pro- vided by law, namely, $1.50 for each book or other article. In the case of a work in more than one volume, $1.50 is required to be sent for each volume. A certificate of entry of title will be returned to the applicant. Group IZ. In the case of original works of the fine arts, such as paintings, drawings, statues, statuary, and models or designs  THE AUTHOR. intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, which are to be exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904, the author of any such work of art, or his heirs or assigns, is required to deliver at the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, a brief description of the said work of art, with a photograph of it, and $1.50 for each separate description. FEES. The fee for each registration is $1.50 ; that is, $1.50 for each separate production; and in the case of a work in more than one volume, $1.50 for each volume. This fee should be forwarded by means of an International Money Order, payable to the Register of Copyrights. If applicants desire to deposit the copy, file the necessary application, and pay the fee through an agent in New York, or elsewhere in the United States, that may be done. TERM OF PROTECTION. The sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, copying, and vending the book or other article is granted for a period of two years from the date of the receipt of the book or other article in the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, as provided for above. EXTENSION OF TERM OF PROTECTION. 1f within the two years, in the case of a book, Two Copies of the original text of any such book, or of a translation of it in the English language, printed from type set within the limits of the United States, or from plates made there- from, are deposited in the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, the term of copyright protection of such book is extended for the full terms provided for by the present copyright laws, namely, 28 years and 14 years, computed from the date of the first receipt of the book. In the case of a photograph, chromo, or lithograph, if within the two years Two Copies of any such photograph, chromo, or lithograph, printed from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States, or from transfers made therefrom, are deposited in the Copy- right Office, Library of Congress, Washington, the term of the copyright protection is also extended for the full terms provided by the present copyright laws. THORVALD SOLBERG, Register of Copyrights. Notice.—No registrations can be made under the law after November 30th, 1904. ——___—_+—~<>—_ —____ MAGAZINE CONTENTS. +4 — BLACKWOOD’S MAGAZINE. A Song of England. By Alfred Noyes. Viscount Gough. By George W. Forrest, C.I.E. John Chileote, M.P. By Katherine Cecil Thurston. The Pytchley Country. A Lad of Promise. On the Portrait of a Beautiful Woman carved upon her Tomb. Translated by Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B. Scolopaxiana : Habits and Habitat. By Scolopax. Whitaker Wright Finance. Fort Drouthy. By X. Ode: To a New Tall Hat. By Selim. Musings without Method: Objections to a National Theatre — Future of Public Taste in Literature—In Defence of the Study of Greek. The Opening of the War. By Active List. The Session. 155 THE COoRNHILL MAGAZINE. The Truants (Chapters vii.—ix.). By A. E. W. Mason. Colonial Memories. III. A Modern New Zealand. By Lady Broome. Debita Flacco. Historical Mysteries. Andrew Lang. Herbert Spencer. By Hector Macpherson. A Day of My Life in the County Court. By His Honour Judge Parry. The Structure of a Coral Reef. Bonney, F.R.S. French Housekeeping. By Miss Betham-Edwards. A Hungry Heart. By Hugh Clifford, C.M.G. Ballade of St. Martin’s Clock. By L. H. The Wreck of the “ Wager.” By W. J. Fletcher. The Powder Blue Baron. By Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick. By E. H. Pember, K.C. III. The Case of Allan Breck, By By Professor T. G. LONGMAN’S MAGAZINE. Nature’s Comedian (Chapters xvii., xviil.). Norris. Modder River.—I. By Captain Vaughan. Mademoiselle and Friulein. By M. E. Francis. Pat Magee’s Wife. By Lena Barrington. The Sound of the Desert. By Louisa Jebb. A Wherry Elopement. By C. F. Marsh. A Defence of Play-reading. By W. E. Hicks. At the Sign of the Ship. By Andrew Lang. By W. E. MACMILLAN’S MAGAZINE. The Court of Sacharissa (Chapters x.—xii.). Sheringham and Nevill Meakin. Education and its Machinery. By P. S. Burrell. The German Army in German Fiction. By H. C. Macdowall. The Message of the Winds. Our Irish Friends. By the Rey. J. Scoular Thomson. The Last of Limmer’s. By Gerald Brenan. At the Home of the Deceivers. The Gardens of Tokio. By Reginald Farrer. Matthew Arnold as a Popular Poet. By W. A. Sibbald. THE WoRLD’S WORK. By Hugh Portrait of Mr. John Hay, Secretary of State of the United States (frontispiece). The War—and After. By Henry Norman, M.P. The Emperor of Japan. The Torpedo: Its Value in War. By Fred. T. Jane. The Lesson of the Free Trade Controversy. By R. B. Haldane, K.C., M.P. (with portrait). The Clean Sweep at the War Office. Dilke, Bart., M.P. The Great Motor Show. The Crisis in the Cotton Industry : Its Position and its Future. By ©. W. Macara (with portrait). The Free Trade Debate. The Day’s Work. XI. A London Policeman. Home Rule for the Thames. To See Oneself Think. By E. 8. Grew. Perfect Feeding of the Human Body. Marcosson. The Coal Miner and His Work. By W. Meakin. Mining by Electricity. By J. E. Hodgkin, M.1.E.E. The Man without a Bed. By Clarence Rook. Every Man His Own Fruit Grower. By Counties.” The World’s Play. XI. Ladies’ Sports. The Work of the Book World, with portraits of Mr, William Archer, Mrs. Baillie Reynolds, Mr. Vincent Brown, Mr. Edmund Gosse, LL.D. A Fresh Start in a British Industry. Among the World’s Workers: A Record of Industry. By Sir Charles By Isaac I". “ Tome 156 WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —_-——+— ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I. Selling it Outright. This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement). In this case the following rules should be attended to: C1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor ! III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in Zhe Author, IY. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author, Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— C1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. ——_——_—o——_2—_____ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. —_1~- +. EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with anyone except an established manager. be THE AUTHOR. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays’ in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory, An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills, (d.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent. An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gr0ss receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. <A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (¢.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of. royalties (i.c., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (6.) apply also in this case. 4. Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and: are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance. 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot , print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. ———— WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. a. ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He THE AUTHOR. should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. —_+——_e—___ HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 4 VERY member has a right toask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor, but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion, All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Send to the Office copies of past agreements and past ‘accounts, with a copy of the book represented. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The information thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination. 5. