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529	https://historysoa.com/items/show/529	The Author, Vol. 23 Issue 09 (June 1913)	<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%3Cem%3EThe+Author%3C%2Fem%3E%2C+Vol.+23+Issue+09+%28June+1913%29"><em>The Author</em>, Vol. 23 Issue 09 (June 1913)</a>											<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Publication">Publication</a>	1913-06-01-The-Author-23-9					249–278																		<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=89&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=23">23</a>											<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=76&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1913-06-01">1913-06-01</a>							9			19130601	Che<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> FOUNDED BY SIR<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Muthor.<br /> <br /> (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors.<br /> <br /> Monthly.)<br /> <br /> WALTER BESANT.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ay) : Vor. XXTII.—No. 9.<br /> <br /> JUNE 1, 1913.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [PRIcE SIXPENCE.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> TELEPHONE NuMBER:<br /> 374 VICTORIA.<br /> <br /> + TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS:<br /> : AUTORIDAD, LONDON.<br /> <br /> a 0<br /> <br /> NOTICES.<br /> <br /> —_+-~&gt; +<br /> <br /> OR the opinions expressed in papers that<br /> <br /> 4 are signed or initialled the authors alone<br /> <br /> are responsible. None of the papers or<br /> <br /> paragraphs must be taken as expressing the<br /> <br /> opinion of the Committee unless such is<br /> especially stated to be the case.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Tue Editor begs to inform members of the<br /> Authors’ Society and other readers of The<br /> Author that the cases which are quoted in The<br /> Author are cases that have come before the<br /> notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of<br /> the Society, and that those members of the<br /> Society who desire to have the names of the<br /> publishers concerned can obtain them on<br /> application.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ARTICLES AND: CONTRIBUTIONS.<br /> <br /> Tue Editor of The Author begs to remind<br /> members of the Society that, although the<br /> paper is sent to them free of cost, its production<br /> would be a very heavy charge on the resources<br /> of the Society if a great many members did not<br /> _ forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d.<br /> _ subscription for the year.<br /> <br /> &#039; Communications for The Author should be<br /> _ addressed to the offices of the Society, 1, Cen-<br /> <br /> &#039; tral Buildings, Tothill Street, Westminster,<br /> $§.W., and should reach the Editor not later<br /> <br /> | than the 21st of each month.<br /> Communications and letters are invited by<br /> the Editor on all literary matters treated from<br /> <br /> Vou. XXIII.<br /> <br /> the standpoint of art or business, but on no<br /> other subjects whatever. Every effort will be<br /> made to return articles which cannot be<br /> accepted.<br /> <br /> ADVERTISEMENTS.<br /> <br /> On and after June 13 Messrs. Matthews’<br /> Advertising Service, Staple Inn Buildings,<br /> High Holborn, W.C., will act as agents for<br /> advertisements for ‘The Author.” All<br /> communications respecting advertisements<br /> after that date shouid be addressed to them.<br /> <br /> As there seems to be an impression among<br /> readers of The Author that the Committee are<br /> personally responsible for the bona fides of the<br /> advertisers, the Committee desire it to be stated<br /> that this is not, and could not possibly be, the<br /> ease. Although care is exercised that no<br /> undesirable advertisements be inserted, they<br /> do not accept, and never have accepted, any<br /> liability.<br /> <br /> Members should apply to the Secretary for<br /> advice if special information is desired.<br /> <br /> eg<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE SOCIETY’S FUNDS.<br /> <br /> ee ek<br /> <br /> “[_\ROM time to time members of the Society<br /> K desire to make donations to its funds in<br /> <br /> recognition of work that has been done<br /> for them. The Committee, acting on the<br /> suggestion of one of these members, have<br /> decided to place this permanent paragraph in<br /> The Author in order that members may be<br /> cognisant of those funds to which these con-<br /> tributions may be paid.<br /> <br /> The funds suitable for this purpose are:<br /> (1) The Capital Fund. This fund is kept in<br /> reserve in case it is necessary for the Society to<br /> incur heavy expenditure, either in fighting a<br /> question of principle, or in assisting to obtain<br /> copyright reform, or in dealing with any other<br /> <br /> &quot;2<br /> 250<br /> <br /> matter closely connected with the work of the<br /> Society.<br /> <br /> (2) The Pension Fund. This fund is slowly<br /> increasing, and it is hoped will, in time, cover<br /> the needs of all the members of the Society.<br /> <br /> Ce See oe<br /> <br /> THE PENSION FUND.<br /> <br /> ———1 —<br /> <br /> le January, the secretary of the Society<br /> laid before the trustees of the Pension<br /> <br /> Fund the accounts for the year 1912, as<br /> settled by the accountants. After giving the<br /> matter full consideration, the trustees in-<br /> structed the secretary to invest a sum of £300<br /> in the purchase of Buenos Ayres Great<br /> Southern Railway 4% Extension Shares, 1914,<br /> £10 fully paid. The number of shares pur-<br /> chased at the current price was twenty-five<br /> and the amount invested £296 1s. 1ld, The<br /> trustees are also purchasing three more Central<br /> Argentine Railway New Shares at par, on<br /> which as holders of the Ordinary Stock they<br /> have an option.<br /> <br /> The trustees desire to thank the members<br /> of the Society for the continued support which<br /> they have given to the Pension Fund.<br /> <br /> The nominal value of the investments held<br /> on behalf of the Pension Fund now amounts<br /> to £4,764 6s., details of which are fully set out<br /> in the following schedule :—<br /> <br /> Nominal Value.<br /> <br /> £ os. 2.<br /> Local Loans ........+5.2+005+% 500 0 0<br /> Victoria Government 3% Consoli-<br /> <br /> dated Inscribed Stock ........ 291 19 11<br /> London and North-Western 3%<br /> <br /> Debenture Stock ............ 250 0 0<br /> Egyptian Government Irrigation<br /> <br /> Trust 4% Certificates ........ 200 0 0<br /> Cape of Good Hope 34% Inscribed<br /> <br /> Stock. 0.0.0.5. ten 200 0 0<br /> Glasgow and South-Western Rail-<br /> <br /> way 4% Preference Stock . 228 0 0<br /> New Zealand 34% Stock ....... 247 9 6<br /> Trish Land 22% Guaranteed Stock 258 0 0<br /> Corporation of London 23%<br /> <br /> Stock, 1927—57 ........-.45- 4388 2 4<br /> Jamaica 34% Stock, 1919—49 .. 182 18 6<br /> Mauritius 4% 1987 Stock ....... 120 12 1<br /> Dominion of Canada, C.P.R. 34%<br /> <br /> Land Grant Stock, 1938 ...... 198 8 8<br /> Antofagasta and Bolivian Railway<br /> <br /> 5% Preferred Stock .......... 237 0 0<br /> Central Argentine Railway Or-<br /> <br /> Aynary Stock ..64.....5.5.55. 232 0 0<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> ‘prior to October, nor does it include sub-<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Nominal Value.<br /> <br /> s. d.<br /> $2,000 Consolidated Gas and<br /> Electric Company of Baltimore<br /> 44% Gold Bonds .......-.+- 400 0 0<br /> 250 Edward Lloyd, Ltd., £1 5%<br /> Preference Shares ..........-- 250 0 O<br /> <br /> 55 Buenos Ayres Great Southern<br /> Railway 4% Extension Shares,<br /> 1914 (fully paid) ..........--<br /> <br /> 8 Central Argentine Railway £10<br /> Preference Shares, New Issue.. 30 0 O-<br /> <br /> PENSION FUND.<br /> age<br /> <br /> Tue list printed below includes all fresh dona-<br /> <br /> tions and subscriptions (7.é., donations and<br /> <br /> subscriptions not hitherto acknowledged)<br /> <br /> received by, or promised to, the fund from<br /> October 1, 1912.<br /> <br /> It does not include either donations given<br /> <br /> scriptions paid in compliance with promises<br /> made before it.<br /> <br /> Subscriptions.<br /> <br /> 1912. £ 5. 4<br /> Oct. 10, Escott, T. H. S. . . 0-5 @<br /> Oct. 10, Henderson, R. W. Wright. 0 5 0<br /> Oct. 10, Knowles, Miss M. W. - 0 5 8<br /> Oct. 11, Buckley, Reginald . 0 5 O<br /> Oct. 12, Walshe, Douglas 010 0<br /> Oct. 12, ‘‘ Penmark”’ . : 010 0<br /> Oct. 15, Sinclair, Miss Edith. 010 6<br /> Oct. 16, Markino, Yoshio 1 1°06<br /> Oct. 20, Fiamingo, Carlo 70s 8<br /> Oct. 29, Henley, Mrs. . 4 yo ia 8<br /> Nov. 8, Jane, L. Cecil . . 0 8 6<br /> Nov. 14, Gibb, W. 0 5 0<br /> Dec. 4, De Brath, SS. . : 0 5 0<br /> Dec. 4, Sephton, The Rev. J. 0 5 0<br /> Dec. 4, Cooper, Miss Marjorie 010 0<br /> Dec. 7, MacRitchie, David 0 5 OF<br /> Dec. 11, Fagan, James B. 10 04<br /> Dec. 27, Dawson, Forbes. . 010 6<br /> <br /> 1913.<br /> <br /> Jan. 8, Toynbee, William (in addi-<br /> tion to his present sub-<br /> scription). . .<br /> <br /> Jan. 9, Gibson, Frank .<br /> <br /> Jan. 29, Blackley, Miss E. L. ‘.<br /> <br /> Jan. 31, Annesley, Miss Maude .<br /> <br /> Feb. 6, Rothenstein, Albert . ‘<br /> <br /> Feb. 10, Bradshaw, Percy V. .<br /> <br /> April 8, Caulfield-Stoker, TT. ‘<br /> <br /> 2°<br /> <br /> eeocescsceo<br /> —<br /> Aontonane<br /> <br /> SAaAanDSSS<br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> vtDec.<br /> <br /> | 7<br /> ec<br /> <br /> | \oafDec.<br /> oatDec.<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR. 251<br /> <br /> Donations.<br /> <br /> 7 1912.<br /> <br /> ‘oyNov. 20, Kennard, Mrs. N. H. :<br /> A, McEwan, Miss M. S. .<br /> 4, Kennedy, E. B. . :<br /> <br /> 11, Begarnie, George ;<br /> 11, Tanner, James T. . :<br /> 11, Toplis, Miss Grace .<br /> <br /> ve(Dec. 14, Watson, Mrs. Herbert A..<br /> - \9afDec. 14, French, Mrs. Warner :<br /> <br /> (Dec.<br /> ri iofDec.<br /> aa(Dec.<br /> <br /> 17, Smith, Miss Sheila Kaye .<br /> 17, Marras, Mowbray . ‘<br /> 27, Edwards, Percy J. :<br /> <br /> oan 1913.<br /> <br /> ag Jan.<br /> ‘a Jan.<br /> igJan.<br /> is Jan.<br /> ‘eiJan.<br /> + aed an.<br /> : ald an.<br /> <br /> Jon.<br /> ‘elJan.<br /> .asiJan.<br /> aelJan.<br /> _asiJan.<br /> al Jan.<br /> ‘si Jan.<br /> ialJan.<br /> we isi Jan.<br /> atl Jan.<br /> 48 Jan.<br /> A alJan.<br /> &#039; agLJan.<br /> 48 Jan.<br /> ‘cal Jan.<br /> | “i Jan.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 1, Risque, W. H. ‘<br /> <br /> 1, Rankin, Mrs. F. M.<br /> <br /> 2, Short, Miss L. M.<br /> <br /> 2. Mackenzie, Miss J. A<br /> <br /> 2, Webling, Miss Peggy Z<br /> <br /> 3, Harris, “Mrs. E. H.. :<br /> <br /> S, Church, Sir Arthur,<br /> K.C.V. O., ete. :<br /> <br /> 4, Douglas, James A. : ;<br /> <br /> A, Grant, Lady Sybil<br /> <br /> 6, Haultain, Arnold<br /> <br /> 6, Beveridge, Mrs. 2<br /> <br /> 6, Clark, The Rev. Henry<br /> <br /> 6, Ralli, C. Scaramanja . :<br /> <br /> 6, Lathbury, Miss Eva .<br /> <br /> 6, Pryce, Richard -<br /> <br /> 7, Gibson Miss L. S. :<br /> <br /> 10, K. ‘ :<br /> <br /> 10, Ford, Miss May<br /> <br /> 12, Greenstreet, W. J.<br /> <br /> 14, Anon<br /> <br /> 15, Maude Aylmer<br /> <br /> 16, Price, Miss Eleanor .<br /> <br /> 17, Blouet, Madame<br /> <br /> , 20, P. H. and M.K. . :<br /> . 22, Smith, Herbert W. . ‘<br /> .25, Anon. . ‘ ‘<br /> . 27, Vernede, R. E. :<br /> <br /> . 29, Plowman, Miss Mary .<br /> . 29, Todd, Miss Margaret, M.D.<br /> , 31, J acobs, W. W. c :<br /> 1, Davy, Mrs. E.M. .<br /> <br /> . 8, Abraham, J. J. .<br /> . 4, Gibbs, F. L. A. :<br /> . 4, Buckrose, J. E. ‘ :<br /> . 4, Balme, Mrs. Nettleton :<br /> . 6, Coleridge, The Hon. Gilbert<br /> . 6, Machen, Arthur i<br /> . 6, Romane-James, Mrs. .<br /> . 6, Weston, Miss Lydia . :<br /> . 14, Saies, Mrs. F. H. (in addi-<br /> <br /> tion to her subscription)<br /> <br /> Feb. 14, O’Higgins, H. J. é<br /> <br /> a<br /> <br /> aH<br /> Ooo eeoceoogaonoonoancoooooecooooeooooooo cooooo ocooooeoooce:<br /> <br /> a<br /> oe OR Or OLOLO O-<br /> <br /> _<br /> <br /> i<br /> <br /> COOCSCSCO CHOCO CONMSCSCOMM<br /> OHTA A OO<br /> <br /> bent<br /> <br /> tet a<br /> oot QQaQek Ke OH OM ONE NPR OOCOHR EK ORM AAO OOOOH NS OH<br /> <br /> ooo COFMPRF OF OCrFONFOSCOCOCOBE OF COOCOCOBROWOORNWH!<br /> =<br /> <br /> et<br /> <br /> &amp;<br /> <br /> ed<br /> Ror oN:<br /> <br /> Feb. 15, Stephens, Dr. Ricardo<br /> Feb. 15, Jones, Miss E. H.<br /> Feb. 17, Whibley, Charles<br /> Feb. 22, Probert, W. S.<br /> Feb. 24, S. F. G.<br /> Feb. 27, XX. Pen Club :<br /> Mar. 7, Keating, The Rev. J.<br /> Lloyd. . -<br /> Mar. 7, Tharp, Robert C. . :<br /> Mar. 10, Hall, H. Fielding . :<br /> Mar. 18, Moffatt, Miss Beatrice<br /> Mar. 14, Bennett, Arnold .<br /> Mar. 17, Michell, The Right Hon.<br /> Sir Lewis, K.C.V.O, .<br /> Mar. 17, Travers, Miss Rosalind :<br /> Mar. 26, Hinkson, H. A. A 5<br /> Mar. 26, Anon. . : . :<br /> April 2, Daniel, E. J. . : ‘<br /> April 2, Hain, H. M. :<br /> April 7, Taylor, Miss Susette M.<br /> April 7, Harding, Newman .<br /> April 9, Strachey, Miss Amabel<br /> April 10, Aspinall, Algernon .<br /> April 15, Craig, Gordon<br /> <br /> naomoso OrRoooh<br /> <br /> SO Or Or<br /> <br /> moocoocoourorF<br /> ececooconooeoso SSeSoSoo cocoa eo oe<br /> <br /> SK Oranano ore ar<br /> <br /> oH<br /> <br /> CoMMITTEE’S CONFERENCE WITH EDITORS AND<br /> . NEWSPAPER PROPRIETORS.<br /> <br /> ene<br /> <br /> Durrine the past few months a considerable<br /> correspondence has passed between the Com-<br /> mittee of Management of the Society and the<br /> editors and publishers of papers, in order, if<br /> possible, to agree to some _ standardised<br /> arrangement for the payment of accepted<br /> contributions.<br /> <br /> It will be remembered that the committee<br /> notes published in the May issue of The Author<br /> contained a reference to a proposal to hold a<br /> conference on the subject in that month.<br /> Accordingly a circular was forwarded to the<br /> editors of magazines, putting forward the<br /> following proposal, that accepted articles,<br /> stories and illustrations should be paid for<br /> on publication or within six months from<br /> acceptance, whichever should be the shorter<br /> period. A number of letters were received in<br /> response and an influential gathering met to<br /> discuss the question. It was found impossible<br /> to pass any definite resolution at the meeting<br /> owing to the fact that some of the editors<br /> present were bound to refer the matter to the<br /> proprietors of the papers they represented,<br /> but they promised to do this, and the meeting<br /> accordingly was adjourned till Thursday,<br /> 252<br /> <br /> June 19, when it is hoped that some definite<br /> issue may be reached, which it will be possible<br /> to announce in The Author.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Dramatic SuB-COMMITTEE.<br /> <br /> Tur May meeting of the Dramatic Sub-<br /> Committee was held at the offices of the<br /> Society on Friday, May 23. After the<br /> minutes of the previous meeting had been<br /> read and signed, on a letter received by Mr.<br /> Bernard Shaw from Sir Herbert Beerbohm<br /> Tree the question of meeting delegates of<br /> the West End‘ Managers’ Association was<br /> discussed. It was decided that Mr. Shaw,<br /> Mr. Carton, Mr. Jerome and the secretary,<br /> subject to their consent, should act as delegates<br /> of the Dramatic Sub-Committee, and the<br /> secretary was instructed to write to the<br /> Society of West End Managers with a view to<br /> a meeting, if possible, early in June.<br /> <br /> The question of amateur rights was next<br /> dealt with, and a letter from the Association<br /> of Amateur Dramatic Clubs was laid before<br /> the mecting. The secretary was appointed<br /> as delegate to meet the association, and to<br /> discuss with that body the possibility of getting<br /> into touch with their members for the produc-<br /> tion of plays by the dramatists of the Society.<br /> <br /> A letter from Mr. H. M. Paull was also laid<br /> before the meeting, as also was a letter from<br /> Mrs. Maxwell Armfield. The secretary<br /> received instructions to reply. The questions<br /> contained in both the letters referred to<br /> amateur performances and the Collection<br /> Bureau of the Society, which is about to<br /> circularise the amateur clubs on behalf of the<br /> members.<br /> <br /> The secretary then reported to the sub-<br /> committee the plays with which the Bureau<br /> was dealing, and the number of dramatists<br /> for whom it was acting.<br /> <br /> The question of foreign dramatic agents<br /> appointed by the Society was considered and<br /> the sub-committee suggested that their names<br /> and addresses should be published monthly<br /> in The Author.<br /> <br /> It was decided to adjourn the Dramatic<br /> Conference till the autumn, after the meeting<br /> with the delegates of the West End Managers’<br /> Association.<br /> <br /> The sub-committee decided to ask the<br /> Committee of Management to obtain the<br /> opinion of a Dutch lawyer on the peculiar<br /> position arising out of the fact that Holland had<br /> only just joined the Berlin Convention. It<br /> appears that the Dutch are anxious to produce<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> English plays, but the question has arisen ag<br /> to the rights both of English dramatists and<br /> Dutch translators.<br /> <br /> The secretary then reported the legal cases —<br /> which had been taken up by the Society,<br /> After the discussion of the details of one case<br /> the sub-committee passed a recommendation ~<br /> to the Committee of Management that it —<br /> would be advisable to submit the matter to<br /> arbitration. i<br /> <br /> The consideration of the Dramatic Contract<br /> and Pamphlet was next commenced, and after<br /> considerable discussion the secretary was<br /> instructed to draft a fresh contract, for a period<br /> of years, between dramatists and managers.<br /> as this seemed to the sub-committee a more<br /> suitable form of contract for the benefit o<br /> members than the contract already embodied<br /> in the pamphlet.<br /> <br /> —_+ =&lt;<br /> <br /> ComposERS’ SUB-COMMITTEE.<br /> <br /> A MEETING of the Composers’ Sub-Com.<br /> mittee was held at the offices of the Society o<br /> Saturday, May 26. After reading the minute<br /> of the former meeting, a circular, which it wai<br /> proposed to send round to composers, wa<br /> considered and settled. The secretary wai<br /> instructed to send it round as soon as possibl<br /> that composers might be given an opportunit<br /> of answering the questions put before them,<br /> with a view to a closer combination of the<br /> profession.<br /> <br /> The sub-committee then considered thi<br /> names of members of the Society who might b<br /> suggested to the Committee of Managemen<br /> to fill the vacancy caused by the resignatio<br /> of Mr. Herbert Sullivan, and the secretary wa<br /> instructed to put forward their recommen<br /> dation at the next meeting.<br /> <br /> It had been suggested that the Mechanica<br /> Instrument Trade should be _ invited<br /> co-operate with the Society in order to obtai<br /> a joint opinion from counsel on question<br /> relating to copyright and mechanical repro<br /> duction. The secretary reported to the sub<br /> committee that the trade’ were unwilling<br /> adopt the suggestion, giving as their reaso<br /> the fact that they had, already, taken man<br /> opinions and that they did not see that an,<br /> good purpose would be served by taking<br /> further opinion. The sub-committee regrette<br /> they had adopted this view, as it seemed<br /> them that a joint opinion might have bee<br /> very useful to all parties and, if all parties ha<br /> decided to abide by it, would have saved<br /> considerable amount of litigation in the fut<br />  <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> ‘A contract proposed by a German Society<br /> _ fin respect to the collection of mechanical<br /> ‘epinstrument fees was next considered, and<br /> sathe secretary was instructed to write for<br /> “pfurther particulars in the hope that a satis-<br /> ioefactory agreement might be settled, by which<br /> ermembers of the Society could have their<br /> »rmechanical instrument fees collected in<br /> *o»Germany.<br /> <br /> A letter from a French society for the<br /> lecollection of fees was also considered, and the<br /> ‘ssecretary was instructed to ask for further<br /> jaidetails.<br /> <br /> ! The replies from music publishers to a<br /> ovicircular sent to them, on the instructions of<br /> eithe sub-committee, on the question of the<br /> “uniform rendering of accounts, were next<br /> soconsidered, and the secretary was instructed<br /> / eto tabulate the answers and to print an article<br /> son the matter in The Author.<br /> <br /> : After due consideration it was found<br /> “impossible to adopt a proposal to circularise<br /> Jpvillage musical clubs with a list of composers’<br /> tovworks suitable for reproduction by their com-<br /> ‘“semunities. With regret the sub-committee felt<br /> “compelled to abandon the idea. The view of<br /> sdthe sub-committee was that the matter was<br /> afone for the publishers rather than for the<br /> <br /> sor Society.<br /> —_ + &lt;-&gt; —<br /> <br /> Cases.<br /> <br /> Durie the month twelve cases have passed<br /> «i through the secretary’s hands. It is curious<br /> &#039;@ to note the increasing number of cases abroad.<br /> iC Of the twelve, four are foreign cases, two being<br /> “in the United States, and two in France.<br /> *s Last month four of the total number were<br /> ’# cases in foreign countries, one beingin Hungary,<br /> +7 two in the United States and one in Russia.<br /> 1The majority of cases this month are disputes<br /> fon terms of agreement. Five come under this<br /> so head ; of these, two have been settled, but the<br /> 1% other three are still open. Disputes on agree-<br /> of ments generally take a longer time to arrange<br /> sf than ordinary claims for money and accounts,<br /> 9% because, as a rule, a considerable amount of<br /> ‘1, correspondence is necessary.