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 6. The Committee have now arranged for the reception ‘of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers: —() To read and advise upon agreements and to give advice concerning publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particulars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 7. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 8. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members, 9. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society ; so _ do some publishers. Members can make their own _ deductions and act accordingly. \ 10. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s for life membership. THE READING BRANCH. —+—— + — EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. The Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea. ope NOTICES. —-—>+— HE Editor of Zhe Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s, 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for Zhe Author should be addressed to the Offices of the Society, 39, Old Queen Street, Storey’s Gate, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Oe Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. —1+—>+ The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and he requests members who do not receive an answer to important communications within two days to write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only, —_————\— 6 THE LEGAL AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. —— + N offer has been made of a special scheme of Endowment and Whole Life Assurance, admitting of a material reduction off the ordinary premiums to members of the Society. Full information can be obtained from J. P. Blake, Legal and General Insurance Society (City Branch), 158, Leadenhall Street, H.C. 158 AUTHORITIES. ——>— + — DEPARTMENTAL Committee has been appointed by the Secretary of State’ to enquire into “the complaints of the musical publishers as to the sale, especially in the streets, of pirated copies of their publications, and to report whether any, and if so what amendment of the law is necessary.” The Committee is composed of the following eentlemen :— "Mr. Fenwick, Chairman; Mr. J. Caldwell ; Mr. F. L. P. Elliott, Secretary; Mr. W. J. Gallo- way, M.P., Mr. John Murray, and Mr. T. E. Scrutton. The names of the Committee are a sound enarantee that the work will be done energetically and exhaustively. Among the number we are pleased to see the name of Mr. Scrutton, whose work on behalf and knowledge of copyright is so well known. It seems strange, however, that on a cominittee of this kind, dealing with the property of com- posers (for the pirated music does not always belong to the publisher; it is sometimes the pro- perty of the person from whose brain it evolved), that not one of those distinguished gentlemen, and no representative from the Authors’ Society, which acts as their protector, should have been asked to join the number. Again, there is no musical pub- lisher on the board. ‘The only publisher is Mr. John Murray, whose business among the first of those which deal with a certain branch of the trade, does not cover the publication (so far as we are aware) of musical compositions. It is hoped that if the Government undertake to deal with the matter, they will not be content with passing an amending Act, which after all, if we consider the number of small musical Acts, will only make the question more complicated; but will take in hand the consolidation of musical copyright. Wi: regret to chronicle the death, after a long illness, of Sir Leslie Stephen, K.C.B. It is impossible, while going to press, to do more than draw the attention of the members of the Society to the loss that English literature has sustained. _ oe As editor of The Cornhill, of the ‘“ Dictionary of National Biography,” and as the author of numerous philosophical and biographical works, as well as of lighter volumes dealing with literature and Alpine travel, he added largely to the wealth of English literature. His death leaves a gap that will be long felt. The sincerity and courtesy of his literary style THE AUTHOR. was in aceord with his character. In all matters of business there was no man more pleasant to deal with, no man more thoughtful of, and interested in, the efforts of the younger generation of the profession of letters. Aone the correspondence we print a letter from io Miss Hallard, the Paris correspondent of The a Author, who was for many years a friend of George ie Gissing. ‘The Secretary, acting with the sanction 14 of the Chairman of the Committee, will be glad to accept any contributions that may be forwarded to the Society’s office, in response to the suggestions jf contained in Miss Hallard’s note, and the Society fis will willingly act as agents in carrying out any i proposition upon which Mr. Gissing’s friends may ¥s decide in order to show their appreciation for his fid work and their love for his memory. : A curious case of infringement, in which fy Aubrey Newton was the culprit, has come before & the Society: A short story written by one of 16 its members, which appeared some years ago in Hi the Illustrated London News, was taken bodily, with the title changed, and offered by Mr. Newton a to a penny weekly paper. The editor finding the story was a good one, purchased it, and subse- quently printed it in his columns. : Some months afterwards the matter was brought % to the attention of themember. He at once placed b his case in the hands of the Society, when the facts alo above stated came to light. The case has now We been settled ; the editor has paid a sum for infringe- ment of copyright, and inserted an apology in his # paper. ee THE RECOMPENSE. 1 E rhymers wear our hearts upon our sleeve > And pawn cur blood for fame; our tears « are bonds That Fate repays at last,—thus runs the grim Ancient indictment. O undying songs That thrill across the inexorable years, O hearts self-fathomed for the world to plumb, Was this your end? O gradual pulse of dawn, Heavy with lifeblood of the unborn day ; Dim, ancient coasts raped by the looting sea, Sun, storm and thunder, and immortal siars, And moon that leans and listens to the tides, Are all your names but dice that poets cast To cheat oblivion ? Rather let them say That even as some timid lover who laid  ee i é THER AUTHOR. A scroll that he had writ with joy and fear All the June night, where the dear feet should pass Of her he worships, watches from afar, Aching lest it shall fall in alien hands, So we who pour our treasure, gold or dross, Where every eye may reckon it, are content If one shall weep with us, if one shall glow With passionate joy because our hearts were flame; Yea, we abide the mockery of a world For the sweet sake of one who comprehends. Sr. Joun Lucas. —____—_+o_+___ MUSICAL PIRACY. — 7. HE Report of the Departmental Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to inquire into the piracy of musical publications, together with notes and appendix, has now been issued in the form of a Blue Book. To all members of the Authors’ Society, whether writers or composers, this Blue Book is full of interest. Although the holder of musical copy- right is at present the worst sufferer by this form of infringement, the author of books is not entirely exempt. It is therefore of the greatest importance that an Act be passed to deal in an adequate manner with the doings of the pirate. Mention has already been made in this number of “The Author ” of the names of the gentlemen sitting on the Committee. There is no need to repeat the list. The following witnesses were called to give evidence before them :— Mr. Arthur Boosey, of Messrs Boosey & OCo., Mr. David Day, of Messrs Francis Day and Hunter, Mr. Emile Enoch, of Messrs Enoch & Co., who attended as representative of the French Music Publishers’ Association, and Mr. H. R. Clayton, of Messrs Novello & Co. ; Mr. John Abbot, Assistant Secre- tary, and Mr. Preston, Provincial Agent, of the Music Publishers’ Association; Mr. Lione. Monckton and Mr. Maybrick, two well-known musical com- posers ; Superintendent Moore, of the Metropolitan Police; Sir H. Poland, K.C.; Mr. Dickinson and Mr. Rose, Metropolitan Magistrates; and Mr. Willetts, who is known also by the name of Fisher and “ King of the Pirates,” manager of the People’s Music Publishing Company. It will be noticed that there are