<br /> (There are four cases of claims for the<br /> ‘9 return of MSS. Two of these have been<br /> om successful and the MSS. have been returned<br /> 9 to the members ; in the third case, the person<br /> 6 to whom the MS. was sent has made every<br /> »-effort to find it, but the author had no evidence<br /> © to show that it actually came to hand. The<br /> ‘a6 last case has only recently come to the office.<br /> &quot;There are two cases for money and accounts.<br /> ‘one being in France and one in the United<br /> <br /> r<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 253<br /> <br /> States. These are both open, as sufficient time<br /> has not yet elapsed in which to receive a reply.<br /> <br /> The last question is one of accounts which<br /> has only come to the office just before going to<br /> press.<br /> <br /> There are two cases open from former<br /> months, one being in Hungary. As it is<br /> a dispute on an agreement and therefore a<br /> matter for negotiation, some time must elapse<br /> before it is finally settled, but the Socicty’s<br /> lawyers in Hungary have been successful in<br /> getting into favourable communication with<br /> the defendants. The second is an ordinary<br /> question of settlement of ageeement and as<br /> has already been stated, settlements of<br /> disputes on agreements take a longer time than<br /> mere questions of claims for liquidated<br /> amounts.<br /> <br /> Elections.<br /> <br /> Arthurs, George . . 22, Shandon Road,<br /> S.W. :<br /> <br /> Ivy Cottage, Clare-<br /> morris, Co. Mayo.<br /> 97, Finborough<br /> Road, Earl’s Court.<br /> Knocke - sur - mer,<br /> Belgium.<br /> The Towers,<br /> dlesham.<br /> Oaklands, Elstree.<br /> Lyceum Club, Picca-<br /> dilly, W.<br /> <br /> 43, Chisholm Road,<br /> Croydon.<br /> <br /> Aylward, Frank<br /> Banner, Joseph<br /> Brentwood, Evelyn<br /> <br /> Elvey, G. F. Handel Win-<br /> Everett, P. W. . S<br /> Graham, Miss Bertha N.<br /> <br /> Hardy, Dr. H. Nelson,<br /> <br /> F.R.C.S., Edin.<br /> Hosie, Miss Lillie C.<br /> Jerningham, Charles E. 14, Pelham Crescent,<br /> Thurloe Square,S.W.<br /> c/o Messrs. H. Massie<br /> &amp; Co., 21, Tavistock<br /> Street, Covent Gar-<br /> dens, W.C.<br /> <br /> Landi, Caroline F. M.,<br /> Countess Zanardi<br /> <br /> Louis, Edward Z<br /> Manahan, William A. . 110, Seville Place,<br /> North Strand, Dub-<br /> lin.<br /> <br /> 12b, London Road,<br /> St. Albans.<br /> Whitehall Hotel, 18,<br /> Montague Street,<br /> Russell Square,<br /> and Summit, W.C. ;<br /> New Jersey, U.S.A.,<br /> 36, Priory Terrace,<br /> Stamford, Lines.<br /> <br /> Nuttall, G. Clarke ,<br /> <br /> Porter, Grace Cleveland<br /> <br /> Raythorne, Miss Valerie<br /> 254<br /> <br /> Temple, The Rev. W. . The Hall, Repton,<br /> Burton-on-Trent.<br /> <br /> . The Towers, St.<br /> Stephens Road,<br /> Bath.<br /> <br /> West, Mrs. Katherine East<br /> S: Sussex.<br /> <br /> Willis, William 20, Belmont Road,<br /> Nicholas. Twickenham, S.W.<br /> <br /> Talbot, Mrs. :<br /> <br /> Grinstead,<br /> <br /> ——_+—&gt;—_+—___—_<br /> <br /> BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS.<br /> <br /> —— +<br /> <br /> While every effort is made by the compilers to keep<br /> this list as accurate and exhaustive as possible, they have<br /> some difficulty in attaining this object owing to the fact<br /> that many of the books mentioned are not sent to the office<br /> by the members. In consequence, it is necessary to rely<br /> largely upon lists of books which appear in literary and<br /> other papers. It is hoped, however, that members will<br /> co-operate in the compiling of this list, and, by sending<br /> particulars of their works, help to make it substantially<br /> accurate.<br /> <br /> ART.<br /> <br /> Wantep: A Mruistry oF Fine Arts.<br /> DewHurst. Reprinted from the<br /> 84 x 54. 101 pp. Hugh Rees. 1s. n.<br /> <br /> BIOGRAPHY.<br /> <br /> Wui1am Morris. A Study in Personality. By A.<br /> Compton Rickert. 82 X 5}. 325 pp. Herbert<br /> Jenkins. 7s. 6d. n.<br /> <br /> Goxtpwin SMITH’s CoRRESPONDENCE.<br /> Haviram. 9 x 53. 540 pp. Werner Laurie.<br /> <br /> BOOKS OF REFERENCE.<br /> <br /> Tue SraresMan’s YuAR Boor. 1913. Edited by<br /> J. Scorr Kerrie, LL.D. Assisted by M. Epsrzrn,<br /> Ph.D. 74 x 43. 1452 pp. Macmillan. 10s. 6d. n.<br /> <br /> DRAMA.<br /> <br /> Prays or Onp Japan. Tue “No.” By Mane C.<br /> Sroxzs, D.Sc., and Proressor Jogi SakuRal. With<br /> a Preface by His Excettency Baron Karo. 8} X 54.<br /> 103 pp. Heinemann. 5s. n.<br /> <br /> Tus Marrrep Woman. A Play in Three Parts. By<br /> Cc. B. Fernatp. 74x 5. 111 pp. Sidgwick &amp;<br /> Jackson. 3s. 6d. n.<br /> <br /> Toe “Minp THE Paint” GIRL.<br /> Acts. By Arraur W. PINzERO.<br /> Heinemann. ls. 6d.<br /> <br /> FICTION.<br /> <br /> Lorz or PROSERPINE. By MauricE HEWLETT.<br /> 288 pp. Macmillan. 5s. n.<br /> <br /> TurovcH THE Winpow. By Mary E. Many.<br /> 319 pp. Mills &amp; Boon. 6s.<br /> <br /> Tue Bonp or Freepom. By A. B. SPENS.<br /> 316 pp. Everett. 6s.<br /> <br /> Bistine Dawn. By Hanoitp Bzcain. 7} x 5.<br /> Hodder &amp; Stoughton. 68.<br /> <br /> Tun Destroyine ANGEL. By Louis J. VANCE.<br /> 309 pp. Grant Richards. 68.<br /> <br /> Ix tue Grre or Destiny. By Cuaruzs E.<br /> 74 x 5. 301 pp. George Allen.<br /> Tue Sxy-Line. By ErueEL CaNNIne.<br /> <br /> Digby, Long. 6s.<br /> <br /> By WyYNFORD<br /> Art Chronicle.<br /> <br /> Edited by ARNOLD<br /> 18s. n.<br /> <br /> A Comedy in Four<br /> 62 x 5. 234 pp.<br /> <br /> 72 x Sh.<br /> 72 x 5.<br /> 7% x 5.<br /> 312 pp.<br /> 7} x 5.<br /> SrERNY.<br /> <br /> 7h x 5. 381 pp.<br /> <br /> THE AUTAOR.<br /> <br /> Hearts at War. By Erris ADELAIDE ROWLANDS_<br /> 72x 5. 336 pp. Hurst &amp; Blackett. 6s.<br /> <br /> Oncz Rounp. By SterHen Knorr. 73 x 5. 366 pp,<br /> Murray &amp; Evenden. 6s.<br /> <br /> Love Lerrers or A WorLDLY Woman, By Mrs. W. K.<br /> Cuirrorp. Newand Enlarged Edition, 277 pp. Con-<br /> stable. 2s. 6d, n.<br /> <br /> Tur Pursuit or Mr. Favret.<br /> <br /> 6} x 4}. 380 pp. Nelson. 7d. n.<br /> <br /> Tur Sprvster. By Husert Waxes. (Cheap Edition)<br /> 74 x 43. 320 pp. John Long. Is. n.<br /> <br /> I wut Repay. By Tae Baroness Onczy.<br /> <br /> 74 x 44. Hodder &amp; Stoughton. Is. n.<br /> <br /> So ir Is WITH THE DaMSEL. By Nora VYNNE.<br /> Stanley Paul. 6s.<br /> <br /> Tun Kryepom. By H. ErspaLe Goap.<br /> pp. Heinemann. 6s.<br /> <br /> Tur Hovse or Sanps. By L. M. Wart.<br /> <br /> 312 pp. Martin Secker. 6s.<br /> <br /> Mr. Laxwortuy’s ADVENTURES. By E. P. OPPENHEIM<br /> 7% x 5. 312 pp. Cassell. 3s. 6d.<br /> <br /> Tur Mixp Reaper. By Max RITTENBERG.<br /> 325 pp. Appletons. 6s. :<br /> <br /> Tus Gops ARE Atuirst. Authorised Translation. B<br /> A. Attinson. 8} x 5}. 285 pp. Lane. 6s.<br /> <br /> Tue Pomp oF THE Lavierres. By GisERT PARKER<br /> 64 x 4}. 223 pp. Methuen. 7d. n. :<br /> <br /> Tue STRENGTH OF THE Hits. By HaLirwELt SUTCLIFFE-<br /> 732 x 54. 307 pp.<br /> <br /> Hatr anp Harr TRAGEDY.<br /> By A. R. Horn. 8 X 5}.<br /> <br /> E1iza’s Son. By Barry Pain. 7} X 5.<br /> Cassell. Is. n. ]<br /> <br /> Tas Woorne or Miranwy. Second Edition. By<br /> Eprru C. Kenyon. Holden &amp; Hardingham. 6s.<br /> <br /> THe WINNING oF GwENoRA. By Epira C. Kenyon-<br /> Holden &amp; Hardingham. 6s.<br /> <br /> HISTORY.<br /> <br /> A GxgweraL History oF THE WORLD. By Oscar<br /> BROWNING, Senior Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge,.<br /> ete. With Maps and Genealogical Ta les. 74 X 5.<br /> 799 pp. Arnold. 7s. 6d. n. School Edition. 5s. n.<br /> <br /> it x 5<br /> <br /> Stanley Paul. 6s.<br /> <br /> Scenes in Black and White.<br /> 58, 8<br /> 119 pp.<br /> <br /> 340 pp. Black.<br /> <br /> LAW,<br /> <br /> Pmorace Law. Being the Pilotage Act, 1913. With<br /> Introduction, Notes and Appendices. By E. AYLMER.<br /> Diasy, Lieutenant R.N. (retired), Secretary to Depart-<br /> mental Committee of Pilotage, 1909—11. Barrister-at-<br /> Law, and 8. D. Corz, Member of the Departmental ©<br /> Committee on Pilotage, 1909—11, Solicitor of the ~<br /> Supreme Court. 8} X Bf. 108 pp. Sweet &amp; Maxwell.”<br /> <br /> _ 56. nD.<br /> LITERARY.<br /> <br /> Jovous Garp. By A. C. BEnson. 7x 5. 235 pp-<br /> Murray. 3s. 6d. n.<br /> <br /> THe VULGATE VERSION OF THE ARTHURIAN RoMANCES. ©<br /> Edited from Manuscripts in the British Museum. By —<br /> Hi. Oskar Sommer. Vol. VI., Le Aventures ou las:<br /> Queste del Saint Graal: La Mort de Roi Artus..<br /> 12 x 94.’ 390 pp. Washington : The Carnegie Insti<br /> tute of Washington. :<br /> <br /> Tan Joy or THE THEaTRE. By GitpeRT CANNANS<br /> 7x 5. Batsford. 2s. n. ,<br /> <br /> Tur Country. By E. THomas. 7 X 5. 60 pp. Bats<br /> ford. 2s, n.<br /> <br /> MISCELLANEOUS.<br /> <br /> ‘Tan Perrect GentLEMaN. A guide to Social Aspirants.<br /> By Harry GRraHAM. New Edition. 7$ x 5. 212 pp<br /> Arnold. 2s. 6d. n.<br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> NATURAL HISTORY.<br /> <br /> ‘oul FLowrrLess Puants. How and Where they Grow.<br /> i ‘By S. Lzonarp Bastry. 8} x 5}. 152 pp. Cassell.<br /> ‘Oo 68. n.<br /> <br /> “if Tur Brrps or Austra. By<br /> ‘sf ‘~-Vol. IIT., Part II. 143 x 10}. 105—204 pp..<br /> <br /> SOCIOLOGY.<br /> <br /> ~ | Inprviptcm wunp STaat: UNTERSUCHUNGEN UBER DIE<br /> nied GRUNDLAGE DER Kuttur. By GrorGEs CHATTERTON-<br /> ca . Hin, Ph.D. Verlag von<br /> <br /> oa. J.C. &#039;B. Mohr.<br /> <br /> G. M. Marraews<br /> Witherby<br /> <br /> xvii x 207 pp. Tiibingen:<br /> <br /> TOPOGRAPHY.<br /> <br /> By Himatre BELLoc.<br /> 7s. 6d. n.<br /> <br /> TRAVEL.<br /> <br /> c70) Queer THINGS ABOUT JAPAN. By Dovetas SLADEN.<br /> Fourth Edition, to which is added a Life of the late<br /> “ +Emperor of Japan. 8} x 54. 443 pp. Kegan Paul.<br /> : 6s. n.<br /> /an—) me Conressions oF A TENDERFOOT.<br /> Grant Richards. 10s. 6d.<br /> <br /> ‘a— Tue Stane STREET. 83 x 6.<br /> <br /> 304 pp. Constable.<br /> <br /> By Ratpx Stock.<br /> <br /> —<br /> <br /> re<br /> <br /> MITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL<br /> NOTES.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ts HE late Professor Goldwin Smith’s<br /> Bt ‘Correspondence’? has been _ pub-<br /> : lished by his literary executor, Mr.<br /> “@* Arnold Haultain, through Mr. T. Werner<br /> I Laurie. The book, which is demy §8vo,<br /> 560 pages, with illustrations, costs 18s. net,<br /> “ee .and comprises letters written, not only by<br /> _ Goldwin Smith, but also to him by Matthew<br /> Arnold, W. E. Gladstone, Frederick Harrison,<br /> Lord Cromer, and many other famous people,<br /> living and dead.<br /> <br /> The ‘Life of the Right Hon. Sir Alfred<br /> “Comyn Lyall,” by Sir Mortimer Durand<br /> (Messrs. Blackwood &amp; Sons, 16s. net),<br /> noticed in another column.<br /> <br /> M. Maurice Bourgeois, the sole authorised<br /> French translator and producer of the late<br /> J. M. Synge’s “Playboy of the Western<br /> World ” and ‘‘ Well of the Saints,” is bringing<br /> out, in September, through Messrs. Constable,<br /> .a work entitled ‘“‘ John Milligan Synge and the<br /> Irish Theatre.”<br /> <br /> Mr. Douglas Sladen’s new novel is ‘‘ The<br /> ‘Curse of the Nile ’’—a story of Egypt in Khar-<br /> tum and Omdurman days. The publishers<br /> -are Messrs. Stanley Paul &amp; Co.<br /> <br /> Messrs. Duckworth &amp; Co. publish Mr. J.<br /> ‘Quigley’s “‘ Leandro Ramon Garrido: His<br /> Life and Art,” with twenty-six full-page<br /> ‘reproductions of the painter’s art.<br /> is 5s. net.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> The price<br /> <br /> 255<br /> <br /> Dr. Henry Lansdell has brought out the<br /> fourth part of his history of “ Princess 4lfrida’s<br /> Charity” (Messrs. Burnside, Ltd., 6d., by<br /> post 7d.), describing Morden College under its<br /> early trustees, ete.<br /> <br /> ** Pilotage Law ”’ (described in the sub-title<br /> as ‘* The Pilotage Act, 1913, with Introduction,<br /> Notes, and Appendices’) is the joint pro-<br /> duction of Messrs. E. Aylmer Digby, lieutenant<br /> R.N., retired, and Sanford D. Cole, author of<br /> ‘* The Shipmaster’s Handbook to the Merchant<br /> Shipping Acts,” etc. Messrs. Sweet &amp; Maxwell<br /> are the publishers.<br /> <br /> Mr. Humfrey Jordan’s novel, ‘“‘ Patchwork<br /> Comedy,” is being produced by Messrs. Put-<br /> nam in three editions—English, American, and<br /> Australian.<br /> <br /> ‘“Feigning or Folly’ is the name of Miss<br /> A. V. Dutton’s latest story (Messrs. Heath,<br /> Cranton &amp; Ouseley).<br /> <br /> Mrs. J. G. Frazer has produced, through<br /> Messrs. Heffer &amp; Sons, of Cambridge, ‘* First<br /> Aid to the Servantless,” a book for all who<br /> would reduce the work of the house to a<br /> minimum without sacrificing its comforts.<br /> The price is 1s. net, and 2,000 copies have<br /> already been sold.<br /> <br /> Mr. R. H. Forster, the Northumbrian author,<br /> is bringing out with Messrs. John Long, Ltd.,<br /> ** The Little Maister,”’ another historical novel<br /> dealing with his favourite portion of England.<br /> <br /> Mr. R. F. Johnston, author of ‘‘ From Peking<br /> to Mandalay,” ete., has written a book on<br /> ** Buddhist China,”’ which is to be published by<br /> Mr. John Murray.<br /> <br /> Miss Grace Porter’s forthcoming work will<br /> be a collection of traditional negro plantation<br /> singing-games, most of them transcribed by<br /> the author with the guidance of an old negress ;<br /> to which is added a group of French Canadian<br /> folk singing-games played by the “‘ Habitants.”<br /> It will be published by Messrs. Curwen.<br /> <br /> “A Grey Life,” by ‘“‘ Rita’ (Mrs. Desmond<br /> Humphreys), is already in its fourth edition.<br /> <br /> Under the title of “Letters to Jack’s<br /> Mother,’ Mr. Edgar W. Martin has written a<br /> little pamphlet on the training of a child—at<br /> the request of a lady social worker in Bir-<br /> mingham. Messrs. Cornish Brothers, of that<br /> city, publish it at 1s. 8d. a dozen copies,<br /> including postage.<br /> <br /> ** Life’s Many Colours” is a collection of<br /> essays by Mr. J. C. Wright, F.R.S.L.<br /> <br /> A new and cheaper edition of ‘‘ The Perfect<br /> Gentleman: A Guide to Social Aspirants,”’ by<br /> Captain Harry Graham, has been issued by<br /> Mr. Edward Arnold. The pen-and-ink sketches<br /> by Mr.. Lewis Baumer are included.<br /> 256<br /> <br /> Mr. Ralph Stock, whose travel book, “ The<br /> Confessions of a Tenderfoot,” is chronicled<br /> elsewhere in this issue, has published a novel,<br /> entitled ‘‘ The Pyjama Man,” through Messrs.:<br /> Hutchinson &amp; Co., during the past month.<br /> The first book is a record of the author’s world<br /> wanderings and experiences during the last<br /> twelve years in Canada, America, the South<br /> Pacific Islands, and Australia, illustrated with.<br /> eighty-five photographs taken by Mr. Stock.<br /> The second book is the love story of a young<br /> Englishman in Australia.<br /> <br /> It is announced that this spring MM. Payot<br /> &amp; Cie., of Lausanne, intend to issue a French<br /> translation, by E. Combe, of Mr. W. A. B.<br /> Coolidge’s book entitled ‘‘ The Alps in Nature<br /> and History” (published by Messrs. Methuen<br /> in 1908). Mr. Coolidge asks us to state that<br /> this translation has been neither authorised<br /> nor approved by him, so that he declines to be<br /> held responsible for any mistakes or alterations<br /> that may be contained therein.<br /> <br /> Mr. Basil Stewart edits ‘‘ The Lecture Year<br /> Book, 1913-4,’ which Messrs. Heath, Cranton<br /> &amp; Ouseley publish at 3s. 6d. net. Lecturers,<br /> the Preface states, are perhaps the only pro-<br /> fessional class hitherto without their annual<br /> reference book, and this is an endeavour to<br /> supply the lack. Portraits of various pro-<br /> minent lecturers and lecture-secretaries are<br /> included.<br /> <br /> “Christopher Columbus: An Historic<br /> Drama in Four Acts,’’ is published for the<br /> author, Mr. Roland Hill, by Messrs. Sampson,<br /> Low, Marston &amp; Co.<br /> <br /> ‘People (thither coming out of a region<br /> wherein disasters are met as if they were a jest)<br /> whom You may Meet at the Fair ” is the name<br /> given by Mr. Adair Welcker, of Berkeley, Cali-<br /> fornia, to a work of which a copy has been<br /> forwarded to us by him. We take a passage<br /> from the Foreword: ‘‘ One of the great labors<br /> that through this book will eventually be seen<br /> to have been accomplished is this: All pub-<br /> lishers, and all authors of the world, are to be<br /> shown that to a work not miscalled ‘ literature ’<br /> will the attention of mankind be, to the limit<br /> of its reading capacity, given, without the<br /> adoption into the world of business by any<br /> publisher, and use . . . of the various methods<br /> that by prescription have become the property<br /> of (and therefore of which they should not be<br /> despoiled) mendicants — beggars — lazaroni.”<br /> In other words, Mr. Welcker has published the<br /> book himself.<br /> <br /> We regret to record the death, on April 25,<br /> of Mrs. Harcourt-Roe, of Hurst, Berks, for<br /> many years a member of the Society. Her<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> chief literary work lay in novel writing, though<br /> her latest publication, ‘ as a March<br /> Hare,” or “The Land of Shadows,” could —<br /> hardly be designated as such, being a political<br /> skit. Among her novels were ‘‘ The Bachelor<br /> Vicar of Newforth?” ‘‘ Whose Wife?” ‘* The<br /> Silent Room,” ‘‘ A Man of Mystery,” ete., all<br /> of which earned the appreciation of her public,<br /> In connection with *‘ A Man of Mystery ”’ Mrs.<br /> Harcourt-Roe received many letters from the<br /> late Lady Isabel Burton and others on the<br /> subject of its exposition of the Buddhist<br /> religion and its suggestion of the force of will-<br /> power. Her favourite line of thought was of<br /> a high spiritual order, thrown into the form of<br /> a novel, and she took great interest in all<br /> literary affairs.<br /> <br /> Soho Square—‘“‘the prettiest square in<br /> London,”’ according to Sir Walter Besant—<br /> has been the scene of a reception by Messrs.<br /> A. and C. Black to the contributors of the<br /> ‘*Englishwoman’s Year Book,’’ one of the<br /> many annuals issued by them. The guests.<br /> were received by the editor, Miss G. E. Mitton,<br /> supported by the consultative committee, Lady<br /> Strachey, Lady Huggins, Mrs. Hertha Ayrton,<br /> M.1.E.E., Miss S. A. Burstall, M.A., Mrs. J. R.<br /> Green, and Dr. Margaret Todd; also by Mr.<br /> Adam Black and his partner, and other mem-<br /> bers of the firm. After tea the many treasures<br /> in possession of Messrs. Black were displayed,<br /> including the famous interleaved set of the<br /> Waverley Novels, in which Sir Walter Scott<br /> made his additions and corrections for the final<br /> edition.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> DraMarIc.<br /> <br /> At the Court Theatre, on May 12, Miss<br /> Horniman revived “The Pigeon,” Mr. John<br /> Galsworthy’s three-act fantasy, originally pro-<br /> duced at the same theatre a year and a half ago.<br /> The sketch ‘“‘ The Widow Woos,” which is<br /> now the curtain-raiser to “* The Headmaster ”<br /> at the Playhouse, is a dramatisation by Mrs.<br /> Francis Blundell and Mr. Sydney Valentine of<br /> a short story by the former.<br /> On May 17 a new musical play, “ The Mar-<br /> riage Market,”’ was produced at Daly’s Theatre,<br /> being the work of Messrs. Brody and Martos,<br /> adapted for the English stage by Miss Gladys<br /> Unger, with lyrics by Messrs. Arthur Anderson<br /> and Adrain Ross, and music by Mr. V. Jacobi.<br /> On May 29 Mr. Bernard Shaw’s “ Cesar and<br /> Cleopatra ”’ was played by Mr. Forbes Robert-<br /> son for the last time at Drury Lane. On the<br /> following day there was a revival of the<br /> dramatic version of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s<br /> “The Light that Failed.”<br />  <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> _ At the Aldwych Theatre, from May 27 to<br /> -/May 31, a new musical play, “‘ Claude Abroad,”<br /> swas staged, in aid of the Middlesex Hospital.<br /> The book was by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Scott-<br /> eaatty, and the music by Mr. Charles Scott-<br /> asatty, Sir Alfred Scott-Gatty, and Mr. Cecil<br /> oForsyth.<br /> ‘| During the Croydon Repertory Season, at<br /> uche Grand Theatre, Mr. Keble Howard pre-<br /> -asented, for the third week, Mr. Charles<br /> ~9McEvoy’s four-act comedy, “* The Situation at<br /> »Newbury,”’ first seen at the Liverpool Reper-<br /> scory Theatre last year.<br /> MUSICAL.<br /> _ At the Queen’s Hall, on the evening of<br /> aMay 6, the London Choral Society gave an<br /> anniversary concert in memory of King<br /> 5Edward’s death, May 6, 1910. The pro-<br /> “sgramme consisted chiefly of works by Miss<br /> ~sMargaret Meredith, including settings of Mr.<br /> biRudyard’s Kipling’s “‘ Recessional’”’ and Mr.<br /> “wOwen Seaman’s ‘“ Passing of King Edward<br /> IVIL.,” for choir, organ, and piano. Among the<br /> »oerformers were Sefior Casals (violoncello),<br /> »2iMiss Ada Forrest, Miss Phyllis Lett, and Mr.<br /> s9cecil Fanning (vocalists), and Miss Meredith<br /> wterself (pianoforte). The whole concert was<br /> seleserving of a larger audience than was<br /> »eooresent ; but, as it was, encores lengthened it<br /> © yy nearly half an hour.<br /> <br /> ——_—__—_—_+——_e_—__.<br /> <br /> PARIS NOTES.<br /> — a<br /> <br /> [ A MAISON ”’ is the title of the latest<br /> novel by Henry Bordeaux. It is<br /> the autobiography of a boy, Francis,<br /> “iavhich, with the exception of certain details,<br /> ‘uinight be the autobiography of hundreds of<br /> “iaoys of provincial France of to-day. The<br /> shitle, “La Maison”? would be extremely<br /> oth ifficult to render in English, as it means here<br /> “ She ancestral house, the symbol of the past,<br /> &#039;) f£ the family which has inhabited it for<br /> /ofenerations. It is one of the most essentially<br /> rench books which has been published for<br /> long time and, in order to appreciate it, the<br /> “Peeader must be able to place himself in the<br /> <br /> murroundings described by the author.<br /> “T The book is extremely interesting as a<br /> “oysychological study. The boy’s father is the<br /> “iqypical head of the family, his mother a very<br /> ypical French wife and mother, upholding the<br /> ditions of the race. Then comes a curious<br /> gure in the person of the boy’s grandfather,<br /> ‘man who would break through the traditional<br /> stters and who, perhaps more out of bravado<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 257<br /> <br /> ~~’<br /> <br /> than from real conviction, professes to have<br /> gone over to the new order of things. Francis<br /> is greatly influenced by his grandfather. He<br /> begins to look disdainfully on the rest of his<br /> family and their old-fashioned ways. He<br /> accompanies his grandfather to a café, where<br /> he hears all kinds of theories propounded.<br /> He is at first amazed, but gradually becomes<br /> quite accustomed to the new ideas. Nothing<br /> could be more slight than the story. There<br /> are very few events interesting to anyone but<br /> the family immediately concerned. The whole<br /> interest centres in the psychology of the various<br /> members of the family, including the typical<br /> spinster aunt, with her ever-ready duster and<br /> brush. It is not until Francis finds himself<br /> unexpectedly the head of the family that he<br /> realises all that it means and rouses to a sense<br /> of responsibility. This novel is, perhaps, the<br /> strongest and most concise of any yet written<br /> by M. Bordeaux, who is a typical representative<br /> of conservative France.<br /> <br /> ‘““Au Hasard de la Vie,” by Edouard<br /> Lockroy, has just been published, with a<br /> preface by Jules Claretie. This volume of<br /> notes and souvenirs represents half a century<br /> of the author’s life. M. Lockroy, who was<br /> formerly Minister of the Navy, has known<br /> most of the interesting Frenchmen of his<br /> time. He is an extremely cultivated man and<br /> an ardent patriot. The volume is composed<br /> of a series of articles on the most varied topics<br /> imaginable. The author writes of his recol-<br /> lections of the year 1848, of Garibaldi, of<br /> Renan. M. Lockroy accompanied Renan on<br /> his scientific mission to Phoenicia and he now<br /> gives us some excellent portraits of one of the<br /> most interesting of Frenchmen. Several<br /> chapters are devoted to this expedition, which<br /> is most graphically described. A large part of<br /> the volume treats of the various episodes of<br /> the war of °70. Autour de Metz, Autour du<br /> 4 Septembre, Pendant le Siege and A Versailles,<br /> are the titles of these chapters. M. Lockroy<br /> also gives us two excellent chapters on M. de<br /> Bulow and Victor Hugo.<br /> <br /> In a volume, entitled ‘“‘ Les Fantoches de la<br /> Peur,” Charles Foley has grouped the various<br /> individuals who have inspired fear. We have<br /> Les Fantoches de la Bastille, Dupes, Dupeurs,<br /> Dupes, Fantoches burlesques, Fantoches tra-<br /> giques, Folies burlesques, Folies tragiques.<br /> In the last chapter, Leur Fraternité, the author<br /> sums up the chief principle of this fraternity in<br /> the celebrated phrase, ‘‘ Sois mon frére, ou je te<br /> tue,” which is the main principle of nearly all<br /> political and religious fanaticism. In this<br /> work the author has gone back to the accounts<br /> <br /> <br /> 258<br /> <br /> of contemporaries, and the consequence is that<br /> we find quite another La Fayette, Biron,<br /> Hanriot and Fouquier-Tinville than those<br /> which later historians have painted. The<br /> grouping of the fantoches is an excellent idea,<br /> and the various anecdotes and quotations make<br /> the accounts most entertaining.<br /> <br /> “ J;’Entraineuse ” is the title of the novel by<br /> Charles Esquier from which the piece now<br /> being given has been taken. It is a novel<br /> which appeals more directly to the Latin race ;<br /> the story of a wife sacrificing everything for<br /> her husband, a weak man, whom she loves<br /> with an almost maternal love. The play is<br /> having as much success as the novel.<br /> <br /> ‘* Parvati,”’ by Robert Chauvelot, is a story<br /> of one of the désenchantées of India. The<br /> author tells us the tragic story of a beautiful<br /> young woman, who, after finishing her educa-<br /> tion in European countries, is destined for the<br /> wife of a Maharajah. Her husband sends for<br /> a celebrated French artist to paint her por-<br /> trait, with the result that the artist falls hope-<br /> lessly in love with his model. We then have<br /> some very graphic descriptions of the ways and<br /> customs of the country to which the woman<br /> belongs, and we follow the lovers through the<br /> various episodes of their escapade to the tragic<br /> dénouement.<br /> <br /> “En Colonne ” is the title of a volume by<br /> General Bruneau, in which the intrepid<br /> soldier and explorer gives us an account of his<br /> various expeditions. Among the subjects are :<br /> Souvenirs de V Insurrection Kabile, Le Sanglier<br /> Marabout, Une Vision des Temps Prehistoriques,<br /> Un Affut a la Panthere, Un Raid_d&#039;Infanterie,<br /> Entre la Vie er la Mort, and A la Légion.<br /> <br /> An extremely valuable historical work has<br /> just been published by Mlle. Emilie Cher-<br /> buliez. It is entitled ‘“‘ Mémoires de Isaac<br /> Cornuaud sur Genéve et la Révolution de 1770<br /> 421795.” The book will be greatly appreciated<br /> by all who are interested in the history of<br /> Switzerland. Isaac Cornuaud was one of the<br /> ardent patriots of his day, a man who con-<br /> tributed largely to the political history of his<br /> country. Mlle. Cherbuliez has compiled the<br /> volume from ten huge manuscript volumes, of<br /> about 500 pages each, written between the<br /> years 1785 and 1796 by her great-great-grand-<br /> father. Isaac Cornuaud was the great-grand-<br /> father of Victor Cherbuliez, and, thanks to his<br /> position and personality, he had_ excellent<br /> opportunities for seeing and knowing every-<br /> thing which concerned the life, at that critical<br /> time, of the “ political atom,” as he styles<br /> Geneva. The Introduction to the volume is<br /> written by Gaspard Vallette, and the bio-<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> graphical notice by Mlle. Cherbuliez. Among<br /> the twenty-three chapters are the following;<br /> Introduction a Vhistoire des Natifs jusqu&#039;a 1766,<br /> including the Rapports des Natifs avec Voltaire;<br /> Le Plan de Conciliation; La Prise d’armes dus<br /> fevrier 1781; Entrée des troupes étrangeres %<br /> Geneve; Genéve, apres la Révolution de 1782;<br /> La Révolution de 1789; L’égalité politique; Le ~<br /> gouvernement révolutionnaire; and Questions sae&quot;<br /> administratives et économiques.<br /> <br /> At the Odéon, ‘‘ David Copperfield ” is being — -<br /> played. ‘‘ La Demoiselle de Magasin is now #<br /> being given at the Gymnase, and, at the | «<br /> Athenée, ‘‘ La Semaine Folle.”<br /> <br /> At the ThéAtre des Champs-Elysées “ Boris<br /> Godounow”’ is now on the bill, and at the ©<br /> Gymnase we are to have a series of Polish plays, |<br /> <br /> Atys Hatuarp,<br /> <br /> “La Maison.’ (Plon.)<br /> <br /> &lt;&lt; Au Hasard de la Vie.”’ (Grasset.)<br /> <br /> “Les Fantoches dela Peur.” (Blond.)<br /> <br /> “L’Entraineuse.” (Calmann-Lévy.)<br /> <br /> “Parvati.” (Michel.)<br /> <br /> «En Colonne.” (Calmann-Lévy.)<br /> <br /> “Mémoires de Isaac Cornuaud sur Genive et la<br /> Révolution de 1770 4 1795.’ (A. Jullien.)<br /> <br /> +—&lt;—_+—___—_-<br /> <br /> LEGAL CASES.<br /> <br /> ———+ —<br /> Copyricut TECHNICALITIES 1N THE U.S.A, — =<br /> I<br /> <br /> EGAL cases in the United States ate ©<br /> matters of almost equal interest to<br /> United States authors and to British<br /> <br /> authors. The case quoted below is of special<br /> importance as it shows the difficulties into»<br /> which it is possible to run when the law makes |<br /> technicalities essential for securing copyright. | ~<br /> There is hardly any copyright case taken im<br /> the United States but the pirate or other’ ©<br /> offender bases his defence on the technicalities ~<br /> necessary under the United States Act. Tne :<br /> case quoted is taken from the New York Times :<br /> and that paper in its leader on the subject,<br /> states as follows :—‘ Section 12, upon while<br /> the Court based judgment, says that no action<br /> or proceedings shall be maintained for oe<br /> ment of copyright until the copies of<br /> pea have been deposited in the mails<br /> n vain the counsel for The Times pointed out<br /> to the Court that the action was not for<br /> infringement of copyright, it was not 4 suit)<br /> to recover damages, it was an equity pro=&quot;<br /> ceeding to restrain a threatened violation of | 3,<br /> its copyright.” It further adds :—* If the) ©<br /> law is to be construed as it has been constru Ls ;<br /> in the present case, ‘ what may we expect when’<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> oo ee<br /> <br /> Bae<br /> <br /> Mico SG<br /> <br /> sete<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 28 Sh wig<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ’ Pole,<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> the Courts are asked to pass on the meaning<br /> of the “registration” in Section 127°” The<br /> matter is, of course, a very serious matter, and<br /> it is a real blessing that under the new English<br /> Copyright Act no technicalities whatever are<br /> necessary. This has its disadvantages, but the<br /> advantages running with no technicalities are<br /> overwhelming, and the plenipotentiaries who<br /> met at the Convention of Berlin, as at the<br /> Convention of Berne, fully understood its<br /> importance.<br /> <br /> The Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed<br /> the decree of the United States District Court,<br /> dismissing on demurrer the complaint of The<br /> New York Times Company against The Sun<br /> Printing and Publishing Association in an<br /> equity suit to secure an injunction forbidding<br /> the publication by the defendant of Amund-<br /> sen’s account of his discovery of the South<br /> of which copyright had been secured by<br /> The Times. The decree of the District Court<br /> is sustained on the ground that at the time the<br /> injunction was applied for The Times had not<br /> complied with that provision of the copyright<br /> law which requires that two complete copies<br /> of the publication must be deposited in the<br /> mails addressed to the Register of Copyrights<br /> at Washington.<br /> <br /> The history of the case is that The Times<br /> acquired by purchase from the London<br /> Chronicle the full American rights of publica-<br /> tion and copyright in Amundsen’s personal<br /> narrative. The Amundsen story was cabled<br /> to The Times on the afternoon of March 8,<br /> 1912. The matter was put in type, bound in<br /> book form with a copyright notice on each<br /> copy, and prior to the application for injunction<br /> it was publicly exposed for sale and copies were<br /> sold. ‘This step was taken in order to secure<br /> a copyright under section 9 of the Copyright<br /> Act, which provides—<br /> <br /> “That any person entitled thereto by this Act may<br /> secure copyright for his work by publication thereof with<br /> the notice of copyright required by this Act ; and such notice<br /> <br /> shall be affixed to each copy thereof published or offered<br /> for sale in the United States by the authority of the copy-<br /> <br /> right proprietor.”<br /> <br /> The Times felt that this publication with<br /> copyright notice had made the copyright secure.<br /> The word ‘‘ secure” is used in section 9. The<br /> word is again used in section 12—<br /> <br /> “that after copyright has been secured by publication of<br /> the work with the notice of copyright as provided in<br /> section 9 of this Act.”<br /> <br /> If the provisions of section 9 and section 12<br /> mean anything, they mean that by publication<br /> of the Amundsen story in book form with<br /> copyright notice, The Times had before 10 P.M.<br /> of March 8 secured its copyright.<br /> <br /> 259<br /> <br /> Now as to the mailing provision. Sec-<br /> tion 12 provides that after copyright has been<br /> secured by publication with the copyright<br /> notice,—<br /> <br /> “there shall be promptly deposited in the copyright office<br /> or in the mail addressed to the Register of Copyrights,<br /> <br /> Washington, D.C., two complete copies of the best edition<br /> thereof then published.”<br /> <br /> It is perfectly true, as Judge Lacombe said<br /> in his opinion, on which the decree of the<br /> District Court was made, that The Times,<br /> had in its possession copies of the publication,<br /> two of which it might at once have deposited<br /> in the mails. But on the evening in question<br /> The Times had before it the rules and regula-<br /> tions established by the Register of Copyrights<br /> for procedure in such cases. One of these<br /> rules related to the form of the affidavit to be<br /> submitted to the Register with the copies<br /> mailed or deposited by the applicant. It is<br /> here quoted :—<br /> <br /> “Noricy.—The date of the execution of this affidavit<br /> must be subsequent to the stated date of the publication<br /> of the book.”<br /> <br /> That is not permissive, but mandatory.<br /> The date of the publication of the book was<br /> March 8. Therefore two copies of the book<br /> with the accompanying affidavit were deposited<br /> in the mails addressed to the Register of Copy-<br /> rights at Washington a few minutes after mid-<br /> night. The copies were mailed, that is, on<br /> March 9. But as The Times had been put no<br /> notice of an intention on the part of some of<br /> its contemporaries to publish the Amundsen<br /> story, it was necessary that the application<br /> for an injunction to restrain such acts in<br /> violation of its copyright should be made<br /> before midnight on March 8. The application<br /> was so made and a restraining order issued.<br /> Both the application and issue necessarily<br /> preceded the deposit of the copies in the mails<br /> addressed to the Register of Copyrights, which<br /> did not take place until a few minutes alter<br /> midnight.<br /> <br /> On this account the District Court set aside<br /> the restraining order, and on this ground the<br /> Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the decree<br /> dismissing the injunction proceedings. The<br /> court bases its affirmance upon this provision<br /> of section 12 of the copyright law :—<br /> <br /> “No action or proceeding shall be maintained for infringe-<br /> ment of copyright in any work until the provisions of this<br /> Act with respect to deposit of copies and registration of<br /> such work shall have been complied with.”<br /> <br /> This decision would seem proper enough in<br /> a suit for damages for infringement begun<br /> before the deposit of copies in the mails. But<br /> The Times had begun no such suit; its pro-<br /> <br /> <br /> 260<br /> <br /> ceeding on the night of March 8 was taken for<br /> the purpose of preventing, not punishing,<br /> infringement. Section 86 of the Copyright<br /> Act provides—<br /> <br /> “That any such Court or Judge thereof shall have power,<br /> upon bill in equity filed by any party aggrieved, to grant<br /> injunctions to prevent and restrain the violation of any right<br /> secured by said laws.”<br /> <br /> Taking the words of section 9, “‘ may secure<br /> copyright for his work by publication thereof<br /> with the notice of copyright,” in connection<br /> with those of section 36 just quoted, it would<br /> seem to the lay mind that The Times had a<br /> clear right to protection, by injunction, against<br /> intended theft. But the Court holds otherwise.<br /> <br /> It seems a curious matter that The New York<br /> Times, instead of disputing the decision and<br /> carrying the action to a second Court, did not,<br /> having registered their copyright, begin a<br /> second action for infringement. This would<br /> no doubt have been the cheaper proceeding<br /> of the two.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RESERVATION OF Dramatic RIGHTS,<br /> IN THE U.S.A.<br /> II.<br /> {Reprinted from the Bulletin of the Author League of<br /> America.) :<br /> <br /> Tue case of Dam v. Kirk La Shelle Com-<br /> pany, decided in the United States Circuit<br /> Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, in Janu-<br /> ary, 1910, is of such importance to writers<br /> for magazines and other periodicals as well<br /> as to publishers that it deserves careful<br /> attention. This case may be said to be the<br /> last important decision on the question of what<br /> protection the blanket copyright secured by a<br /> magazine publisher, upon his magazine, affords<br /> the authors of the various storiés, articles and<br /> poems contained in it. The facts were briefly<br /> as follows :—<br /> <br /> Henry J. W. Dam wrote a story in 1898,<br /> called “ The Transmogrification of Dan.” In<br /> 1901 he sent the manuscript to the Ess. Ess.<br /> Publishing Company, a corporation publishing<br /> the “Smart Set Magazine.” The editor<br /> accepted the story and sent a check in return<br /> for $85, together with a receipt reading :—<br /> <br /> “Received of the Ess, Ess. Publishing<br /> <br /> Company $85 in full payment for story<br /> <br /> entitled *‘ The Transmogrification of Dan.’ ”<br /> <br /> This Dam signed and mailed back to the<br /> editor. At no time did he have any interview<br /> with the editor or any correspondence bearing<br /> on the understanding with which the story was<br /> sold.<br /> <br /> The story came out in the ‘‘ Smart Set ”’ for<br /> <br /> Erc.,<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> September, 1901, and the particular number<br /> in question was copyrighted by the Ess. Ess,<br /> Publishing Company, in its own name, and<br /> bearing a notice which read :—<br /> <br /> ‘“‘ Copyrighted, 1901, by Ess, Ess. Pub-<br /> lishing Company.”<br /> No steps were taken by the magazine or b<br /> Dam to copyright the story separately from the<br /> <br /> magazine.<br /> <br /> Some time afterward Paul Armstrong wrote<br /> a play entitled ‘‘ The Heir to the Hoorah,”<br /> which Dam claimed was founded on his story,<br /> “The Transmogrification of Dan.” The<br /> defendant, Kirk La Shelle Company, presented<br /> the play by arrangement with Paul Armstrong,<br /> <br /> On October 27, 1905, the Ess. Ess. Pub-<br /> lishing Company assigned to Dam its copy-<br /> right of the particular number of the ‘‘ Smart<br /> Set ’ in which his story had appeared, in so<br /> far as it covered or protected his story, and all<br /> its interest in the story itself and any claim or<br /> demand which it might have for the infringe-<br /> ment of the copyright in question.<br /> <br /> In due course Dam sued for a preliminary<br /> injunction against the defendant, and in his<br /> affidavit swore :—<br /> <br /> ““T have not at any time parted with any<br /> right or interest in said literary work entitled<br /> * The Transmogrification of Dan,’ except the<br /> right for publication thereof in said number<br /> of the ‘ Smart Set ’ for September, 1901.”<br /> <br /> Later on, the complaint was amended so as<br /> to allege simply that Dam sold and assigned<br /> the story in question to the Ess. Ess. Pub-<br /> lishing Company.<br /> <br /> Among other things in defence the Kirk La<br /> Shelle Company set up the claim that Dam’s<br /> original statement, sworn to in his complaint<br /> to the effect that he had not sold any of his<br /> rights in the story to the “‘ Smart Set,” except<br /> the right of publication in the particular<br /> number in question, must be taken as true;<br /> and that it followed as a necessary consequence<br /> that the blanket copyright secured by the Ess.<br /> Ess. Publishing Company, on the particular<br /> issue of the magazine, only operated to afford<br /> such protection as the Publishing Company<br /> needed as publishers of the magazine, and did<br /> not operate to protect the rights which Dam<br /> retained, whatever they might have been,<br /> including the right of dramatisation which<br /> Dam claimed had been infringed, and for<br /> which he asked an injunction.<br /> <br /> The Circuit Court of Appeals.found as a fact<br /> that Dam’s statement that he had parted with ~<br /> no right or interest in the story except that of<br /> serial publication was not the case, and (in spite<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> NDE Zo pete EG ee ee ae ess<br /> ae Pe en SR ee ee ES SS<br /> feet ee Se) OO ree St EN ewe en<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR. 261<br /> <br /> of Dam’s original allegations to the contrary)<br /> that when he mailed the story to the “ Smart<br /> Set ’ and the editor sent him a check for $85<br /> this constituted an absolute sale without<br /> reservations, and that the Ess. Ess. Publishing<br /> Company thereby acquired all rights in the<br /> story, including the dramatic rights.