six representatives of the trade, and only two composers. When will the fact be fully recognised that although the trade, especially the music publishing trade, are constant purchasers of copyright, yet the composer is the 159 originator of the work, and has the prior right to consideration ? The evidence, which is full of interesting infor- mation, cannot be dealt with in this number. The report of the majority of the Committee alone is summarized. Mr. Edward N. F. Fenwick (Chairman), Mr. William J. Galloway, M.P.. Mr. John Murray, and Mr. T. E. Scrutton, K.C., signed the Report. Mr. James Caldwell, M.P., dissenting, put forward his views in a separate document. Firstly, they deal with the manner in which the pirated music is sold by the hawkers to the public. This point is one of considerable importance, as on it are based the suggested remedies by which the street vendors may be dealt with. Secondly, with the method by which the works are printed and distributed to the hawkers in order to ascertain how to deal with the printers and distributing agents. Thirdly, they show from the evidence the enormous increase of this piratical trade. In 1901, 47 copyrights were infringed. There are now no less than 231 pirated editions of copy- right music on the market; and 460,000 copies. of pirated music were seized in the Metropolitan Police District alone between the Ist day of October, 1902, and the 31st day of December, 1903. To show how inadequate were the original remedies, Mr. Boosey stated that out of 12 civil actions prosecuted successfully by his firm, at the cost of £500, in two instances only did they succeed in recovering their costs from . the defendants. The Report states ‘it has been suggested the public benefit by the sale of pirated music,” but. the Committee have come to the conclusion that * the public have no right to benefit by assisting to plunder a class on which the Legislature has con- ferred statutory rights of property, although the protection afforded by the statute has proved insufficient to deal with an evil which was not for- seen at a time when the Act was passed.” The Committee next discussed the two following points raised in the evidence : (1) “ ‘hat the price charged for legitimate music is out of all propor- tion to the cost of production,” and (2) “that as a matter of fact it would be more profitable for both publisher and composer if a smaller royalty were paid and a less charge made for music.” The evidence and the deductions are not entirely satisfying. The price charged for legitimate music must be a question of supply and demand. This has been proved to be the case in the book market. There has been no complaint that a copyright book cannot be obtained at a short price, if there is a demand for a cheap form. Commenting on the 160 second point the Report states that one firm of publishers had tried the experiment of issuing 6d. editions of certain songs, but this had not saved them from being pirated. ‘The witness stated that the pirates used the 6d. legitimate edition as a cloak, keeping it at the top of their stock to conceal inferior pirated copies. Dealing with the loss to publishers and com- posers, the Committee state “the composer, seeing his income gradually appropriated by others by illegal means, and the publisher, who has invested large sums of money in his business, on the strength of Parliament having given a property in copyright, look to Parliament, not unreasonably, to give them adequate protection.” This is true, but will they get what they want? Authors have been clamouring for years, but still there is no Copyright Bill. The incapacity of the existing law to check the evil is made apparent on the evidence, and the Committee proceed to dissect the inadequate remedies of the Act of 1902. Studied considera- tion of the reasons why the Act is not sufficiently powerful, are put forward. The Act gives power, under conditions, to seize pirated copies, and having seized them, to carry them before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction for destruction. The right of seizure, however, is limited, and no power is conferred by which premises can be entered by force and searched. ‘The power of destruction is also limited, as it is impossible to destroy without serving the hawker with a summons. Owing to the false address given by most hawkers it is almost impossible to do this. According to one witness, out of five or six thousand summonses issued only 287 have been served. Having set out succinctly all the preliminary issues, the Majority Report of the Committee sets ‘out its summary and its recommendations as follows :— SuMMARY. It will be seen from the above facts that an extensive ‘system of infringing copyright has sprung up which the remedies at present provided by law are powerless to sup- press. The opinion given by owners of musical copyright, that the Act of 1842 and the Act of 1902 have been quite ineffective to deal with the mischief, was corroborated by such experienced lawyers as Sir H. Poland, Mr. Dickinson, the magistrate at the Thames Police Court, and Mr. Rose, ‘the magistrate at the West London Police Court, and we find it to be quite justified by the facts. The hawker in the street cannot be successfully attacked by civil proceedings in the High Court, such proceedings being useless against an anonymous person of no means, He cannot be suppressed by the Act of 1902, for there is no power to obtain his true name and address for the purpose of serving a summons on him. Even if he is served, nothing can be done but to forfeit the few copies he is offering for sale at the time of seizure; and while the order is being made he is selling in another street fresh copies obtained from the secret store of the middleman, THE AUTHOR. The Act of 1842 cannot successfully restrain a printer and middleman who remain in the dark, who have no recognised place of business, nor means to pay damages or costs, and who, restrained by injunction, get a relation or friend to carry on their business. The Act of 1902 fails against them owing to the absence of a power of search. RECOMMENDATIONS, In our opinion, no remedies will be effective which do not recognise that the persons engaged in dealing in pirated music are men of no means or settled abode, nor amenable to civil proceedings, and are people who, as Sir H. Poland expressed it, are engaged in a common law conspiracy to infringe on rights of property. In our opinion, legislation to deal effectively with this evil must give : (1) A summary method of recovering penalties for printing and distributing piratical works. Such a proce- dure already exists in the Fine Art Copyright Act, 1862, and the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887. (2) In certain cases, a power of arrest, modelled on the procedure under the Metropolitan Police Acts, which has worked effectively and without causing complaint for some 60 years. This is essential to ensure that the offender shall be present at the summary proceedings and shall suffer the penalty he has incurred. (3) A power of search, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., to be granted only on a magistrate’s order made after hearing evidence on oath that it is probable that piratical music is stored in a particular house or building. This is necessary to reach the secret store where piratical copies are printed or kept for the purpose of furnishing the hawkers with supplies. DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF THE REMEDIES PROPOSED. We recommend that it should be made a penal offence, punishable by fine and forfeiture on summary conviction, for any person— ‘“‘(1) to print or cause or procure to be printed any pirated musical work ; (2) to distribute or carry about any pirated musical work for the purpose of being sold or dealt with in the course of trade ; ‘‘@) to sell or cause or procure to be sold, or expose, offer, or keep for sale, or solicit, by post or otherwise, orders for any pirated musical work ; ‘“‘(4) to import or export or cause to procure to be imported or exported any pirated musical work or the plates thereof ; ‘*(5) to be found in possession of any pirated musical work or the plates thereof for any of the purposes above mentioned.” : In the definition clause the word “plates” should be defined to include any stereotype or other plates, stones, or matrices or negatives used for the purpose of printing any pirated musical work. Finally, the Committee proceed to make fuller suggestions simplifying and defining the powers of arrest ; on what terms they should be given and how far they should extend. Search warrants are dealt with in the same way. The concluding words sum up the position :— (1.) That a widespread system of piracy which has grown up is doing very serious injury to the property of composers and publishers of music. (2.) That this piracy owes its origin to the inadequacy of the remedies provided by Parliament to protect the pro- perty it has created against persons of no means and:no settled abode who deliberately conspire to break the law.  (3.) That fresh legislation on the lines above indicated jis necessary to protect adequately musical copyright, and that this legislation should give (a) a summary power of inflicting penalties on printers and sellers of piratical works; (0) a power of arrest of such offenders to ensure their being brought before the Court that can inflict those penalties ; (¢) a power of search for piratical works, to ensure their destruction. —__—___—_-—<>—_e_ AUTHORS AND INCOME TAX. —_+ HEN money is received by an author as consideration for conveyance of copy- right, should it be accounted as income ? Should it be reckoned in assessment for income tax ? Last December I wrote a short letter to the Zimes on this question, expecting a reply, or, possibly, many replies. There was none. Christ- mas week is, perhaps, a time when men do not care to discuss so unpleasant a subject as the income tax. It may be that no one could either improve my presentment of the problem or suggest a solution : but that I can hardly believe. I find that both publishers and authors have talked about my letter, but have stopped short of writing. I am disposed to return to the subject, treating it more in detail. 1 showed that an absurdity can be deduced either from an affirmative or from a negative answer. If it be denied:that moneys received on sale of copyright are income, it will follow that an author producing much work in a year and selling all copyrights to his publisher earns no taxable income : which seems absurd. On the other hand, if such moneys be reckoned as income, there is a consequence which I set out in a hypothetical case. J have published certain works which bring me in royalties of £60 a year. I sell the copyrights for £600, which I at once sink in a terminable annuity of £40. The effect is to reduce my income from this source by £20 a year. But if I reckon the £600 as income, and strike a three years’ average as usual, I shall make my taxable income from this source £240 for the current year, £220 for the next, and £200 for the third. I shall also be paying income tax on my £40 annuity. In sum, I shall pay for these three years income tax on £780, my actual income being £120. This also seems absurd. Can a solution be found for the two absurdities 2? In the case that I have supposed, the owner of the copyright regards it as an investment of capital. He realises this, and at once reinvests it, accepting a smaller income for the sake of greater security. If that be a true presentment, no one will contend that he should pay income tax on the sum received. But in the counter case of an TAR AUTHOR. 161 author selling the copyright of his work as he produces it, and living on the proceeds, what shall we say? There is a distinction which seems to afford a rough practical solution of our problem. As the man treats the money received, so let it be regarded ; if he spends it as it comes, let it be called income ; if he reinvests it, let it be called capital. And as we have to assess ourselves under Schedule D, let each man return his income according to his consciousness of his practice. That seems fair ; but the solution will not bear examination. If I realise the value of an inyest- ment, [ am not bound to reinvest the money. I may spend it on my current needs or pleasures ; and the fact that I so spend it does not convert the money into income. So, too, if the sale of a copy- right is the realisation of capital, it does not change its character because the seller squanders or otherwise spends the money. A tax on money so received and spent is not an income tax, but an expenditure tax, of the kind which, I believe, the French Government is contemplating. On the other hand, if an author sell his copy- rights as they are created, and invest all the money received, he is accumulating wealth; and the Income Tax Commissioners will pertinently reflect that wealth is usually accumulated by saving out of income. Income tax is not remitted on income so saved, except illogically in the case of life in- surance, and every penny which the author lays by is income saved and invested. He should be taxed on all his receipts. That again seems fair at first sight. There is a distinction between realising the value of a copy- right and realising the value of an ordinary in- vestment. ‘The author has actually created the value of the copyright ; it is his payment for work done. But again there is a difficulty. The value of the copyright, created by his work, is the same whether he sells it or retains it. If, in the one case, the value received in cash is to be regarded as income, then, in the other case, the value retained in hand ought equally to be so regarded. An author making out his income under Schedule D should add to the sums actually received the esti- mated present value of the copyright of all works finished within the year. But will any one main- tain that such a calculation is contemplated by the law imposing the tax? A Surveyor of Taxes has referred me to the parallel case of a painter. He produces a picture as an author produces a book ; he sells the picture as the author sells his copyright ; what he receives for the picture is income. I do not know enough about the ways of artists to judge the accuracy of the comparison ; but, be it just or unjust, I point out to the Surveyor of Taxes that the painter enriches himself to the extent of the value of the picture, whether he sells  162 it or no. He may retain it in hand for his own pleasure or profit, or for a mere whim: whyshould he escape income tax on that account? But do the Income Tax Commissioners levy a tax on a painter’s unsold pictures of the year ? Has Mr. G. F. Watts paid on the estimated value of his great collection as it was formed? If not, why should the copy- right values created by an author's work be regarded as taxable income? And why should those values be taxable in one case and not taxable in another case? What difference is made by the accidental distinction between retaining the value in its original form and exchanging it for an equal value in cash ? J have seen a distinction drawn between the sale of a copyright by the author, and its sale by some other person to whom it has been conveyed. In the former case, I am told, the money received is payment for work done, and so income; in the latter case it is payment for an annuity realised, and so is not income. I examine this distinction by applying it to an actual case. Sir Walter Scott died, leaving to his daughter many valuable copy- rights. To that fact, indeed, we owe our present law of copyright. I find it impossible to accept as reasonable a statement that money received for the sale of those copyrights would have been income on the 20th of September, 1832, and would not have been income on the 22nd of the same month. This attempted distinction, indeed, strengthens my conviction that the proceeds of a sale of copy- right are not in any case income. A copyright is a parcel of property, and in no case is the price received for sold property regarded as income. Income arises out of such a sale only when a profit is made by the act of selling, and that profit is something altogether different from the price paid. It is a trading profit. I do not know how an author makes a trading profit by the sale of his copyright. His agent does, no doubt; his pub- lisher may do; but that is quite another matter. The author should receive an exactly equivalent