<br /> <br /> This, in itself, would have been a decision of<br /> considerable importance, in view of the widely<br /> prevalent belief that when a magazine writer<br /> sends his product to a magazine, without an<br /> accompanying letter specifying the terms under<br /> which the story or article is offered, he is selling<br /> merely the serial rights thereto. But the<br /> Court in discussing the facts in general, went<br /> somewhat beyond the precise point in issue,<br /> and held that if it had been true that Dam had<br /> offered for sale and sold to the Ess. Ess. Pub-<br /> lishing Company only the right to print the<br /> story in serial form, that probably, as matter<br /> of law, the dramatic rights would never have<br /> been copyrighted at all, since it was a funda-<br /> mental proposition that no one could copy-<br /> right that which he did not own, and, if the<br /> Ess. Ess. Publishing Company had purchased<br /> only the serial rights in the story, the copy-<br /> right upon the particular number of the<br /> “Smart Set ’’ would have operated to protect<br /> only those serial rights, and that as Dam had<br /> taken no further steps to protect or copyright<br /> the rights or interests in the story which he had<br /> reserved, and as the story had been published,<br /> there would have been an abandonment of it<br /> to the public and no protection for the dramatic<br /> rights at all.<br /> <br /> The opinion of the Court is reported in 176<br /> Federal Reporter, page 902, and reads as<br /> follows :—<br /> <br /> **Tt is claimed, however, that such steps<br /> accomplished no more than to obtain such<br /> protection needed as publishers of the<br /> magazine. Assuming that Dam retained<br /> the dramatic rights to the story, there would<br /> be much force in this contention. In such<br /> a case we doubt very much whether the steps<br /> which the publisher took to copyright his<br /> magazine, especially in view of the form of<br /> the copyright notice, would have been<br /> sufficient to protect the dramatic rights.”<br /> <br /> After referring to the case of Mifflin v. Dutton<br /> <br /> et} (190 U. S. 265), the Court continued :—<br /> <br /> ** In view of this decision by the Supreme<br /> Court, we think that had Dam retained the<br /> dramatic rights to his story, the entry of the<br /> magazine and the notice of copyright would<br /> have been insufficient to protect them. . . .<br /> In the case of the reservation of dramatic<br /> rights, in addition to the notice of the copy-<br /> <br /> right of the magazine, it may well be that it<br /> should appear in some distinct way that such<br /> reservation of such rights to the particular<br /> story is made for the benefit of the author.<br /> Indeed, it may be that the author should<br /> contemporaneously take out in his own<br /> name a copyright covering such rights.”<br /> <br /> The Court then proceeded to hold that inas-<br /> much as the Ess. Ess. Publishing Company had<br /> in fact acquired all rights to the story, the copy-<br /> right which they secured on the particular<br /> number of the magazine in question did operate<br /> to protect all rights, including the dramatic<br /> rights; and that, since there had been a re-<br /> assignment by the Ess. Ess. Publishing Com-<br /> pany to Dam of the dramatic rights, he could<br /> properly ask for an injunction and an account-<br /> ing, and they thereupon awarded to the com-<br /> plainant, who, at the time the decision was<br /> rendered, was the administratrix of Dam’s<br /> estate, the total profits received by the Kirk<br /> La Shelle Company from its production of the<br /> play. The case was not appealed to the<br /> Supreme Court, but has since been settled, and,<br /> therefore, represents the law to-day, which may<br /> be stated as follows :—<br /> <br /> (a) The sale by an author of a story to a<br /> magazine, and the acceptance of a sum of<br /> money ‘‘in full payment for the story,”<br /> without any further agreement, is in legal<br /> fact an absolute sale without reservation,<br /> carrying with it as an incident of ownership<br /> the exclusive right to dramatise the story.<br /> <br /> (b) The copyright of such magazine is suffi-<br /> cient to secure the copyright of the story pub-<br /> lished therein, and protects the right to<br /> dramatise it when the publisher is the owner<br /> of both the story and the dramatic rights.<br /> <br /> (c) (Dictum.) Where the owner of a story<br /> sells the same only for magazine or serial<br /> publication, the copyright of the magazine<br /> does not protect those rights which the author<br /> retains, unless he takes some independent steps<br /> to copyright them himself; and since the<br /> publishing of the story in the magazine<br /> operates as an abandonment of such rights,<br /> if the story is thereafter dramatised by a third<br /> party, the author can have no redress.<br /> <br /> The action, although a recent one, was<br /> brought under the former copyright law, but<br /> there would not seem to be anything in the<br /> present Act which would qualify or render less<br /> significant the decision. The attorney for the<br /> Authors’ League of America doubts seriously<br /> whether the dictum of the court (c) is the view<br /> which will ultimately prevail if the point 1s<br /> eventually properly raised either before the<br /> Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court<br /> <br /> <br /> 262<br /> <br /> of the United States. He believes that this<br /> court could have reached the same decision in<br /> the Dam case by another process of reasoning<br /> more consistent with the general understanding<br /> under which authors are accustomed to submit<br /> their manuscripts to editors and publishers.<br /> This he believes to be that, in default of any<br /> written or oral agreement between the parties,<br /> an editor or publisher of a magazine who pur-<br /> chases a manuscript does so on the implied<br /> understanding that he shall copyright the<br /> same and hold the copyright thereof in trust<br /> for the author, thus protecting not only the<br /> dramatic rights, but all other rights for the<br /> author’s benefit. If this be so, the author can<br /> compel a reassignment of the copyright to him-<br /> self when necessary, such as Dam secured<br /> voluntarily from the Ess. Ess. Company.<br /> <br /> But, in any event, so long as this and similar<br /> matters remain in doubt, both authors and<br /> publishers should, for their own protection,<br /> agree on some system whereby the dramatic<br /> and all other rights sre thoroughly safeguarded.<br /> This can be accomplished in either of two<br /> ways :—<br /> <br /> (a) The editor can copyright each story or<br /> article separately in the author’s name,<br /> printing at the bottom of the first page thereof<br /> a proper copyright notice, as follows :—<br /> <br /> ‘Copyright, John Doe, 1913.”<br /> <br /> The author should then immediately on pub-<br /> lication mail one copy of the magazine to the<br /> Registrar of Copyrights in Washington, in<br /> conformity with the requirements of the<br /> present Act, enclosing the fee of One Dollar.<br /> This is perhaps the simplest way, although it<br /> involves a separate registration of the magazine<br /> for each story or article so copyrighted.<br /> <br /> (b) Or the author can sell his story outright<br /> to the editor or publisher, and safely reserve<br /> his equitable interests in the dramatic or other<br /> rights thereto by attaching to his manuscript<br /> a “rider” or slip somewhat as follows :—<br /> <br /> “This manuscript is submitted with the<br /> understanding that if accepted for publication,<br /> the same shall be copyrighted by the pub-<br /> lishers, and all rights under said copyright<br /> (except that of magazine publication) shall be<br /> held in trust for the benefit of the writer or his<br /> assigns, and will be reassigned to him upon<br /> demand.”<br /> <br /> The writer believes that, under the present<br /> state of the law, only by one of the two methods<br /> outlined above can a magazine writer be sure<br /> that his rights will be properly protected.<br /> <br /> Arruur C. TRAIN,<br /> Attorney for Authors’ League of America.<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> MAGAZINES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTORS.<br /> <br /> ——<br /> <br /> HE attention of the committee of the<br /> Society of Authors has been called to<br /> certain transactions by proprietors and<br /> <br /> editors of magazines which bring great hard-<br /> ship upon those authors who contribute to their<br /> journals. The difficulty arises owing to the fact<br /> that neither editor nor author makes a clear<br /> statement of the terms of the contract under<br /> which the one desires to sell his work and the<br /> other desires to publish it. The author sends<br /> his work up to a journal, the editor writes a<br /> letter stating that he is willing to accept the<br /> work; the work is. published and the author<br /> receives a cheque with a receipt either on a<br /> separate paper or endorsed at the back of the<br /> cheque, purporting to convey certain rights<br /> which the author never contemplated con-<br /> veying, and which, when obtained, are often<br /> of no value to the proprietor or editor. The<br /> receipt purports to convey either the whole<br /> copyright or all serial rights. In the first<br /> case, that is where the receipt is a separate<br /> document, the author is able to cash the cheque<br /> and to alter the receipt according to the<br /> implied terms of the contract that has been<br /> entered into. The hardship in this case<br /> arises out of the fact that an author sometimes<br /> is afraid to alter the receipt because he thinks<br /> such alteration may prejudice him in future<br /> in his negotiations with the firm. This has<br /> not infrequently been shown to be the result.<br /> When, however, the receipt purporting to<br /> convey the copyright or all the serial rights<br /> is printed on the back of the cheque, the<br /> bankers, as a rule, have instructions not to<br /> cash the cheque if any alteration is made in<br /> the receipt. The author anxious, first, to<br /> obtain the money, and secondly, not to have<br /> any trouble with the proprietors for the reasons<br /> already given, signs the document and thus<br /> sells his birthright for a mess of pottage.<br /> <br /> To a certain extent there is fault on both<br /> sides, for the author, if he was really business-<br /> like, would forward his article to the magazine<br /> and would state clearly, in a covering letter,<br /> the rights he desired to sell, and the price<br /> at which he desired to sell those rights.<br /> If the editor then accepted the MS., it<br /> would be accepted, on the terms of the letter<br /> which had been sent, unless the editor made<br /> some special stipulation before publication.<br /> The case is unbusinesslike from the editor’s<br /> point of view, for when he accepts the work<br /> he ought to state clearly what rights he desires<br /> to buy, and the price he desires to give for those<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> rights. A worse complexion, however, is<br /> thrown on the case where the author sends up<br /> his work and it is printed without any accept-<br /> ance whatever. There is, no doubt, some<br /> implied contract where no terms are specified<br /> and the implied contract seems to be quite<br /> clear. When a person sends an article up to a<br /> magazine, the implied contract is, that he<br /> grants to the magazine the first serial use of<br /> that article for that paper. He doesn’t grant<br /> all his serial rights, for no doubt in many<br /> cases secondary serial rights are very valuable.<br /> He certainly doesn’t grant his copyright, and<br /> indeed, under the present copyright law, he<br /> could not assign away his copyright except in<br /> writing.<br /> <br /> It is, therefore, very unbusinesslike or unjust<br /> of proprietors and editors to put the author<br /> in the awkward position of having to sign<br /> away his rights, or of being boycotted for<br /> the future.<br /> <br /> As several complaints have come to the<br /> <br /> - Committee of Management of the methods of<br /> <br /> certain magazines and certain publishers who<br /> acted on these lines, a circular was issued from<br /> the Society’s office, asking for the editors’<br /> opinions in the circumstances put forward.<br /> Out of a dozen letters that were issued, under<br /> the committee’s authority, some half-dozen<br /> replies were received. An answer from the<br /> Religious Tract Society stated that no endorse-<br /> ment was made on the cheques, but a<br /> separate receipt was sent. As, however,<br /> the separate receipt asked for the copyright,<br /> it was clear that there was no alleviation of<br /> the author’s position, except that he got<br /> his money and had the power to alter the<br /> receipt. But on his altering the receipt<br /> considerable dispute arose, and the editor, in<br /> a letter addressed to the author, stated clearly<br /> that all matter printed in his paper was<br /> the copyright of the paper, and that he had<br /> no record of any arrangement by which the<br /> author had reserved the copyright of his story.<br /> An editor who had any knowledge of the<br /> business side of his position would know that,<br /> as an universal rule, an author does not intend<br /> to convey his copyright to a magazine, and<br /> that it is not for the author to reserve the<br /> copyright, but for the editor, if he desires to<br /> have the copyright, to make a special contract<br /> for it.<br /> <br /> In a letter received from the Amalgamated<br /> Press, Ltd., the manager says that the rights<br /> that have been acquired are specified at the<br /> back of the cheque, and at the same time<br /> states that great inconvenience would be<br /> caused if every short story or article that was<br /> <br /> 263<br /> <br /> purchased was the subject of a written agree-<br /> ment. This may be frue in some circumstances,<br /> but the procedure adopted in this case turns<br /> out all for the advantage of the papers repre-<br /> sented by this manager. For, if anagreement<br /> has not been entered into beforehand (and<br /> apparently the manager considered and acted<br /> upon the consideration that it would be a great<br /> inconvenience to enter into an agreement on<br /> every occasion), then it is quite clear that the<br /> only right acquired would be the first serial<br /> use of the story in the paper to which it<br /> had been forwarded. If the manager was pre-<br /> pared to fill in the endorsement on the back<br /> of the cheque on these lines, in those cases,<br /> where no written agreement had been made<br /> beforehand, then there would be no objection<br /> to this method of carrying on the business,<br /> and a great deal of difficulty might be saved ;<br /> but if the endorsement on the cheque exceeds<br /> the first serial use, it is needless for the<br /> manager to say, as he states in his letter, that<br /> ‘the author in endorsing the cheque would<br /> note the form and could at once raise any<br /> question as to the rights acquired by the com-<br /> pany,” for that places the author under the<br /> very hardship that was mentioned at the<br /> beginning of this article.<br /> <br /> A third letter from Messrs. Cassell &amp; Co.,<br /> states that they have received no complaints<br /> in regard to the points raised in the com-<br /> mittee’s circular. This statement is not<br /> endorsed by the information which has come<br /> to the office on several occasions. It would<br /> be as well, perhaps, if this manager had<br /> made closer enquiries before he responded<br /> tothe circular. Another well-known proprietor<br /> of magazines stated, as in the first instance,<br /> that the company did not place a printed form<br /> of receipt on their cheques, but that a separate<br /> slip was enclosed in which the terms of purchase<br /> were plainly stated. This, as has already been<br /> pointed out, has a great advantage if the terms<br /> are disputed.<br /> <br /> Finally, the last letter received was from<br /> the ‘English Review.” The manager recog-<br /> nised the difficulty and suggested that the<br /> Society should draw up some form, and<br /> should organise some method which would<br /> be simpler for both the authors and the<br /> proprietors.<br /> <br /> It would be useless to multiply cases, but<br /> it may be of interest to quote an example<br /> of what very frequently happens, and the<br /> committee are able to give the particulars of a<br /> very clear case that ‘is before them. A<br /> member of the Society sent up a copy of<br /> verses to a magazine, the proprictors of which<br /> <br /> <br /> 264<br /> <br /> are Messrs. Dent &amp; Co. The verses were<br /> published without any communication what-<br /> ever to the author. In due course the author<br /> received a cheque, with a formal receipt<br /> accompanying, asking for the whole of the<br /> copyright ; the receipt running as follows :—<br /> <br /> ** Received this day of from<br /> (publishers) the sum of in<br /> payment of the amount agreed to be paid<br /> by them to me for a poem entitled<br /> a ” in the number of<br /> on the terms that the copyright in any<br /> work therein shall belong to the said<br /> (publishers) absolutely.”<br /> <br /> The payment was very inadequate, even for the<br /> first serial use. It was absolutely absurd for<br /> the copyright of a work, and the receipt is<br /> inaccurate for it contains the words ‘“ the<br /> amount agreed to be paid by them to me,”<br /> and ‘‘on the terms that the copyright...<br /> shall belong to the publishers absolutely,”<br /> though no agreement whatever had been<br /> come to on either point. In this special<br /> case the author altered the receipt, returned<br /> it, did not fight about the absurd smallness<br /> of the payment, but handed the cheque<br /> over to the Pension Fund of the Society<br /> of Authors. In this case, all the points<br /> that have been raised are clearly set out.<br /> First, the author receives an inadequate<br /> payment even for the serial use; secondly, he<br /> receives a receipt asking him to convey the<br /> whole copyright, the only saving point being<br /> that the receipt was not at the back of the<br /> cheque.<br /> <br /> It is all very well for proprietors to maintain<br /> also that the author can dispute the rights,<br /> but many authors do not understand the legal<br /> technicalities contained in the words and may<br /> be, and often are, quite unconsciously, selling<br /> rights which they never intended to sell. In<br /> this special instance, it must be remembered<br /> that the power of selling poetry, especially<br /> if it is fitted for production to music, is exten-<br /> Sive, as sometimes two or three composers<br /> will set a song to music, and for each licence<br /> the author may obtain from two to five pounds.<br /> The committee, however, desire, in order, if<br /> possible, to come to some satisfactory arrange-<br /> ment, to propose the following :—<br /> <br /> 1. That no receipt whatever should be<br /> demanded by the process of endorsement<br /> to the cheque.<br /> <br /> 2. That in the case where, owing to pressure<br /> of business or other matters, it is impossible<br /> to make a formal written agreement with the<br /> author, and failing any covering letter sent<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> by the author to the publisher, the receipt<br /> should run as follows :—<br /> <br /> “* Received of the sum of<br /> being payment for the first serial use of<br /> the article entitled in maga-<br /> zine. The author hereby, undertakes not<br /> to produce the said work in serial or book<br /> form for a term of months from the<br /> <br /> date of such publication,”<br /> <br /> The committee have given the time limit<br /> their serious consideration. They consider<br /> that in many cases where a striking story or<br /> striking poem has been published ina magazine,<br /> review or paper, it is only fair that the<br /> magazine, paper or review should benefit by<br /> the increase in its circulation for a limited time<br /> after the publication of the work. They<br /> think that in special cases a six months’ limit<br /> is reasonable, but in the majority of cases the<br /> limit should be much less, and that, if any-<br /> thing, this limit gives an advantage to the<br /> magazine rather than to the author.<br /> <br /> ST<br /> <br /> MAGAZINE CONTENTS.<br /> a,<br /> British REVIEW.<br /> The Popular Taste. By R. A. Scott James.<br /> <br /> CoNTEMPORARY.<br /> <br /> Wagner in 1913. By Ernest Newman.<br /> Shakespeare and Pictorial Art.<br /> <br /> CoRNHILL.<br /> The Little Brothers of the Pavement. By Gilbert<br /> Coleridge.<br /> Encuish REVIEW.<br /> Boceaccio. By Walter Raleigh.<br /> Mr. Newton-Robinson’s Poems. By William Steb-<br /> <br /> bing.<br /> FORTNIGHTLY.<br /> <br /> By Oliver Onions.<br /> <br /> Henry Ospovat.<br /> By W. L. Courtney.<br /> <br /> Realistic Drama, I.<br /> <br /> NINETEENTH CENTURY AND AFTER.<br /> <br /> Gobineau, Nietzsche, Wagner. By Georges Chatterton-<br /> Hill.<br /> <br /> SCALE FOR ADVERTISEMENTS,<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> [ALLOWANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY 20 PER CENT.)<br /> <br /> Front Page dee . £4 0 0<br /> Other Pages vee one se ae see ase a 8 0 0<br /> Half of a Page ... aes en aes Ca oie eek wea ks 10&gt; 0<br /> Quarter of a Page uae oan ves on on ae on O16 6<br /> Highth of a Page ce se ms - $ cs a OT 8<br /> Single Column Advertisements perinch 0 6 0<br /> <br /> Reduction of 20 per cent. made for a Series of Sia and of 25 per cent, for<br /> Twelve Insertions.<br /> <br /> All letters respecting Advertisements should be addvessed to J. F.<br /> Brimont &amp; Co., 29, Paternoster Square, London, E.G.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> i<br /> 3<br /> a<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY.<br /> <br /> —<br /> <br /> i. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive<br /> iD advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub-<br /> lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his<br /> business or the administration of his property. The<br /> Secretary of the Society is a solicitor; but if there is any<br /> special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the<br /> Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they<br /> deem it desirable, will obtain counsel&#039;s opinion without<br /> any cost to the member. Moreover, where counsel&#039;s<br /> opinion is favourable, and the sanction of the Committee<br /> is obtained, action will be taken on behalf of the aggrieved<br /> member, and all costs borne by the Society.