value. Where then is the income? If he is to pay income tax on the value that he has created by his work, he must be assessed when the copy- right comes into existence, not when it is sold : the sale adds nothing to the value. But how are the Commissioners of Income Tax going to arrange such an assessment ? A further difficulty presents itself. Payments to an author sometimes include consideration for con- veyance of copyright, without being wholly of that character. The copyright of contributions to a newspaper is understood to belong to the proprietors of the newspaper, unless it be expressly reserved. The publishers of some reviews and magazines take a conveyance of copyright of all articles. In THE AUTHOR. these cases the author sells his copyright ; but the sum received bears no settled relation to the value of the copyright. That value is sometimes naught the matter being only of passing interest. The author has not in this case created a thing of permanent value, an investment, a transferable estate. But when this is granted, it may be said that some books fall into the same category. No one would ever dream of reprinting them, even if there were no law in restraint. Perhaps it will be answered that no publisher would pay anything for the copyright of such a work, but I have excellent reasons for knowing that an extraordinary act of this kind is not impossible. Shall such payments be regarded as mere eccentricities, minima with which the law need not be concerned ? This fantastic difficulty, however, may suggest a possible solution of our problem. In producing a work the copyright of which is valuable, an author creates a value, which there are good reasons for not regarding as income. His position is not unique. An owner of an estate who improves it by judicious management does the same thing: he is not required to return the increased capital value as income accruing, nor, if he sell the estate, will he treat any part of the purchase-money as income. His taxable income consists of the annual returns from the estate, whether rent or profits on occupation, secured without loss of ownership. Apply the analogy ; an author’s income consists of what he receives within the year for his works, without loss of copyright. If he dispose of the copyright on publication, he should divide the sum received into two parts—what he receives for con- veyance of copyright, and what he would receive in this particular instance if the copyright were reserved. The latter part is income, the former is not. In the case of a newspaper article the latter part may be the whole. In the case of a book which would otherwise be published on royalty, the former part will be the whole. I offer this suggestion for a solution of the problem. It may sometimes be difficult to dis tinguish accurately between income and other receipts ; but that is nothing new in the history — of the Income Tax. T. A. Lacey. 9 RECENT CHANGES IN THE BOOK TRADE. Le favourite topic of discussion with all — sections of the Book public, whether on — the producing or the consuming side. The past — year has witnessed a degree of discussion greater — organisation of the Book Trade is a  y 5 5 ¥ S e almost than during the interesting period when the Society of Authors, in 1897, examined Publishers and Booksellers, Authors and Readers, in an endeavour to ascertain the causes of the decline in the book trade and the conditions of improvement. This revival of criticism is probably due in the main to the advent of at least three new factors in the competition for the public’s favour. From Not- tingham has come a new patent in the shape of a eash chemist who is covering the country with a network of chemist shops interlarded with book departments. _ Boots’ Booklovers’ Library and Boots’ Book Departments are already rivalling Mudie’s, Smith’s, and the great booksellers. From America, heralded with paragraphs re- counting phenomenal Canadian and States suc- cesses, and floated with a capital of millions of dollars, has appeared the Booklovers’ Library and the Tabard Inn Library, a company setting forth with the resolve to capture the field occupied at present by Messrs. Mudie, Smith, Cawthorn, and Hill on the one hand, and the London Library, the Grosvenor Library, and other eclectic institutions on the other. From London, acclaimed by Mr. G. Bernard Shaw, Mr. H. G. Wells, Mr William Archer, and others, has appeared Bookshops Limited, a com- pany which, with its Ideal Bookshops and Fiscal and War Catalogues, has started on its professed career of introducing new men and new methods to the English bookselling world. Whilst these are the conspicuous and obvious causes of the revival of critical interest, there are other and more far reaching movements in progress, destined to have even greater results in moulding the future of the book-trade. Of these the most important is the revolution in educational machinery effected by the Education Acts of 1902 and 1903. The bulk of the children of the country have been hitherto educated, not in the board schools, but in the volantary schools. These schools, supreme each over its own equipment, have made their own terms and arrangements with local booksellers and Educational Supply Associations as to the books in daily use. To-day all these schools are controlled by the County Educational Authorities under the headship of the Education Department, and the equipment is taken out of the hands of the local trustees and managers. The County Education Authority on the large scale, dealing directly with the publishers or with the wealthier among the Educational Supply Associations is destroying the trade of the small country bookseller so far as the supply of educational literature is concerned. ‘The Bookselling Trade is going the way of all other trades —the big industry and combined methods are _ superseding the small industry and isolated methods. There will soon be no room for the isolated book- THE AUTHOR. 163 seller. In the meantime the Trade Journals and the meetings of the Booksellers’ Association bear witness to his apprehension. To some extent the same causes are operating in other countries. In France cutting prices and an excessive output are creating the same difficulties as have confronted the English bookseller. In America similar troubles show themselves. Side by side with the external changes in the book trade are other causes actively at work influencing the character of books bought. The chief features of recent bookselling have been on the one hand, the guinea book with colour print illustrations, and on the other, the pocket reprints of many firms, the more successful, the smaller and more dainty the format. It is a long cry from the Folio Shakespeare to the edition now inaugurated with “Romeo and Juliet ” for the waistcoat pocket. The six shilling novel, regarded by so many book- sellers as the mainstay of business is circulated more and more exclusively by libraries. The novel at three shillings and sixpence, at two shillings, and even at one shilling, is superseding it on the book- sellers’ shelves. ‘I'he sixpenny reprints are no longer confined to the bookstalls, but assist to crowd the slender accommodation of the bookshops. These changes, and their end is not yet, are bitter to the bookseller. He can make his profit only by careful buying, by a large turnover in cheap literature, by an extension of his clienféle for expensive books. To the new companies, working on a larger scale, certain of their thirteenth copy, with a carefully audited system of accounts, these changes do not present the same terrors and alarms; for the book- buying public was never larger than to-day. ‘Two generations of universal elementary education, aided by an extension of the public library system which is percolating almost to every village in the country, are at last having their natural effect. For every “ patron of literature ” and founder of a private library of the past, we have to-day some hundreds of readers of books borrowed from the public libraries and of cheap books purchased from the shops. For every private school, working with the slenderest equipment and with cheap and nasty school literature of the days before 1870, we have to-day many publicly administered schools