<br /> <br /> 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright<br /> and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi-<br /> ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use<br /> the Society.<br /> <br /> 8. Before signing any agreement whatever, send<br /> the document to the Society for examination.<br /> <br /> 4. Remember always that in belonging to the Society<br /> you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you<br /> are reaping no direct benefit to yourse!f, and that you are<br /> advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting<br /> the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer.<br /> <br /> 5. The Committee have arranged for the reception of<br /> members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire-<br /> proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as<br /> confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary,<br /> who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:<br /> (1) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action<br /> upon them. (2) To keep agreements. (3) To enforce<br /> payments due according to agreements. Fuller particu-<br /> lars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the<br /> Prospectus.<br /> <br /> 6. No contract should be entered into with a literary<br /> agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society.<br /> Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful<br /> consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to<br /> them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit<br /> them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary<br /> of the Society.<br /> <br /> 7. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements,<br /> must be done within fourteen days of first execution,<br /> Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members.<br /> <br /> This<br /> The<br /> <br /> 8. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from<br /> referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so<br /> do some publishers. Members can make their own<br /> deductions and act accordingly.<br /> <br /> 9. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per<br /> annum, or £10 10s. for life membership.<br /> <br /> Oi<br /> <br /> WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS<br /> OF BOOKS.<br /> <br /> —_=&lt;—+—_<br /> <br /> ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an<br /> agreement. There are four methods of dealing<br /> with literary property :—<br /> <br /> I. Selling it Outright.<br /> This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be<br /> <br /> 265<br /> <br /> obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a<br /> competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of<br /> the Society.<br /> <br /> Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of<br /> agreement),<br /> <br /> In this case the following rules should be attended to:<br /> <br /> (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro-<br /> duction forms a part without the strictest investigation,<br /> <br /> (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the<br /> profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements<br /> in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise-<br /> ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements,<br /> <br /> (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “ office expenses,”<br /> unless the same allowance is made to the author.<br /> <br /> (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental<br /> rights.<br /> <br /> (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights.<br /> <br /> (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher.<br /> As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or<br /> doctor !<br /> <br /> III. The Royalty System.<br /> <br /> This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form<br /> of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know<br /> what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now<br /> possible for an author to ascertain approximately the<br /> truth. From time to time very important figures connected<br /> with royalties are published in Zhe Author,<br /> <br /> IY. A Commission Agreement,<br /> <br /> The main points are :-—<br /> <br /> (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production,<br /> (2.) Keep control of the advertisements.<br /> <br /> (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book,<br /> <br /> General.<br /> <br /> All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four<br /> above mentioned.<br /> <br /> Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author,<br /> <br /> Never sign any agreement without competent advice from<br /> the Secretary of the Society.<br /> <br /> Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp.<br /> <br /> Avoid agreements by letter if possible.<br /> <br /> The main points which the Society has always demanded<br /> from the outset are :—<br /> <br /> (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement<br /> means,<br /> <br /> (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong<br /> to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the<br /> nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or<br /> withheld.<br /> <br /> (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright.<br /> <br /> ++ —____—___<br /> <br /> WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS.<br /> <br /> a<br /> <br /> EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the<br /> Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com-<br /> petent legal authority.<br /> <br /> 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for<br /> the production of a play with any one except an established<br /> manager,<br /> <br /> 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays<br /> in three or more acts :—<br /> <br /> (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This<br /> is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into<br /> such a contract should stipulate in the contract<br /> for production of the piece by a certain date<br /> and for proper publication of his name on the<br /> play-bills,<br /> 264<br /> <br /> are Messrs. Dent &amp; Co. The verses were<br /> published without any communication what-<br /> ever to the author. In due course the author<br /> received a cheque, with a formal receipt<br /> accompanying, asking for the whole of the<br /> copyright ; the receipt running as follows :—<br /> <br /> ‘* Received this day of from<br /> (publishers) the sum of in<br /> payment of the amount agreed to be paid<br /> by them to me for a poem entitled<br /> a *? in the number of<br /> on the terms that the copyright in any<br /> work therein shall belong to the said<br /> (publishers) absolutely.”<br /> <br /> The payment was very inadequate, even for the<br /> first serial use. It was absolutely absurd for<br /> the copyright of a work, and the receipt is<br /> inaccurate for it contains the words “the<br /> amount agreed to be paid by them to me,”<br /> and ‘“‘on the terms that the copyright...<br /> shall belong to the publishers absolutely,”<br /> though no agreement whatever had _ been<br /> come to on either point. In _ this special<br /> case the author altered the receipt, returned<br /> it, did not fight about the absurd smallness<br /> of the payment, but handed the cheque<br /> over to the Pension Fund of the Society<br /> of Authors. In this case, all the points<br /> that have been raised are clearly set out.<br /> First, the author receives an inadequate<br /> payment even for the serial use; secondly, he<br /> receives a receipt asking him to convey the<br /> whole copyright, the only saving point being<br /> that the receipt was not at the back of the<br /> cheque.<br /> <br /> It is all very well for proprietors to maintain<br /> also that the author can dispute the rights,<br /> but many authors do not understand the legal<br /> technicalities contained in the words and may<br /> be, and often are, quite unconsciously, selling<br /> rights which they never intended to sell. In<br /> this special instance, it must be remembered<br /> that the power of selling poetry, especially<br /> if it is fitted for production to music, is exten-<br /> sive, as sometimes two or three composers<br /> will set a song to music, and for each licence<br /> the author may obtain from two to five pounds.<br /> The committee, however, desire, in order, if<br /> possible, to come to some satisfactory arrange-<br /> ment, to propose the following :—<br /> <br /> 1. That no receipt whatever should be<br /> demanded by the process of endorsement<br /> to the cheque.<br /> <br /> 2. That in the case where, owing to pressure<br /> of business or other matters, it is impossible<br /> to make a formal written agreement with the<br /> author, and failing any covering letter sent<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> by the author to the publisher, the ;<br /> should run as follows si receipt<br /> <br /> “Received of the sum of<br /> being payment for the first serial use of<br /> the article entitled in maga-<br /> zine. The author hereby, undertakes not<br /> to produce the said work in serial or book<br /> form for a term of months from the<br /> date of such publication.”<br /> <br /> The committee have given the time limit<br /> their serious consideration. They consider<br /> that in many cases where a striking story or<br /> striking poem has been published in a magazine,<br /> review or paper, it is only fair that the<br /> magazine, paper or review should benefit by<br /> the increase in its circulation for a limited time<br /> after the publication of the work. They<br /> think that in special cases a six months’ limit<br /> is reasonable, but in the majority of cases the<br /> limit should be much less, and that, if any-<br /> thing, this limit gives an advantage to the<br /> magazine rather than to the author.<br /> <br /> ee<br /> <br /> MAGAZINE CONTENTS.<br /> <br /> ——— +<br /> <br /> British REVIEW.<br /> The Popular Taste. By R. A. Scott James.<br /> CoNTEMPORARY.<br /> Wagner in 1913. By Ernest Newman.<br /> Shakespeare and Pictorial Art.<br /> CoRNHILL.<br /> <br /> The Little Brothers of the Pavement.<br /> Coleridge.<br /> <br /> By Gilbert<br /> <br /> Eneuish REVIEW.<br /> Boccaccio. By Walter Raleigh.<br /> Mr. Newton-Robinson’s Poems.<br /> bing.<br /> <br /> By William Steb-<br /> <br /> FORTNIGHTLY.<br /> <br /> Henry Ospovat. By Oliver Onions.<br /> Realistic Drama, I. By W. L. Courtney.<br /> <br /> NINETEENTH CENTURY AND AFTER.<br /> <br /> Gobineau, Nietzsche, Wagner. By Georges Chatterton-<br /> Hill.<br /> <br /> SCALE FOR ADVERTISEMENTS,<br /> <br /> [ALLOWANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY 20 PER CENT.}<br /> <br /> Front Page ie see ee tee me &lt;&lt; sau es a<br /> Other Pages ae ste see obs ee “se “8 ose )<br /> Half of a Page ... ake owe wee a<br /> <br /> Quarter of a Page tee 5<br /> EHighth of a Page sae Ge<br /> Single Column Advertisements<br /> <br /> Q<br /> <br /> 6<br /> os au 0 T 0<br /> . perinch 0 6 O<br /> Reduction of 20 per cent. made for a Series of Six and of 25 per cent. for<br /> <br /> Twelve Insertions.<br /> <br /> All letters respecting Advertisements should be addressed to J. F.<br /> <br /> Bextoont &amp; Co., 29, Paternoster Square, London, B.C.<br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY.<br /> <br /> a<br /> <br /> i. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive<br /> K advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub-<br /> lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his<br /> business or the administration of his property. The<br /> Secretary of the Society is a solicitor; but if there is any<br /> special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the<br /> Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they<br /> deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion without<br /> any cost to the member. Moreover, where counsel’s<br /> opinion is favourable, and the sanction of the Committee<br /> is obtained, action will be taken on behalf of the aggrieved<br /> member, and all costs borne by the Society.<br /> <br /> 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright<br /> and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi-<br /> ence of ordinarysolicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use<br /> the Society.<br /> <br /> 3. Before signing any agreement whatever, send<br /> the document to the Society for examination.<br /> <br /> 4. Remember always that in belonging to the Society<br /> you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you<br /> are reaping no direct benefit to yourself, and that you are<br /> advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting<br /> the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer,<br /> <br /> 5. The Committee have arranged for the reception of<br /> members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire-<br /> proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as<br /> confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary,<br /> who will keep the key of thesafe. The Society now offers:<br /> (1) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action<br /> upon them. (2) To keep agreements. (3) To enforce<br /> payments due according to agreements. Fuller particu-<br /> lars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the<br /> Prospectus.<br /> <br /> 6. No contract should be entered into with a literary<br /> agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society.<br /> Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful<br /> consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to<br /> them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit<br /> them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary<br /> of the Society.<br /> <br /> 7. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements,<br /> must be done within fourteen days of first execution.<br /> Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members.<br /> <br /> This<br /> The<br /> <br /> 8. Some agents endeavour to prevent authors from<br /> referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so<br /> do some publishers. Members can make their own<br /> deductions and act accordingly.<br /> <br /> 9. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per<br /> anoum, or £10 10s. for life membership.<br /> <br /> Or<br /> <br /> WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS<br /> OF BOOKS.<br /> <br /> een gece<br /> <br /> ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an<br /> agreement. There are four methods of dealing<br /> with literary property :—<br /> <br /> I, Selling it Outright.<br /> This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price can be<br /> <br /> 265<br /> <br /> obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a<br /> competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of<br /> the Society.<br /> <br /> II. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of<br /> agreement),<br /> <br /> In this case the following rules should be attended to:<br /> <br /> (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro-<br /> duction forms a part without the strictest investigation.<br /> <br /> (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the<br /> profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements<br /> in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise-<br /> ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements.<br /> <br /> (3.) Not to allow a special charge for “office expenses,”<br /> unless the same allowance is made to the author.<br /> <br /> (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental<br /> rights.<br /> <br /> (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights.<br /> <br /> (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher.<br /> As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or<br /> doctor |!<br /> <br /> III. The Royalty System.<br /> <br /> This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form<br /> of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know<br /> what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now<br /> possible for an author to ascertain approximately the<br /> truth. From time to time very important figures connected<br /> with royalties are published in Zhe Author,<br /> <br /> IY. A Commission Agreement,<br /> <br /> The main points are :—<br /> <br /> (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production,<br /> (2.) Keep control of the advertisements.<br /> <br /> (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book,<br /> <br /> General.<br /> <br /> All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four<br /> above mentioned.<br /> <br /> Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author,<br /> <br /> Never sign any agreement without competent advice from<br /> the Secretary of the Society.<br /> <br /> Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp.<br /> <br /> Avoid agreements by letter if possible.<br /> <br /> The main points which the Society has always demanded<br /> from the outset are :—<br /> <br /> (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement<br /> means.<br /> <br /> (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong<br /> to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the<br /> nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or<br /> withheld.<br /> <br /> (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright.<br /> <br /> he<br /> <br /> WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS.<br /> <br /> ee<br /> <br /> EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the<br /> N Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com-<br /> petent legal authority.<br /> <br /> 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for<br /> the production of a play with any one except an established<br /> manager,<br /> <br /> 8. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays<br /> in three or more acts :—<br /> <br /> (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This<br /> is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into<br /> such a contract should stipulate in the contract<br /> for production of the piece by a certain date<br /> and for proper publication of his name on the<br /> play-bills,<br /> <br /> <br /> 266<br /> <br /> (v.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to<br /> perform on the basis of percentages on<br /> gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5<br /> and 15 per cent, An author should obtain a<br /> percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts<br /> in preference to the American system. Should<br /> obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed<br /> date on or before which the play should be<br /> performed.<br /> <br /> (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to<br /> perform on the basis of royalties (i.c., fixed<br /> nightly fees). This method should be always<br /> avoided except in cases where the fees are<br /> likely to be small or difficult to collect. The<br /> other safeguards set out under heading (0.) apply<br /> also in this case.<br /> <br /> 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is<br /> better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum<br /> paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely<br /> important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should<br /> be reserved.<br /> <br /> 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can<br /> be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and<br /> time, This is most important.<br /> <br /> 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but<br /> should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction<br /> is of great importance.<br /> <br /> 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a<br /> play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager<br /> holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot<br /> print the book of the words.<br /> <br /> 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed-<br /> ingly valuable. ‘hey should never be included in English<br /> agreements without the author obtaining a substantial<br /> consideration,<br /> <br /> 9. Agreements for collaboration should be carefully<br /> drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced.<br /> <br /> 10. An author should remember that production of a play<br /> is highly speculative : that he runs a very great risk of<br /> delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract.<br /> He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in<br /> the beginning.<br /> <br /> 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market<br /> is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object<br /> is to obtain adequate publication.<br /> <br /> As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on<br /> account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con-<br /> tracts, those authors desirous of further information<br /> are referred to the Secretary of the Society.<br /> <br /> +<br /> <br /> REGISTRATION OF SCENARIOS AND<br /> ORIGINAL PLAYS.<br /> <br /> ——$- 9<br /> <br /> ne ape typewritten in duplicate on foolscap paper<br /> forwarded to the offices of the Society, together with<br /> a registration fee of two shillings and sixpence, will<br /> <br /> be carefully compared by the Secretary or a qualified assis-<br /> tant. One copy will be stamped and returned to theauthor<br /> and the other filed in the register of the Society. Copies<br /> of the scenario thus filed may be obtained at any time by<br /> the author only at a small charge to cover cost of typing.<br /> <br /> Original Plays may also be filed subject to the same<br /> rules, with the exception that a play will be charged for<br /> at the price of 24. 6d. per act,<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> DRAMATIC AUTHORS? AND AGENTS.