working with public money and a high standard of educational literature. And the libraries, re- garded for so long by booksellers astheir competitors, are proving more and more valuable as allies. As a public librarian said recently to the writer of this article, “fhe place for a bookshop is next door to a public library.” The books read and appre- or personal possession or to be distributed as gifts, (Ciated by borrowers, are exactly the books bough) Moreover, the recent movement among librarians 164 which is making the library a more sensible institution, the lectures on books, the improved cataloguing, the open shelves, all tend to increase this ‘‘ book habit.” One fear, a natural one, of the smaller book- sellers has proved unfounded. It was expected that large soulless corporations would prove to be cutters, and would be a source of weakness to that reform movement which has achieved the “net” system. ‘They prove in effect to be supporters and upholders of the “ net” system. After all, the chief value of the system is that it removes the competition from one of cutting to one of competency. Under the old universal discount system, two rival booksellers, competing for a public library contract, would compete on the question of terms only, ever lowering prices until the attenuated margin of profit left no adequate remuneration for staff, equipment, or management. The library received its books at a cheap rate, but at the cost of the efficiency of the trade. The notorious decline of the trade, now reviving at last under more reasonable conditions, bore witness to the consequences. Under a complete “ net” system the same book- sellers would compete solely on the plane of effi- ciency. The firm with the best stock ready for examination by the Library Committee, with the promptest methods and with the most expert knowledge at its back, would secure the contract. The “net” system implies not only a higher margin of profit, but also a greater security of profit. Its extension, therefore, is desired not only by the Booksellers’ Association, but by the new companies, Each year has seen a consider- able growth in this movement. Most expensive books are now published “net,” most art books are now “net,” most scientific books are now “net,” most of the cheap art reprints are “net.” The six shilling novel and the sixpenny novel are the worst gaps in the system. The novel will probably become “ net” at a lower price than six shillings ; it may even drop to one shilling net and achieve a large circulation by sale, in place of its present lesser circulation by loan. The six- penny book sold at 5d. and 44d., presenting the slenderest profit to the bookseller, is a reproach to the past organisation of the trade. With only a limited foresight and a slender organisation, the two Trade Associations could have made it a “net” book. The public would have acquiesced with entire willingness, and the whole book world would have benefited. The public libraries do not altogether welcome this tendency, and in England, on the Continent, and in the States the library discount question is now under discussion. THE AUTHOR. Another change in progress in the trade is in the trained capacity of the assistants. Bookselling is a highly skilled trade. The narrow profits of the past resulted in highly skilled work being given to untrained hands and the downward tendency was thereby accelerated. An improve- ment, slow but gradual, is now taking place. In the privately-owned shops of the old system there was little prospect even for a competent assistant. In the organisation of a modern com- pany, many branches mean many managerships, An incentive and a stimulus is thus given to all grades. There is still great room for improve- ment, as all book buyers realise, but the new combined systems open the door to improvements of which the result will be a trained and educated assistant doing work in a trained and educated manner. In this connection the proposed School of Book- selling is of practical interest. Germany has already such a school, and with its initiation here we may hope to realise the ideal expressed by Mr. William Heinemann, at the Publishers’ Association Congress in 1897: “Many assistants—I might almost say most of the assistants—in booksellers’ shops in Germany have matriculated at one of the Univer- sities, and seldom, if ever, do you find an assistant who is not capable of compiling a catalogue, for instance, to satisfy the exigent requirements of the Librarian of the British Museum.” That such a school would be eminently desirable there can be no two opinions. Probably it could be most effectively organised by co-operation with the Library Association. In the States the library school at Columbia University is inspiring the movement for education among booksellers. In London the very practical programme of the Library Association Courses given at the London School of Economics could easily be adapted to the requirements of booksellers’ assistants equally with librarians’ assistants.. Lectures on classifica- tion, cataloguing, the care of books, and book- binding, would be as beneficial to one class of assistant as to the other. On all sides, then, the book trade shows signs of rapid development. The older firms are some of them realising the new conditions, and by reasonable changes are adapting themselves to the newera. The advent of new men and new methods is proving a valuable stimulus. The old is in com- petition with the new. It remains to be seen which will absorb the other.  : THE AUTHOR. PUNCTUATION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. oe - Commas and points they set exactly right And °twere a sin to rob them of their mite, OR much of the punctuation of modern books and newspapers the type setter or the printer’s reader must I fancy be held respon- sible, as a rule. I do not know whether eminent authors ever venture to differ from the latter and to assert themselves sufficiently to make alterations in proofs where questions of principle are involved and where stops have been in their opinion wrongly inserted or omitted, but if any do this they must be courageous and industrious persons. I once showed the proofs of an unimportant work of my own to an erudite, but withal fidgety, literary man, and he raised an outcry at the liberal way in which the first page was peppered with commas. At his suggestion I therefore proceeded to take some of them out, and indeed to a certain extent I shared his objection to them, but when I had corrected a page or two as he would have me do it, I realised the labour which I had undertaken, if I was going to pursue the same course through two or three hundred pages. I also was impressed with the certainty that by omitting to carry out in all cases whatever principle I might endeavour to lay down for myself, I should be inconsistent in many in- stances. I accordingly changed my mind while there was time, a few ‘“stets”’ replaced my correc- tions and I am confident that whatever sense there may have been in my work was not impaired by my non-interference. Writers, of all men, should give the devil his due. If however the typist, who must not be for- gotten, and the printer insert commas or substitute colons and semi-colons for the author’s benefit, excessive stopping amounts often to a nuisance, and sometimes constitutes a danger. The couplet from Pope at the head of this article, has been borrowed (without verification I confess) from the review of a work on punctuation published in 7’he Gentleman’s Magazine, 1785. I have ventured to differ from the reviewer by omitting a comma, which he inserted at the end of the first line, because I believe such a comma to be superfluous with the “and” following. If I am wrong perhaps some reader of The Author will correct me and will say if there is any reason, such as a change of subject in the second clause, to necessi- tate a stop. As an instance of the mischief of over stopping, I would quote the speech with which Lafeu opens « All’s Well that Ends Well,” Act IT., Scene 3: “They say miracles are past, and we have our philosophical persors, to make modern and familiar 165 things supernatural and causeless. Hence it is that we make trifles of terrors.” I have punctuated the quotation as it stands in the First Folio Edition, but later than that (¢y., in the 8vo Edition printed by Tonson in 1709) it remained practically the same. Afterwards, how- ever, I suppose with the idea of making the meaning clearer, a comma was put in, and nonsense was made of the passage by placing it after “things,” so that philosophers were represented as “making familiar things, supernatural,” hardly a step towards “ making trifles of terrors.” How prevalent this stopping became I do not know, but it exists in the text as edited by Malone, 1821, and was sufficiently common to cause a writer in Notes and Queries to call attention to it as the usual but erroneous punctuation in 1853. He assigned the credit of the emendation which he recommended (placing the comma after “ familiar ” instead of after “ things”) to Mr. W. R. Grove, Q.C. Mr. Justice Grove, as he afterwards became, was a learned gentleman, well known as a man of science and also apparently a lover of literature, as well as a mere judge, and if he was the first to point out the mistake, he deserves honour for it. The comma is placed after familiar in the text, edited by the Reverend A. Dyce, 1866, and pre- sumably in all editions published since, but it is open to the observation that no punctuation is really needed although, correctly introduced, it affords assistance. With regard to the stop after “ past,” which in some editions is a comma, in others a semi-colon, I submit that this is only necessary in order to mark the end of the quotation following “ they say.” In the days when eccentricities of stopping excited more attention than they do now the following sentence, from Bentley’s “ Dissertation on the Epistles of Phalaris,” as edited by Dr. Samuel Salter, of the Charterhouse, was quoted as an example of strange punctuation by an eighteenth century critic with an expression of surprise at the use made of the semi-colon: ‘It is evident then ; that if Atossa was the first inventress of Epistles ; these that carry the name of Phalaris, who was so much older than her must be an imposture.— But if it be otherwise; that he does not” etc. etc. The use of “her” for “she,” if correctly quoted by the writer is not commented upon. Punctuation however does not seem now to require dissertations and pamphlets to lay down its rules, or to correct and discourage innovations. Possibly this is because every man is a law unto himself in the matter, with the lady at the typewriter, and the printer’s reader, who at least is consistent with himself, to introduce order where the author’s unaided efforts do not result in uniformity or sense. It cannot however I think be claimed 166 that all modern printers observe the same methods, but simply that each follows a course of his own as constantly as possible. Minor guides to punctuation are obtainable, no doubt, but they are hardly works of the literary importance of their predecessors. No modern law-reporter has emulated Sir James Barrow with a work “ De Ratione et Usu Inter- pungendi,” nor has any erudite divine endeavoured in an “ Essay on Punctuation” to “illustrate a dry and unpromising subject, with a variety of elegant and entertaining examples,” or if they have done so their work has not been sufficiently advertised and [pushed to cbtain the modern equivalent for fame. Whether the compiler of “ Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century ” in the sentence which I have quoted from his complimentary notice of the Reverend Joseph Robertson’s work inserted a comma after “subject” in obedience to rules laid down in it, I know not, for I have not read it, but in any case I venture to protest against the “virgil”’ as wholly superfluous. In another place he writes of the same work “ Although the subject is dry and unpromising, it is enlivened, by the Author, with a great variety of apposite examples, pleasing sentiments, and ingenious remarks.” JI may be wrong but I should omit two or three commas in such a sentence, and I doubt if the sense would suffer. Of course, if we regard stops as necessary guides to a person who is. going to read the sentence aloud at sight, I grant they may be useful although they are not ornamental. They will show him to some extent where to pause and take breath. . The colons which mark the pause in each verse of the Psalms have often been protested against as a misuse of stops for which an asterisk or some other symbol should be substituted ; they are however so familiar to English readers that they are not misleading. That stops are not necessary to sense is shown by the absence of them from deeds, where they are omitted for the very reason, that wrongly inserted as in the instance from Shakespeare quoted above, they cause confusion. Their absence however compels careful drafting and close attention to the meaning of every word and sentence, I have not touched upon the history of punctua- tion, which in its earlier stages appears to be some- what obscure, but I take it that to some extent printing rendered rules necessary, and that gradually they came to be understood by the printer at least as well as by the writer. There is a passage with regard to them in an old book where “come” is used for “colon” and “ virgil” for “comma,” of course from virgula, the modern French virgule, THE AUTHOR. having as its origin a straight stroke of the pen. The learned author thus quaintly explains and illustrates his meaning :— “A. come is with tway tittels this wyse: betokynynge a longer rest.” “A parenthesis is with tway crokyd virgils, as an olde mone and a new bely to bely.”” He adds that the words in a parenthesis are.“ soundyde comynly a note lower than the utter clause,” and the use of stops to mark the pause for those who read aloud when books were scarce, is evidently what he had in his mind throughout. Books are not scarce in the twentieth century, and reading aloud is little practised, but no doubt even for those who read to themselves, the free use of the comma and colon helps to make the sense clear where the order of the sentence would not alone be sufficient. I venture to urge nevertheless that they should be used as sparingly as possible. E. A. A. ————1—~>—+ A PLEA FOR PEDANTRY. —-— ISS MASSON’S article in last month’s Author tempts me to add a few more examples of how English is, and ought not to be, written. The first of these is one of the many instances in which the order of words presents a trap for the unwary writer: “ Bob had been struggling with his wife and one boy on a narrow income.” Grammatically the statement is faultless ; but the picture called up, of physical domestic strife, is certainly not that which the author intended to suggest. Here is a worse case—from the columns of an old-established daily paper: “ Very winsome is Maria Walpole, Countess of Waldegrave, whose illegitimate birth did not hinder her from espousing en secondes noces William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, a kind looking man with an aquiline nose, though the marriage was regarded with such disfayour by George III., ete.” The next comes from the pages of a particularly successful novelist: “ He had been vouchsafed two of the best gifts wherewith Providence can equip aman.” Now, “him” in the expression “had been vouchsafed him” is a dative; and a dative cannot properly be made the nominative of a passive construction. Persistent misuse has rendered most of us callous to “he was given” and “he was told” ; but against “he was vouchsafed” we may still, I hope, protest. Akin to this is the shocking use of “ whom” as a nominative: “those whom Providence had  destined should. be the chief ornaments of her visiting list.” Twice within a hundred pages does this “vicious locution” appear in the excellent and careful novel of a well-known writer. IT am tempted to borrow her own idiom and say of her : “whom, I am sure, can never have learned Latin grammar.” For indeed the study of the Latin grammar, though it may perhaps yield but inadequate returns for the inordinate amount of time expended upon it does at least inculcate the difference between nominatives, datives, and accusatives. Pronouns afford many opportunities both for error and for ambiguity. I remember seeing a school girl’s examination paper which contained