<br /> <br /> —t<br /> RAMATIC authors should seek the advice of the<br /> Society before putting plays into the hands of<br /> agents. As the law stands at present, an agent<br /> who has once had a play in his hands may acquire a<br /> perpetual claim to a percentage on the author&#039;s feeg<br /> from it. As far as the placing of plays is concerned,<br /> it may be taken as a general rule that there are only<br /> very few agents who can do anything for an author<br /> that he cannot, under the guidance of the Society, do<br /> equally well or better for himself. The collection of fees<br /> is also a matter in which in many cases no intermediary is<br /> required. For certain purposes, such as the collection of<br /> fees on amateur performances, and in general.the trans-<br /> action of frequent petty authorisations with different<br /> individuals, and also for the collection of fees*in foreign<br /> countries, almost all dramatic authors employ agents; and<br /> in these ways the services of agents are real and valuable,<br /> But the Society warns authors against agents who profess<br /> to have influence with managers in the placing of plays, or<br /> who propose to act as principals by offering to purchase<br /> the author&#039;s rights. In any case, in the present state of<br /> the law, an agent should not be employed under any<br /> circumstances without an agreement approved of by the<br /> Society.<br /> ee<br /> <br /> WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS.<br /> <br /> oe<br /> <br /> ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the<br /> assistance of producers of books and dramatic<br /> authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as<br /> <br /> a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical<br /> composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan-<br /> cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic<br /> property. The musical composer has very often the two<br /> rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He<br /> should be especially careful therefore when entering into<br /> an agreement, and should take into particular consideration<br /> the warnings stated above.<br /> <br /> Oi<br /> <br /> STAMPING MUSIC.<br /> <br /> The Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on<br /> behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part<br /> of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society’s<br /> safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the<br /> Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the<br /> members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble.<br /> <br /> re<br /> THE READING BRANCH.<br /> <br /> — &gt;<br /> EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this<br /> branch of its work by informing young writers<br /> of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and<br /> treated as a composition is treated by a coach. The term<br /> MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry<br /> and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under<br /> special arrangement, technical and scientific works, The<br /> Readers are writers of competence and experience. The<br /> fee is one guinea,<br /> —— ee<br /> <br /> REMITTANCES.<br /> <br /> a :<br /> <br /> The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice<br /> that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post.<br /> All remittances should be crossed Union of London and<br /> Smiths Bank, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered<br /> letter only.<br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> COLLECTION BUREAU.<br /> <br /> ——_-—<br /> <br /> | due to authors, composers and dramatists.<br /> <br /> 1. Under contracts for the publication of their<br /> works.<br /> <br /> 2. Under contracts for the performance of their works<br /> and amateur fees.<br /> <br /> 3. Under the Compulsory Licence Clauses of the Copy-<br /> right Act, i.e., Clause 3, governing compulsory licences for<br /> books, and Clause 19, referring to mechanical instrument<br /> records.<br /> <br /> The Bureau is divided into three department :—<br /> <br /> 1; Literary.<br /> 2. Dramatic.<br /> 3. Musical.<br /> <br /> The Society does not desire to make a profit from the<br /> collection of fees, but will charge a commission to cover<br /> expenses. If, owing to the amount passing through the<br /> office, the expenses are more than covered, the Committee<br /> of Management will discuss the possibility of reducing the<br /> commission.<br /> <br /> For full particulars of the terms of collection, application<br /> must be made to the Collection Bureau of the Society.<br /> <br /> The Bureau is in no sense a literary or dramatic<br /> agency, for the placing of books or plays.<br /> <br /> —___—_+—~&gt;—_+-—____—_-<br /> <br /> GENERAL NOTES.<br /> <br /> THEATRICAL CONDITIONS IN HOLLAND.<br /> <br /> F We have received a very interesting report<br /> <br /> from Mr. A. Reyding, the Society’s recently<br /> appointed agent in Holland, touching the<br /> theatrical conditions obtaining in that country.<br /> Mr. Reyding informs us that while the fees<br /> paid for representations in Amsterdam are not<br /> those which could be obtained in London or<br /> Paris, they are by no means to be despised.<br /> Amsterdam possesses five theatres of import-<br /> ance, and a few smaller ones, apart from<br /> music halls and numerous cinematograph<br /> theatres. Four managers in Amsterdam and<br /> one in Rotterdam are continually in search of<br /> good plays which have attained success in<br /> London.<br /> <br /> One of the most important theatrical<br /> institutions is the “Royal Company” in<br /> Amsterdam. It is managed by a board of<br /> directors and liberally subsidised by the<br /> Queen. Moreover, it is allowed to give<br /> performances in the “ Municipal Theatre,”<br /> a large, modern building. Practically the<br /> management run two companies, alternatively<br /> travelling in the provinces.<br /> <br /> Another first-rate enterprise is the ‘‘ Crystal<br /> Palace Theatre’? in Amsterdam. It is man-<br /> aged by a gifted and energetic actor-manager,<br /> who has already achieved great successes<br /> during the short period of his directorship.<br /> Here again a double company is maintained<br /> with a view to travelling.<br /> <br /> 267<br /> <br /> As third and fourth in rank, the ‘‘ Holland<br /> Theatre” and the ‘Grand Theatre” in<br /> Amsterdam may be mentioned, both under the<br /> management of a well-known author. The<br /> company engaged by this director is so numer-<br /> ous that it allows of dividing into three or<br /> even four parts, according to circumstances.<br /> <br /> The ‘Rembrandt ‘Theatre’ produces<br /> musical comedies only.<br /> <br /> Among the smaller theatres, two are worthy<br /> ofattention. Firstly, the “‘ Frascati Theatre,”<br /> managed by a young, intelligent actor-manager,<br /> and presenting good performances of the<br /> Paris ‘‘ Theatre des Varietes ’’ repertory and<br /> light comedy in general. Secondly, the<br /> ‘Plantage Theatre,” cultivating detective-<br /> drama.<br /> <br /> As to gross box receipts, these are naturally<br /> inferior to London figures, owing to the fact<br /> that the charges for seats remain far below<br /> cosmopolitan standard prices and that, practi-<br /> eally, real full houses occur on Sunday nights<br /> only. At a rough estimate, £40 may be con-<br /> sidered as the average gross takings on a<br /> week-day in any principal theatre, always<br /> provided that the play is a success. And the<br /> receipts on Sunday nights may amount to<br /> £120, and even more in one or two houses.<br /> It follows that the totality during each week<br /> might be valued at about £360 in favourable<br /> cases.<br /> <br /> Series of a hundred consecutive representa-<br /> tions are by no means the longest on record ;<br /> the way in which Amsterdam companies are<br /> being managed allows of continuous runs.<br /> An exception, however, must be made for the<br /> “Royal Company,” where the “ Comedie<br /> Francaise” example is followed, the playbill<br /> changing about every day. Nevertheless, if<br /> a play produced by that company prove<br /> successful, it may become a repertory play,<br /> yielding profits during many years. Other<br /> companies only re-start a play in case of its<br /> run having been interrupted by the end of<br /> the season, or on the ground of some other<br /> urgent cause; for, as a rule, re-starting a<br /> piece does not pay.<br /> <br /> Amsterdam may be called the centre of<br /> theatrical life in Holland, yet Rotterdam<br /> possesses a fine playhouse and an excellent<br /> company of its own. But as that city has a<br /> relatively small number of inhabitants, long<br /> runs never occur there. A series of twenty<br /> representations may be considered as a maxi-<br /> mum. As to receipts there is no sensible<br /> difference between Amsterdam and Rotterdam<br /> figures.<br /> <br /> It. may be taken as a general rule that, in<br /> <br /> <br /> 268<br /> <br /> Holland, translators’ fees are paid by the<br /> managers, quite separate from authors’ fees.<br /> English authors, therefore, should never put<br /> their plays into the hands.of would-be trans-<br /> lators, who offer to divide equally the profits<br /> derived from representations in Holland.<br /> <br /> Concerning authors’ fees for cinematograph<br /> performances, up to this moment films of<br /> British origin have only been produced here<br /> by way of exception, and in these cases the<br /> usual course seems to be that the manufac-<br /> turers pay a sum once to the author of a<br /> plot.<br /> <br /> Music PUBLISHERS AND FoREIGN MECHANICAL<br /> Ricuts.<br /> <br /> WE have already called attention to the<br /> claim of the English music publisher to take<br /> 50% of the composer’s mechanical fees. This<br /> claim, when admitted by composers, reduces<br /> their fees under the compulsory licence clauses<br /> of the Copyright Act to something near the<br /> vanishing point, so far as the United Kingdom<br /> is concerned. ‘But the mischief does not end<br /> here. There are the foreign mechanical fees<br /> to be considered, and from correspondence<br /> which has come to the Society’s office, it<br /> would seem that the case of the composer in<br /> respect of these fees, is even worse than it is<br /> in the United Kingdom.<br /> <br /> For example, reference may be made to the<br /> sale of mechanical reproductions in Germany.<br /> The practice of the English music publisher<br /> is to assign the mechanical rights to the German<br /> publisher, subject to the payment to the<br /> English house of half the fees which their sale<br /> produces. The effect of this is that the<br /> English music publisher gets 50°% of what the<br /> German publisher receives, and the English<br /> composer 50% of what the English publisher<br /> receives, or 25% of the figure actually paid by<br /> the mechanical trade in Germany, less the cost<br /> of collection by the agent who is employed to<br /> carry through the collection.<br /> <br /> It may seem strange to the composer that<br /> the English publisher should be willing to<br /> yield to the German publisher 50% of the<br /> fees. Composers are quite accustomed to the<br /> music publisher’s request that they should<br /> surrender 50% of their fees, but the willingness<br /> of the publisher to make a similar surrender<br /> does not coincide with their experience of<br /> his ability to look after himself in these<br /> matters.<br /> <br /> An explanation, however, occurs to us. It<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> may not be the correct one, but as it certainly<br /> would explain a practice otherwise almost<br /> inexplicable, we think it worth while to put it<br /> forward. We shall be very glad to learn that<br /> it is incorrect.<br /> <br /> Is there a reciprocal arrangement between<br /> the British and German music publisher, by<br /> which each surrenders 50°% of the mechanical<br /> fees produced in their respective countries ?<br /> For example, the English publisher may<br /> accept half the mechanical fees in Germany<br /> for one of his composer’s works on condition<br /> that the German house allows him the same<br /> share in the mechanical fees in Great Britain<br /> of the work of a German composer.<br /> <br /> An arrangement of this kind protects both<br /> parties against loss. But what of the two<br /> unfortunate composers. They are obviously<br /> in a different position. Depending as each of<br /> them does on the popularity of his own<br /> compositions, neither is able to reap any<br /> advantage from an arrangement of the kind<br /> indicated. In consequence, this alliance, if<br /> our deduction is correct, is admirable from the<br /> point of view of the publishers in the two<br /> countries, but is extremely unsatisfactory from<br /> the standpoint of the composer, alike in Ger-<br /> many and in the United Kingdom.<br /> <br /> Movine Pictures.<br /> <br /> Ir is with much pleasure we note that the<br /> valuable report by Mr. Cecil Raleigh on<br /> Moving Pictures that appeared in last month’s<br /> issue, has raised considerable interest not only<br /> with the producers of cinematograph films,<br /> but also with the authors that write the plots.<br /> <br /> The Bioscope has interviewed Mr. Raleigh<br /> and the Daily Chronicle has inserted a long<br /> article from his dictation.<br /> <br /> As we pointed out in last month’s Author<br /> the matter is of the greatest importance; it<br /> must not be reckoned that that report is final.<br /> Mr. Raleigh, himself, does not consider it so.<br /> Since it was produced, further information<br /> has come to his knowledge and to the office of<br /> the Society. It appears that the French<br /> Society has also issued a report, and a report<br /> has also come through from Germany ;<br /> further details are also to hand from America.<br /> It is likely, therefore, that at no distant date<br /> a subsidiary report will have to be made,<br /> dealing with these new facts. It seems quite<br /> clear that there will be a large and increasing<br /> market for good plots for films, and if properly<br /> handled there should be a considerable income<br /> for those authors who study the public tastes.<br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> BOOK PUBLISHING IN THE UNITED<br /> STATES,<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> R. GEORGE P. BRETT has been<br /> or writing in the April number of the<br /> Atlantic Monthly on ‘* Book Publish-<br /> ing and its present Tendencies.” We take it<br /> that he refers to book publishing in America.<br /> He arrives at the conclusion that although the<br /> number of books put on the market has greatly<br /> inereased during the past few years, the total<br /> circulation of books in the United States has<br /> not increased in anything like the same pro-<br /> portion; and he further explains that many<br /> of the publishers who were known for a particu-<br /> lar class of book have gone in for general<br /> publishing business. He draws the conclusion<br /> that the gross circulation has not increased<br /> owing to the fault in distribution, and his<br /> solution of the difficulty appears to be that<br /> books should be published at a cheaper rate,<br /> and as a corollary, that the authors must take<br /> smaller royalties. It is quite true that if books<br /> are published at a cheap rate, the authors<br /> cannot take the same amount of royalty as<br /> they can if the book is published at a higher<br /> price, but it does not follow by any means that<br /> if the book is produced in the first instance at a<br /> low price that the increase in the circulation<br /> will be at all proportionate. I mean by that,<br /> that the publisher and the author will arrive at<br /> the same amount of profit in the end. Indeed,<br /> all evidence goes to show that the deduction<br /> isfalse. There are no doubt a few authors who<br /> make a universal appeal, that is, an appeal to<br /> all people who can read and write, but the<br /> number who can make this appeal can be<br /> reckoned on the fingers of one hand. The<br /> general author has a certain following, and,<br /> however cheap his books are, that following<br /> will not be increased very perceptibly by<br /> publishing at a cheaper rate.<br /> <br /> The Society of Authors went into the figures<br /> as far as the English market is concerned, in<br /> great detail, and issued a report not long ago on<br /> the subject. Mr. Brett instances France and<br /> Germany, but the case in France certainly has<br /> tended to reduce the profits, and has not been<br /> a financial success from the author’s point of<br /> view.<br /> <br /> In England, for instance, supposing an<br /> author gets 1s. on a 6s. book, published<br /> subject to discount, he would get, perhaps,<br /> _ 14d. on.a 1s. net book. He would, therefore,<br /> have to obtain eight times the circulation in<br /> order to make his returns equivalent, and this<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 269<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> extra circulation he does not, as a rule, obtain.<br /> Indeed, the publication of so many cheay<br /> books is very often, as the booksellers pointed<br /> out, disastrous to the bookselling trade.<br /> The booksellers having no room in which to<br /> display the crowd of new and cheap books,<br /> in consequence find their shops filled with<br /> unworkable stock. Mr. Brett says, “‘ the<br /> successful experiments in the publishing of<br /> cheap editions of books abroad are usually<br /> with those books which are either out of copy-<br /> right, and consequently pay no royalty to<br /> the authors, or for which a very low rate of<br /> royalty can be arranged.” By abroad, no<br /> doubt he includes England, but although no<br /> doubt the English classics are published in<br /> cheap form, there is, at the same time, an<br /> enormous output of copyright books pub-<br /> lished also in the cheap form, but—after they<br /> have already appeared in a more expensive<br /> edition.<br /> <br /> The article contains some very interesting<br /> statements, but statements which are not by<br /> any means satisfactory from the author’s.<br /> point of view, statements which by no means<br /> apply to the English market, even if they do<br /> to the American. Has Mr. Brett really made<br /> an exhaustive study from all points ? or is he<br /> only feeling his way as a publisher? I<br /> cannot at all agree with Mr. Brett that the<br /> solution of the difficulty, at any rate as far as<br /> England is concerned, is by issuing books at<br /> alow price. It is always possible to reduce the<br /> price of a book half-a-dozen years after its<br /> original publication, if it is clear that there<br /> is still a continuing demand for it, but the result<br /> of this reduction in the price is by no means<br /> always financially successful to the author<br /> and the publisher for the reasons already given.<br /> If the book shows that it is likely to have a<br /> universal appeal, then no doubt, after a run<br /> at a higher price, it will be best to produce<br /> the book in cheap form, but if there is not<br /> sufficient vitality to carry the book through<br /> five or six years, then a cheap edition is not<br /> desirous but disastrous; and probably if the<br /> book had originally been published at a low<br /> price, the financial result to the author and<br /> the publisher would have been unsatisfactory<br /> and destructive to both their interests. The<br /> main point of Mr. Brett’s arguments, as has<br /> already been pointed out, lies in the fact that<br /> he considers authors are too grasping. From<br /> the author’s point of view, neither Mr. Brett’s<br /> deductions nor his arguments can for a<br /> moment be admitted.<br /> <br /> G. H. T.<br /> <br /> <br /> 270 THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF MUSIC.<br /> <br /> ————_<br /> <br /> (Reprinted from “The English Review” by<br /> kind permission of the Editor.)<br /> <br /> 1 is a degradation to the profession that<br /> any composer should be asked to sign<br /> the common form of agreement that is<br /> <br /> at present being put forward by some of the<br /> best houses in the music publishing trade.<br /> <br /> There has been considerable correspon-<br /> dence in The Times and other papers about<br /> the sale by Mr. Coleridge Taylor of his copy-<br /> right in ‘“‘ Hiawatha” to Messrs. Novello<br /> &amp; Co. outright for a sum down. But it is<br /> not on this form of contract that I desire to<br /> comment, but on a much more subtle form,<br /> namely, a contract for the payment of a<br /> royalty on the assignment of the copyright.<br /> This form is distinctly more subtle, for it seems<br /> to the composer that by securing a royalty he<br /> may be gaining his just reward, whereas he<br /> may still be losing by the assignment every-<br /> thing that is worth holding. When a publisher<br /> of literary works asks for a licence to publish,<br /> he is generally contented with a licence to<br /> ublish in book form; in some cases even this<br /> 1s limited to book form at a certain price or<br /> during a certain period, and if the publisher<br /> does not keep the book on the market the<br /> contract is at an end. He does not ask for<br /> —or should he ask for, does not get—the<br /> dramatic rights, the rights of translation, the<br /> American copyright and cinematograph rights ;<br /> but the music publisher, who should be content<br /> with a licence to publish in printed form, asks<br /> for an assignment of copyright which carries<br /> the performing rights—equal to dramatic<br /> rights; the rights of publication in foreign<br /> countries—infinitely more valuable than the<br /> translation rights, for music is a universal<br /> language; the rights in the United States—<br /> infinitely more valuable than an author’s<br /> United States rights, because the heavy tax<br /> of printing in the United States is unnecessary<br /> in the case of music; and the rights of repro-<br /> duction by mechanical instruments—at the<br /> present time more valuable still than the<br /> cinematograph rights in a book.