the statement : “Tyndale and Coverdale translated the Scriptures and they were chained to the read- ing desks in the churches an example that may be commended to those grammarians who believe « which” to be an equivalent of “and they.” The next three instances all exemplify that common variety of error: a want of grammatical concord between the parts of a sentence. The first, I regret to say, comes from a letter written in a publisher’s office : “ While in this particular case we should have liked to be charitable, we are not in a position to do so.” The second is an advertisement by the City of London Union: “Candidates must have had practical experience in laundry work, and also be a good ironer.” The third, which I unfortu- nately omitted to copy into my collection, occurred in a singularly ill-written novel. Its form was as follows, the dotted line representing various intermediate clauses: “ While still quite a young man .. . his mother had died.” Many of these faults display an ignorance of fine grammatical—in other words of fine logical—dis- tinctions, which is rendered possible by the com- paratively uninflected character of our tongue. A German of even rudimentary education would know better than to write: “he had been youch- safed.” The fact that gender and case are not shown by our nouns and adjectives nor number by our verbs makes it necessary to teach these dis- tinctions with peculiar care to English children. Grammar is really a branch of logic; and the intelligent teaching of grammar—which in this country is extraordinarily rare—is really an educa- tion in thinking. Another whole group of errors arises from the further fact that the English language is so largely made of words whose derivation is not evident except to persons acquainted with some other language. ‘This fact it is which allows the lady who answers correspondents in a “ women’s paper C to write: “Do not, I abjure you, have a red carpet with those pink walls,” or for a working-man speaker to draw distinctions—to the bewilderment THE AUTHOR. 167 of his audience—between: “female labour and manual labour.” Whether the errors that stand last recorded in my note book belong to this class, whether they are an example of sheer aphasia or whether their author might be a fitting candidate for that post of “lunatic attendant ” which the local authorities of St. Marylebone advertise as vacant, I cannot take upon me to decide. ‘They come from a review of a novel, and the review was published by a newspaper which prides itself upon being literary in tone: “he has too large and acute a failing for ihe dramatic... . Io his latest: novel Mr. X- suffers the lovers of the dramatic too lightly... . There is Y. Z. comfortable, British, without humour or imagination, but with a saving sense of graduation.” A “failing for the dramatic,” a “large and acute” failing ? “A saving sense of eraduation”’ ? What, in this context can “ graduation ” possibly stand for? A dressmaker of my acquaintance used to talk of “ gradulated”’ flounces. Had she, I wonder, a saving sense of graduation ? These questions have haunted me ever since I read these dark passages as I sat at breakfast one morning last autumn. I pass them on for solution to the readers of Zhe Author. CLEMENTINA BLACK. —_————__+—-_ +" CORRESPONDENCE. a Morr PEDANTRY. Sir,—Surely “A Pedant” needs no apology for calling the attention of your readers to the careless style of composition so often met with in current literature, and Ze Author will do a good work if it encourages other pedants to come forward and assist in freeing “our stately and beautiful lan- guage” from some of the mistakes and inaccuracies that so frequently disfigure it. To the long list of errors noticed last month may be added—obscurity caused by the misuse of the ellipsis. It is difficult in conversation or in hasty letter-writing to be always quite correct in expression, and, as a rule, the speaker’s or correspondent’s meaning is readily guessed ; but deliberate composition should not be marred by carelessness. Lillipsis is employed to avoid the repetition of a word or a phrase, and it follows that the word or phrase previously used should be mentally supplied by the reader, not only in mean- ing, but in number, gender, and tense of verb. It is almost safe to assert that out of ten sentences ending in the words ‘to do so ” or “doing so,” 168 eight are ungrammatical. The daily paper, “a chartered libertine,” abounds in examples of such sentences, but I give a few quotations from well- known writers. “ Do you think of coming again ?”’ ‘‘T want to.” ‘ Every one but the working man, who, having no voice in Parliament, was regarded as the common prey of those who had.” “T am unable to think, however, that this had that adverse effect upon their circulation that it ought to.” “I have never heard one.” “ Let me advise you never to do so.” “Yet he knew her, or ought to.” “Backing bills was the one thing he never did, never had done, and never would.” ANOTHER PEDANT. —_— t+ “NEw DEPARTURE IN EDITING.” Sir,—The Editor of Pearson’s, and he alone, so far as my experience goes, employs a novel method in dealing with his rejected contributions. He returns them in excellent time with no unneces- sary delay, and makes an honest attempt to account for their rejection in terms which should satisfy any reasonable author. This seems to me a noteworthy effort in the direction of justice. And what he can do, other editors can and ought to do.—Yours truly, ALFRED PRETOR, St. Catherine College, Cambridge. P.S.—I would suggest some such form as the following—merely an amplification of Pearsons’ scheme :— THE EpITOR’s COMMENT :— Too long Too short Unsuitable in subject ee Feeble in plot | ee Weak in style Promising | renee ers General Remarks— ee ee Oa With the Editor's Compliments, THE AUTHOR. GEORGE GISSING. Dear S1r,—Unconsciously George Gissing wrote his own epitaph in those last lines of one of hig finest novels. “* Dead, too, in exile, poor fellow !” are the words of Godwin Peak’s friend, when he hears that the wanderer is buried in a foreign land. : George Gissing, too, was a wanderer; but no man loved his native country more dearly, and hig dream was to have an English home again. He ig laid to rest in the little cemetery of St. Jean de Luz. From his grave there is an admirable view of the mountains of Spain—a view that he delighted in himself. His grave is at present covered with flowers, most of which have been sent from England or laid there by members of the English colony at St. Jean de Luz. In the years to come, how can George Gissing’s friends continue to send their flowers to his grave, so far away? It occurred to me that perhaps the Society of Authors could help us in this matter. When Guy de Maupassant’s mother died recently, she left a certain sum of money with the French Society of Authors, the interest of which was to be used for keeping flowers on her son’s grave. As George Gissing is buried in a foreign land, and as there are, no doubt, numbers of his friends who would like to have the privilege of sending their little tribute to his tomb, would the Society of Authors help us by receiving subscriptions and making the necessary arrangements ? Yours truly, Auys HaLarp. 60, Rue de Vaugirard, Paris. —— 1 SERIAL RIGHTS. Sir,—In a past number of Zhe Author I see a reference to a case where the serial rights of an essay, having been sold to an American, were reprinted in an English periodical. I can parallel this ina very small instance that, occurred to myself. Some time ago I sent a photograph of a some- what curious subject to an English journal with a short descriptive article. It was declined and returned tome. I then sent it to an American publication who accepted and paid for it. Not very long afterwards I was astonished to see a process photo of the American engraving that had been made from my contribution, in the very same English journal that had declined it in the first instance !—] am, yours truly, “FREE LANCE.” Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 14 Issue 06 (March 1904) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 14 Issue 06 (March 1904) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1904-03-01-The-Author-14-6 publications The Author