<br /> <br /> After this preamble, it may be useful to<br /> print an ordinary form of music publisher’s<br /> agreement :—<br /> <br /> y ieee se OL aise ca in consideration of the royalties<br /> hereinafter reserved and of the sum of one shilling (the<br /> receipt of which I hereby acknowledge as an advance pay-<br /> ment) hereby assign to.....; SAOr el (hereinafter<br /> called the Publishers) their successors and assigns the entire<br /> and exclusive copyright, rights of representation and<br /> <br /> arrangement of whatever kind, rights of reproduction tipon<br /> mechanical instruments of every description and all othe ‘<br /> rights whatsoever in the United Kingdom of Great Britain<br /> and Ireland its Colonies and Dependencies and in all<br /> foreign countries their Colonies and Dependencies now or<br /> hereafter conferred or created of and in the following<br /> original work of which I am the composer and compiler<br /> <br /> The Royalties shall be<br /> <br /> (a) In the United Kingdom its Colonies (except Canada)<br /> and Dependencies at the rate of pence on all copies<br /> sold by the Publishers or their successors or assigns.<br /> <br /> (b) And in the United States of America and Canada<br /> and on the Continent of Europe one half of that rate.<br /> <br /> No royalty on copies gratuitously distributed nor on<br /> Band parts. :<br /> <br /> 7 copies shall be counted as 6.<br /> <br /> On Mechanical Reproductions :—<br /> <br /> 50 per cent. of the nett amounts received by the Pub-<br /> lishers therefor :<br /> <br /> AS WITNESS &amp;c.<br /> <br /> It is surely a mockery to call such a document<br /> an agreement ; and, indeed, many of the music<br /> publishers realise this fact,,as they refuse or<br /> neglect to send the composers a copy signed<br /> by the firm; and if the composer has not the<br /> business acumen to keep an exact copy, he<br /> is left in the humiliating position of having to<br /> appeal to the publisher should he subsequently<br /> desire to have particulars of the document he<br /> has so rashly and foolishly signed.<br /> <br /> Before discussing this particular form, it will<br /> be as well to repeat here some of the legal<br /> difficulties which arise out of an assignment of<br /> copyright.<br /> <br /> To begin with, if anything should happen<br /> to the firm, if it should become bankrupt, or<br /> —if a company—go into liquidation, the<br /> composer would have no right, according to<br /> existing decisions of the Court, to prevent<br /> the assignment of the copyright to another<br /> purchaser, and he might find that his property<br /> had come into the hands of a most undesirable<br /> assignee.<br /> <br /> But there is worse to follow, for the com-<br /> poser would have no claim for royalties against<br /> the assignee, and would be in a worse position<br /> than if he had sold his copyright for a sum<br /> down.<br /> <br /> Secondly, after the work has once been<br /> published, even in a limited degree, no power<br /> on earth can force the publisher to continue to<br /> <br /> keep the work on the market, and the com- *<br /> <br /> poser might have to buy back that which the<br /> publisher refuses to utilise at the publisher’s<br /> owr price.<br /> <br /> Thirdly, if after the work is put on the<br /> market an action for infringement of copyright<br /> is threatened—this case actually occurred—<br /> even though the composer may have the<br /> strongest evidence that there is no infringement<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> the publisher may refuse to run the risk and<br /> has power to withdraw all copies. Again the<br /> eomposer is without a remedy.<br /> <br /> Finally, the publisher may alter the work<br /> within the limit of libel, produce a chorale as<br /> a waltz, or adapt the airs for other purposes<br /> than those originally designed by the composer.<br /> Such alterations, which might be the cause of<br /> the greatest annoyance to the composer, need<br /> not, and probably would not, give him a right<br /> of action.<br /> <br /> These are some of the legal difficulties<br /> arising out of the assignment of copyright.<br /> The financial loss is also considerable, for the<br /> performing rights, save in few cases, are<br /> squandered by the publishers for the adver-<br /> tisement of their own wares, when these rights<br /> might be husbanded by the composer, and, if<br /> properly marketed, bring in, in this country,<br /> as good a return as they bring in to foreign<br /> composers. Reference will be made later to<br /> the Toss to the composer arising from the<br /> assignment of his mechanical instrument rights.<br /> <br /> The faults to which attention has been drawn<br /> are, however, faults of commission ; but look<br /> at the faults of omission.<br /> <br /> The publishers do not undertake to put the<br /> work on the market. No doubt, as payment<br /> of a royalty on every copy sold is part of the<br /> consideration, publication would be an implied<br /> term of the contract. But what kind of pub-<br /> lication? In what form? At what price ?<br /> By what date?<br /> <br /> As the royalty is a fixed royalty of so many<br /> pennies a copy, it is of great importance that<br /> the published price should be fixed, for what<br /> might be a fair royalty if the work was issued<br /> at one price might be a very unfair royalty<br /> if the work was issued at another price. Then,<br /> again, all mention of the date is omitted. It<br /> is not unknown in the publishing trade that<br /> where no date has been fixed, delays of six,<br /> twelve, or eighteen months have occurred.<br /> <br /> Again, there is no clause to compel the<br /> publisher to continue publishing, or, alterna-<br /> tively, having published, to give up his rights<br /> if he does not intend to use them further<br /> when the work is out of print.<br /> <br /> There is not even a common form clause: by<br /> which the composer is to receive accounts<br /> properly issued at fixed dates.<br /> <br /> Many other points might be noted, but for<br /> the present purpose these are sufficient.<br /> <br /> The answer of the man of business is clear :<br /> “What a fool the composer must be.” To<br /> some extent this is true, but it must be reme-<br /> bered that the marketing of works of art is<br /> different from the marketing of merchandise.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 271<br /> <br /> The artist is a man often in absolute ignorance<br /> of his rights and their potentialities, and he<br /> is dealing with a man whose business in life<br /> has been to study every detail of artistic<br /> property from the commercial standpoint.<br /> <br /> No wonder, then, that music publishers grow<br /> fat and prosper, and that, as far as financial<br /> returns are concerned, there are many<br /> Coleridge Taylors among the rank and file of<br /> the profession. What wonder, also, when one<br /> of the leading members of the profession in<br /> his smug prosperity says he sees no need for<br /> a combination of composers to strengthen the<br /> chances of his struggling confreres ; when<br /> another states in public that he is too busy to<br /> look after his royalties (he may be quite sure<br /> the publisher is not) ; when another writes that.<br /> most of his contracts are made across his<br /> publisher’s dinner-table. If the leaders are so<br /> weighted with chains, whether of gold or of<br /> inertia or of prejudice, no wonder that the<br /> young composer sees so little chance.<br /> <br /> But the young generation is vigorous and<br /> full of life. If it is neglected by those who<br /> ought to make it their duty to help, by those<br /> who have known what it is to be told that if<br /> they did not like to put their name to a con-<br /> tract of slavery, the publisher will never<br /> publish anything more for them, still, let<br /> it fight on until it carves the way to its own<br /> salvation.<br /> <br /> Rights of Reproduction on Mechanical Instru-<br /> ments.—When the Copyright Act of 1911 came<br /> into force, a splendid opportunity occurred<br /> for the composer to break away from his<br /> bondage. The rights of reproduction on<br /> mechanical instruments were then, for the first<br /> time, included under Statutory Copyright,<br /> and in order that composers who, before the<br /> Act, had assigned their copyrights, might not<br /> lose by such conveyance rights of property<br /> which, prior to the Act, had not existed, the «<br /> Act placed those rights, in spite of the assign<br /> ment of copyright, in their hands to deal with.<br /> But it stipulated that composers should receive<br /> a fixed royalty. The publishers, seeing what<br /> was about to happen, at once took steps to<br /> counteract the benefits that the Act bestowed.<br /> The Society of Authors wrote a letter to The<br /> Times to point out to composers their position<br /> under past contracts. But the publishers<br /> proceeded to form a company for the collection<br /> of fees, by the rules of which, after deducting<br /> all the expenses of collection—a quite indeter-<br /> minate quantity—80 per cent. of the royalties<br /> on the property, which, by the Act, was the<br /> composer’s absolutely, was transferred to the<br /> publishers’ pockets. The music publishe<br /> <br /> <br /> 272 THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> claimed that he was entitled to a percentage<br /> of these fees because, by publishing the<br /> composer’s music, he had made the mechanical<br /> reproduction rights valuable. This may or<br /> may not have been true, but if it were true it<br /> was a matter to be decided between the com-<br /> <br /> oser and the publisher, and not arbitrarily<br /> &amp; a company which was started on a business<br /> basis and not for the settlement of an ethical<br /> question. It is certain, however, that in the<br /> near future it will be the music publisher<br /> who will have to’ thank the mechanical<br /> reproducer for the advertisement rather than<br /> the mechanical reproducer the publisher.<br /> Mechanical reproduction is going ahead very<br /> fast, and many owners of pianolas, gramo-<br /> phones, etc., go to the retail dealers and<br /> try reproductions, quite irrespective of the<br /> music publisher, and make their choice for<br /> purchase or hire, quite irrespective of whether<br /> they have heard the original played from sheet<br /> music. This practice will become more and<br /> more common, so that the music publisher’s<br /> argument that he is entitled to a share in the<br /> mechanical instrument rights, if ever it was<br /> good, grows less and less valid. But I do not<br /> admit it was good. The music publisher is<br /> the agent of the composer to produce his music<br /> in a certain form specified in the contract, and<br /> the author’s royalty is based on this considera-<br /> tion. He is not the principal, to claim from<br /> the composer control over his rights. The<br /> editor of a magazine might as well claim<br /> a share in the book production, or the pub-<br /> lisher of a book claim a share of the serial<br /> rights.<br /> <br /> But the rules of this company contained<br /> other interesting statements.<br /> <br /> The committee of the company was to be<br /> allowed to conduct or defend’ such legal<br /> proceedings, as they might sanction, appar-<br /> ently, without reference to the composer who<br /> was the owner of the rights. Under this rule<br /> they might neglect, perhaps for financial<br /> reasons, to protect the composer’s rights,<br /> and in that case the composer would have no<br /> means of obtaining redress for infringements,<br /> as the transfer of his rights to the company<br /> would have prevented his taking independent<br /> action. Secondly, the committee might decide<br /> to take action in a case to which the composer<br /> might strongly object; and thirdly, the com-<br /> mittee might take action in respect of the repro-<br /> duction of the rights of one of its members,<br /> and get involved in a complicated lawsuit,<br /> leaving the rest of the members to bear the<br /> expenses of the proceedings, however indis-<br /> creetly the committee may have acted. The<br /> <br /> only limit upon the expenses was the total<br /> amount of all royalties collected. Generally,<br /> a society can rely on the subscriptions received,<br /> and no member is liable for anything more,<br /> But in the case of the company referred<br /> to, the whole income of the members for<br /> royalties on mechanical reproductions was at<br /> stake.<br /> <br /> The principles embodied in the rules of this<br /> company have been put forward at some<br /> length. It may be that some of the rules<br /> have been altered since they were first pro-<br /> mulgated ; that milder methods have been<br /> suggested.<br /> <br /> But the idea underlying the publishers’<br /> action is still the same ; they desired to obtain<br /> 80 per cent. of property to which they had no<br /> right, which, under the very wording of the<br /> Act, was declared to be the composer’s<br /> absolutely.<br /> <br /> But there is something more bitter behind.<br /> <br /> The management of the company was to<br /> be under the control of a board consisting of<br /> six publishers, three composers and three<br /> authors. I understand that composers have<br /> been ready to accept places on_ that<br /> board.<br /> <br /> Under the Act another difficulty has arisen.<br /> It has been pointed out that the composer,<br /> although he had assigned his copyright before<br /> the Act came into force, was still allowed to<br /> maintain the right of mechanical reproduction<br /> in spite of such assignment. It seems, how-<br /> ever, from recent evidence, that composers<br /> consider that the same principle applies to<br /> any contract entered into after the Act has<br /> come into force. This deduction is entirely<br /> false. Any assignment of copyright after<br /> the Act has come into force assigns to the<br /> publishers the rights in mechanical repro-<br /> duction.<br /> <br /> In the agreement printed on a previous<br /> page the publisher has taken advantage of<br /> this and claims 50 per cent. This is kind and<br /> generous, for, as he held the copyright, he<br /> might have taken everything ; but he has also<br /> the power to license or refuse to license the<br /> reproduction. That they should retain this<br /> in their own hands is a matter which some<br /> composers might consider to be of the utmost<br /> importance.<br /> <br /> Is it true, then, that composers are letting<br /> slip their opportunities, and are coming back<br /> to a worse slavery owing to the fact that<br /> copyright now means much more than it<br /> did? If it is true it is the fault of those in the<br /> forefront of the profession, who from their<br /> position could make a firm stand, but refuse to<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> do so. It is not the negative side, the faults<br /> of omission, which is making it so hard for<br /> those who are struggling to rise; it is the<br /> positive action and the sins of commission.<br /> While these continue it is much to be feared<br /> that there will be little change in the customary<br /> form of pseudo-agreement on which I have<br /> reluctantly been compelled to comment.<br /> <br /> G. HERBERT THRING.<br /> <br /> —_—_____e —~.— +<br /> <br /> LIBELS, LIBELLERS AND THE<br /> LIBELLED—ALLEGED.<br /> <br /> ———+ —<br /> <br /> T least three recent libel actions,<br /> A widely reported and more or less<br /> “ sensational’? in character, have<br /> ended in verdicts for the defendants, for which<br /> reljef those gentlemen are no doubt duly<br /> thankful. They have good reason to be so,<br /> for juries who have awarded undeserved<br /> damages in the past, and judges who also<br /> have been found not without sympathy with<br /> the plaintiffs, have contributed to render the<br /> bringing of actions in respect of alleged libels<br /> not altogether unprofitable. The successes<br /> of his predecessors have, in fact, tended to<br /> give the would-be plaintiff an idea that apart<br /> from the merits of his case, which he is not<br /> likely to underrate, he will start with odds<br /> in his favour. The plaintiff&#039;s case may, of<br /> course, be a perfectly just one. The libel or<br /> supposed libel from which authors, composers<br /> and artists, the members of the Society,<br /> are most likely to suffer, is that which is<br /> contained in criticism upon a_ published<br /> work. Criticism that is unfair exists ;<br /> sometimes it may err through negligence<br /> inexcusably, but more or less inadver-<br /> tently ; sometimes it is deliberately intended<br /> to wound or injure. Authors, however, and<br /> the others mentioned, although not insensitive<br /> to criticism, as a rule know how to take<br /> their knocks philosophically ; they have too<br /> much good sense to air their wrongs in litiga-<br /> tion, and criticism that is neither fair nor<br /> reasonable is tolerated and condoned because<br /> it is not worth while to take notice of it.<br /> This, however, has nothing to do with the<br /> actions for libel to which reference has been<br /> made, which have ended in verdicts for defen-<br /> dants who have had to watch big bills of<br /> costs being piled up, a considerable proportion<br /> of which in any event must be paid by them.<br /> Actions of this kind interest authors rather<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 273<br /> <br /> as potential writers of libels than as victims<br /> of defamation. They cause reflections as to<br /> the ease with which law suits may be launched,<br /> and unhappy writers compelled to spend their<br /> money in self-defence.<br /> <br /> Alleged libellers who call for sympathy as<br /> such are of two kinds, if they may be classified<br /> roughly—those who, writing honestly and<br /> from a sense of duty, criticise deliberately and<br /> unfavourably the acts or writings of others,<br /> which either invite or challenge criticism ; and<br /> those who write without any idea that an article<br /> not aimed at any such mark may wound<br /> the feclings of a hyper-sensitive individual.<br /> There is also the class of persons involved by<br /> law in the blame where any supposed libel is<br /> published, as publishers and even as printers ;<br /> these are more or less connected with the<br /> latter group. In the class of those who<br /> deliberately criticise and have to take their<br /> risks would be included the authors of the<br /> criticism, which was claimed to_be libellous<br /> by Miss Lind-af-Hageby and Lord Alfred<br /> Douglas in the recent cases referred to, It<br /> is not necessary to recall the details of either<br /> case, except to say that observations which<br /> juries have found not to be such that the<br /> plaintiff deserved damages in respect of them,<br /> were the occasion of two trials of length unusual<br /> in actions of any kind involving far more im-<br /> portant issues,&#039; and that such actions may be<br /> brought at any time in respect of criticism<br /> upon any person’s conduct, which may<br /> eventually be found to be perfectly fair and<br /> reasonable in view of the facts. The Times,<br /> in commenting upon these cases, pointed out<br /> most reasonably that the tendency of such<br /> actions must be to deprive the public of the<br /> benefit of wholesomé criticism in such matters<br /> as are of public interest. Newspapers, con-<br /> ducted with the care with which English<br /> newspapers are conducted, do not, as a rule,<br /> err in the direction of over-candid or searching<br /> criticism, even where the facts demand. it,<br /> and this, no doubt, is largely due to fear of<br /> the law being set in motion, and perhaps<br /> successfully set in motion, owing to some<br /> trifling slip or inaccuracy in an otherwise<br /> correctly revised article. No one desires to<br /> see slap-dash and indiscriminate onslaughts<br /> made upon persons or institutions deserving<br /> censure, but it cannot be for the public good<br /> that criticism should be restricted or kept<br /> out of existence by the fear of consequences<br /> wholly disproportionate to any fortuitous<br /> error which may be discovered in it.<br /> <br /> In the criticism of literature, of music, and<br /> of art, a veiled and gentle reticence may be<br />  <br /> <br /> 274<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> more agreeable to the feelings of individuals<br /> immediately affected, but» can hardly be<br /> beneficial to the public taste, stimulating to<br /> authors, or conducing to the general good of<br /> literature, art and music. This, however, is<br /> but a small section of the subject-matter upon<br /> which comment is made in newspapers and<br /> in books. For example, many persons are<br /> actively engaged in making money at the<br /> expense of the rest of their fellow men by means<br /> which vary in the degree of honesty employed.<br /> The methods of company promoters, of quack<br /> medicine vendors, of exploiters of new religions<br /> and other movements affecting the pockets or<br /> the health, bodily or otherwise, of their fellow<br /> men demand and deserve criticism in the<br /> public interest. A variety of causes contribute<br /> to their either escaping it or only obtaining it<br /> toned down to a point which renders it useless<br /> in the public interest, and it is submitted that<br /> not the least of those causes is the condition<br /> of the law with regard to libel, and the feeling<br /> that the courts are far more likely to reward<br /> the plaintiff beyond his deserts than to<br /> safeguard the defendant against oppression.<br /> As The Times observed in the article referred<br /> to even an unsuccessful action has been known<br /> to give a thoroughly profitable advertisement<br /> to the plaintiff.<br /> <br /> The other type of libel is that which arises<br /> more or less accidentally, and generally in<br /> fiction, through some foolish person fitting<br /> upon his own head a cap which may properly<br /> become him but which the unhappy defendant<br /> never intended for the personal misuse of an<br /> individual. Sometimes the fortuitous adop-<br /> tion of a name makes the supposed picture<br /> more complete by suggesting that of the<br /> injured person. If this is the case, or if other-<br /> wise one or two circumstances combine to<br /> make the likeness assured, the unhappy<br /> defendant runs a poor chance of being believed.<br /> Everyone must remember cases of this kind,<br /> in which juries have awarded damages although<br /> the defendant, an honourable man, has never<br /> swerved from his original statement that he<br /> wrote nothing which he intended to refer to<br /> the plaintiff, of whom (according to his evi-<br /> dence) he may never have heard. Cases of<br /> this kind supply some of the trivial but<br /> irritating libel actions which The Times<br /> suggests might be brought in the county court.<br /> No doubt, originally, the idea was that the<br /> possibility of a county court action for libel<br /> or slander would involve the multiplying of<br /> petty suits of this kind. That is still the chief<br /> argument against such an innovation. The<br /> <br /> Times compares petty libel actions to those<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> brought to recover small tradesmen’s bills,<br /> but the parallel is not a close one. The<br /> tradesman is not claiming an unascertained<br /> sum as damages for a supposed wrong. Still,<br /> if the change could be tried as an experiment<br /> it would be interesting, and perhaps persons<br /> obviously (even to themselves) likely to re-<br /> cover small damages only, would ‘abandon<br /> the attempt to do so if they felt that it would<br /> be imprudent to launch a High Court action.<br /> There is less publicity and less fame attaching<br /> to success in the county court. Perhaps, also,<br /> libel actions would be better tried, if it could<br /> so be provided by statute, without juries, by<br /> judges sitting alone. On the other hand,<br /> reference has been made above to sympathetic<br /> judges, and on the whole it must be said that<br /> judges have in the past shown in libel actions<br /> some leaning towards the side of the plaintiff.<br /> It used to be said at the bar of one or two<br /> occupants of the bench that they had often<br /> had to submit to criticism in the press without<br /> the opportunity to reply, and that they were<br /> taking it out of libellers whenever they got the<br /> chance. Perhaps the recent cases to which<br /> reference has been made show that a more<br /> impartial spirit now pervades the judicial<br /> bench.<br /> <br /> ANTONIO FOGAZZARO.<br /> <br /> 1<br /> <br /> IFE on earth, if taken as the sum total<br /> of all experiences and of all sensations of<br /> which we are conscious, holds much that<br /> <br /> is of the flesh and much that is of the spirit ;<br /> life everlasting, if we could conceive it in its<br /> entirety, would hold more of the spirit than of<br /> the flesh—so it is with love sacred and profane.<br /> As exponents of these different aspects of<br /> life and love in modern Italian literature, two<br /> eminent writers stand out prominently:<br /> Antonio Fogazzaro, who believes in the<br /> spiritualisation of love capable of carrying<br /> man into regions of everlasting glory beyond<br /> earthly life, and Gabriele d’ Annunzio, who<br /> stands for the materialisation of love and the<br /> gratification of desire through possession ; the<br /> first appeals to the spirit, the second to the<br /> senses. I will endeavour to followtheir thoughts<br /> in their quest after love and ts ine a without<br /> attempting to discuss their methods of reaching<br /> the ideal. Each reader knows whether he is<br /> spiritually or materialistically inclined: if<br /> he loves spiritually let him read one by one<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> the books of Fogazzaro, of which there are<br /> translations into English; if sensually, he will<br /> find food for thought in the works of Gabriele<br /> @’ Annunzio, which I will deal with in a coming<br /> issue of The Author.<br /> <br /> Antonio Fogazzaro was born in Vicenza on<br /> March 25, 1842, he wrote some verses between<br /> 1863—1872, but his first book, ‘* Miranda,”’<br /> did not appear till 1874. Then came:<br /> “ Valsolda”’? (1876), ‘‘ Malombra”’ (1881),<br /> “ Daniele Cortis ” (1885), ‘Il mistero di un<br /> Poeta”’ (1888), ‘* Piccolo mondo antico”<br /> (1896), ‘‘ Piccolo mondo moderno” (1901),<br /> “T] Santo” (1905), and “ Leila »» (1910).<br /> He died a few months after the publication<br /> of this book. He also went in for philosophical<br /> dissertations (1891—1898), which have since<br /> been collected.<br /> <br /> Fogazzaro understood life as a harmony of<br /> which music was the language; he said of it<br /> that it was a generator of vague shadows, of<br /> sentiments of joy, sorrow, desire, dismay, pity,<br /> all without definite causes, and also of superb<br /> daring and an impulsive courage to achieve<br /> the impossible. He said that the best music<br /> also suggested confused images to the imagina-<br /> tion, signifying turbidly a narration, dialogue<br /> or drama, incomprehensible in its magnitude,<br /> because the language in which it is expressed<br /> is unknown to us, and unlike any language with<br /> which we are familiar, a language far removed<br /> from daily speech, but gifted with the sound<br /> of human passions, many of which are even<br /> correctly ordered, in proper sequence, following<br /> the methods of the highest reasoning in the<br /> world.<br /> <br /> Fogazzaro’s first book, “* Miranda ’’ (1874),<br /> initiates one in his belief with regard to love,<br /> a belief which he held to the last, and which<br /> gives a special “stamp ” to all his works.<br /> He shows love as a light, a sentiment capable<br /> of lifting man to spiritual perfection through<br /> self-denial and renunciation.<br /> <br /> Some of his earlier critics condemned him<br /> for dwelling too much on lofty passions and<br /> glorified love, instead of on the love of ordinary<br /> mortals in everyday life. This may be so, but<br /> one must not overlook the fact that he held<br /> the belief that physical attraction was an<br /> instinct outside man’s will, whilst the intel-<br /> lectual power of love could be cultivated into<br /> a thing of moral beauty, which was more<br /> lasting than mere mortal life, and more<br /> powerful than instinct.<br /> <br /> In “ Miranda” the heroine is a simple girl<br /> brought up amongst the flowers of the fields.<br /> There is no hypocrisy, no study or fictitious<br /> innocence in her purity; she is pure, simply<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 275<br /> <br /> because she has never come in contact with<br /> vice, and when the man she loves discloses<br /> its existence through his materialistic and<br /> pleasure-seeking tendency, she is horrified, and<br /> her whole being rebels against it. But she<br /> cannot give up the man she loves, even though<br /> she thinks him unworthy. She is of the women<br /> who love once and for ever, but with a profound<br /> religious sentiment which holds feminine<br /> chastity supreme, and forbids her from falling<br /> in with his views. So she offers her life to the<br /> Almighty as a sacrifice, so that the man she<br /> loves may be redeemed.<br /> <br /> Her object is reached. He is redeemed through<br /> the force of moral love which, emanating from<br /> the human heart, is capable of regenerating<br /> the world. Throughout all Fogazzaro’s works<br /> the mission of love is that of conversion and<br /> redemption; human love thus becomes a<br /> path leading to divine love. This idea of<br /> the necessity for renunciation came to<br /> Fogazzaro through his conception of the<br /> immortality of the soul. He believed that<br /> the human body had evolved from a lower<br /> species, and that the soul of man, also evolved.<br /> from a rudimental, primordial soul, to a soul<br /> of transcendental beauty. He compares the<br /> birth of a soul to the striking of the hour ina<br /> clock; the hour is not complete until the<br /> clock strikes ; so at a given moment, when man<br /> reached a spiritual state capable of expression,<br /> when his hour was about to strike, with an<br /> infinitesimal change, God created in him an<br /> immortal soul which was not his before.<br /> Through this soul he can get in touch with<br /> the Supreme Being, his intellect guided by the<br /> Divine Spark making him capable of con-<br /> ceiving an abstract idea, and love lifted from<br /> a physical passion to a spiritual power.<br /> Because he believed utterly in the communion<br /> of souls, by some he was looked upon as an<br /> ascetic; because he fought all forms of<br /> limitation, and aspired to a free church for<br /> free men, with free souls capable of out-<br /> standing earthly passions, desires and sins, he<br /> was condemned by the Church as irreligious.<br /> Because in the “ Mystery of a Poet’ he<br /> declared that he saw “in every soul some<br /> reflection of an unknown light,” he was<br /> accused with dabbling in the occult and<br /> mysterious.<br /> <br /> In reality he had a pure conscience, a pure<br /> aim, and only pure art inspired him. He was<br /> rightly termed “ the Chevalier of the Spirit,”<br /> who believed in the ultimate apotheosis of all<br /> created things to a final perfect state of love,<br /> grace and beauty.<br /> <br /> Whoever reads his books may agree or<br /> 276 THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> disagree with his theories and_ principles,<br /> may find his men too perfect, and his women<br /> too frail, but whoever believes in the soul’s<br /> immortality will take fresh heart, and acquire<br /> a stronger faith in the ascension of man to<br /> perfection by Fogazzaro’s exposition of a<br /> superhuman love, which we may not have<br /> met in our lives, but for the existence of which<br /> at some time we have surely longed.<br /> <br /> E. S. Romero-Topesco.<br /> <br /> RICHARDSON’S LAW OF COPYRIGHT.*<br /> <br /> —— ++<br /> <br /> R. RICHARDSON marshals his com-<br /> ments and explanations relating to<br /> the Law of Copyright and _ the<br /> <br /> changes effected in it by the Act of 1911<br /> in a form different from that commonly<br /> adopted in legal text-books dealing with<br /> statute law. He gives as his reasons for<br /> abandoning the obvious and usual method of<br /> dealing with a branch of the law that has been<br /> codified, by commentary upon the Codifying<br /> Act, that in the first place the Copyright<br /> Act, 1911, does not lend itself easily to commen-<br /> tary. By this presumably he means that to<br /> quote sections or parts of sections of the new<br /> Act and to append to them notes explaining<br /> them and comparing their provisions with<br /> the law as it stood before they came into<br /> force or as it stands with regard to matters<br /> not affected by the new Act, is a method<br /> which he has tried and has found difficult to<br /> employ satisfactorily.<br /> <br /> In the second place, he considers that to<br /> adopt the method indicated would have<br /> involved unnecessary length, and he has<br /> preferred the task of summarising the new<br /> Act briefly where he deals with it in his notes.<br /> He further adds that it is difficult in dealing<br /> with the law of copyright to work in the old<br /> law while commenting upon the new. He,<br /> therefore, relegates the text of the Act of 1911<br /> to his first appendix, where he sets it out<br /> verbatim and commences with a short outline<br /> of the history of copyright, chiefly literary<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * “The Law of Copyright,’ by J. B. Richardson, M.A.,<br /> LL.B. (Cantab.), of the Middle Temple and the North-<br /> Eastern Circuit, Barrister-at-Law, late holder of a student-<br /> ship awarded by the Council of Legal Education. Jordan<br /> &amp; Sons, Limited, London, 1913. Pp.390. Price, 6s. net.<br /> <br /> copyright, explaining its position before July”<br /> 1912, and summarising the principle changes<br /> which came into being on the first day of<br /> that month. Thence he proceeds to discuss.<br /> the general system now established, and<br /> lastly he treats in detail the various branches of<br /> copyright law as distinguished by the subject-<br /> matter of the right conferred. In subsequent<br /> chapters Colonial copyright is considered,<br /> and the international system arising out of the<br /> Berlin Convention and the Act of 1911.<br /> Mr. Richardson’s notes are clear and _ brief,<br /> and the form in which he has thus presented<br /> them to his readers is well adapted for the<br /> purposes of those who desire to obtain rapidly<br /> a bird’s-eye view of the law, past and present,<br /> affecting a particular point of copyright law.<br /> They would, no doubt, be convenient also to<br /> anyone desiring to study the law of copyright<br /> for the purpose of passing an examination<br /> in it. It is, however, a matter for individual<br /> opinion, how far the method followed has had<br /> as its result a text-book useful for the purpose<br /> of reference to a lawyer in practice, and how<br /> far it may be safe for an author to depart in<br /> such matters from precedents which have<br /> been tried and generally accepted.<br /> <br /> The answer to the question is not one easy for<br /> a reviewer to supply authoritatively, and must<br /> be answered rather by the barrister or solicitor<br /> who, when he has consulted a book a few times<br /> for professional purposes, will not have great<br /> difficulty in making up his mind as to whether<br /> he can find his way about in it easily, and<br /> put himself upon the track of that which he<br /> seeks to discover. At all events, Mr. Richard-<br /> son’s work contains a good deal of useful<br /> information within a moderate compass. We<br /> note that he condemns as a very doubtful<br /> experiment the system of royalties introduced<br /> in section 8, and the liberty given to republish<br /> without leave of the owner of the copyright<br /> twenty-five years after the author’s death,<br /> an experiment tried with a view to the con-<br /> ciliation of those who objected to a lengthened<br /> term of copyright, which certainly will not<br /> have the merit of simplifying the conditions<br /> of book publishing. ;<br /> <br /> He also condemns the limitations of the<br /> subject-matter of copyright laid down in<br /> section 1, sub-section 1, of the Act, but does<br /> not suggest that it prescribes a narrower area<br /> of protection than prevails in other countries,<br /> an aspect of the situation which presumably<br /> was taken into consideration when the section<br /> was framed. The rules made under the<br /> new Act will be found with other necessary_or<br /> useful information in an appendix.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR. 277<br /> CORRESPONDENCE.<br /> <br /> Oe<br /> <br /> AN AMERICAN “ WRITER&#039;S YEAR<br /> BOOK.’”*<br /> <br /> —<br /> <br /> 1,001 addresses of places where manu-<br /> scripts can be sold, or any other<br /> } pumber,is not —. nor does this particular<br /> ti much matter. It must be presumed that a<br /> | title of this sort makes an appeal to some<br /> or it would not have been chosen ; yet<br /> pad that to others it may not seem quite<br /> bon ton. The work is intended as a guide<br /> essentially for writers on the other side of the<br /> ‘Atlantic, and the greater number of its pages<br /> are justly devoted to periodicals published in<br /> the United States. We are able to judge of<br /> the value of its information respecting such<br /> publications only by inference. In the case<br /> ‘of the journals with which we are acquainted<br /> the information is correct and the advice a<br /> . The chapter devoted to “ English<br /> Magazines that ty American MSS.” is dis-<br /> ey = done. The general hints given in<br /> preface are also admirable. There can<br /> be no doubt that the classification of the<br /> various periodicals into chapters (** Advertising<br /> ogg [ oo Journals,” and so<br /> h) has its advantages; but it has dis-<br /> Advantages also; as it is not always an casy<br /> ‘Matter to find any particular journal that is<br /> seg We _. that the work would be<br /> Much improved by an index. The work<br /> eontains a chapter dedicated to ‘‘ Publishers<br /> Books,” in which “ the endeavour has been<br /> have this a list of publishers of standing.”<br /> yang that this chapter may be of value<br /> ne ish authors, independently of other<br /> ‘Mivice respecting openings on the other side<br /> the Atlantic which they will find in the work.<br /> gre that English work is not very likely<br /> accepted appears, however, to be fairly<br /> penn preferences expressed for “* Ameri-<br /> th, i. New England Stories,” aud so<br /> ong “Fraternal Publications ”’<br /> <br /> What they may be we do not know) the Red<br /> . en&#039;s Official Journal “ do [sic] not use matter<br /> t than that we dig up or is furnished by<br /> co. from members of the order.”<br /> ‘ournal, e official announcement of the<br /> for which the editor of ‘ 1,001<br /> <br /> : a Manuscripts must not be held<br /> <br /> W voor ad there are really in this work<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> . “100<br /> + Ba; 1 Places to Sell Manuscripts.”<br /> <br /> i Ninth edition.<br /> itor Company, Ridgewood, New Jersey. 1913.<br /> <br /> AUTHOR AND AGENT.<br /> <br /> Dear Sir,—In the last month I have had<br /> three separate firms of agents ‘‘ butting in”<br /> to my business. They come to me with<br /> proposals of remarkable magnificence from<br /> Messrs. A. and Messrs. B., and so forth. Why<br /> Messrs. A. and Messrs. B., and so forth, do not<br /> communicate directly with me, I cannot under-<br /> stand. Whatever I am prepared to sell to<br /> Messrs. A., B., and so on, for £100 I shall<br /> obviously want £110 for, if they insist upon the<br /> intervention of Messrs. Agency, Clause &amp; Co.<br /> I know of no way of stopping this increasing<br /> nuisance of agents, except by proclaiming<br /> clearly that, like all saucibhs authors, I do not<br /> employ agents except for specific jobs. There<br /> is, | believe, a growing tendency on the part of<br /> agents to go to firms of publishers and represent<br /> themselves with no authority at all as acting<br /> on an author’s behalf. I am not lawyer<br /> enough to determine how far that is illegal, but,<br /> at any rate, it is one that needs to be violently<br /> discouraged at the present time.<br /> <br /> Very sincerely Yours,<br /> H. G. WELLs.<br /> <br /> UNREVIEWED Books.<br /> <br /> Dear Srr,—lI have been much interested in<br /> the article and letters regarding “ Unreviewed<br /> Books ” that have appeared in your columns.<br /> If for one moment your correspondents would<br /> place themselves in the position of the dis-<br /> tressed literary editor, they would refrain from<br /> suggesting such impossible alternatives to the<br /> present system as (a) the sending of stamps<br /> for the return of books that have not been<br /> reviewed, or (b) that the editors should write<br /> to publishers stating what books they can<br /> notice.<br /> <br /> To take the first of these two suggestions.<br /> Last year there were nearly 13,000 books<br /> published, of which the principal papers<br /> received in all probably not less than 10,000,<br /> Imagine the additional Jabour involved in<br /> sorting out ten thousand lots of stamps!<br /> Then what is to become of the stamps sent<br /> with those books that are reviewed ? If they<br /> are to be returned also, there would be the<br /> writing of 10,000 envelopes or labels.<br /> <br /> The other suggestion that editors should<br /> write and state what books they can review 18<br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 278<br /> <br /> ve impracticable. Suppose an editor<br /> oe aanon ae a mabiishee&#039;s list “* Golden<br /> Agates,” a novel by James Blank, and he has<br /> never heard of James Blank, how in the name<br /> of all that is inspired can he tell whether or no<br /> he be prepared to give space to reviewing the<br /> book? The lot of the literary editor is suffi-<br /> ciently difficult without our adding to the<br /> burden of his responsibilities.<br /> <br /> Authors and publishers must be sportsmen<br /> and optimists, and if they be men of the<br /> literary world also they will appreciate that<br /> everybody connected with books is keenly on<br /> the look out for that which is good. If only<br /> a small percentage of the copies sent out for<br /> review produces notices, then the book does<br /> not appear to the literary editors to be a work<br /> likely to interest their readers. An editor is<br /> in every sense of the word the servant of the<br /> public. He must fill his columns with attractive<br /> matter. He can guide his readers to some<br /> extent ; but on the whole he has to consider<br /> what the public wants. I know many literary<br /> editors, and that in the triple capacity of<br /> author, reviewer and publisher, and I have a<br /> profound admiration for their ability and fair-<br /> ness.<br /> <br /> One point that seems to have been over-<br /> looked is that all the books sent in are acknow-<br /> ledged under the heading of ‘“ Books Re-<br /> ceived.” If your correspondents will remember<br /> that there are some thirteen thousand books<br /> yearly endeavouring to storm the slopes of<br /> Parnassus, they will realise that of necessity<br /> there must be a list of slain and wounded.<br /> <br /> If a book fail to get a place do not let us<br /> regard it as wasted; but rather that as an<br /> ‘also ran ” it has helped to make the pace for<br /> the others. This requires a Spartan philosophy<br /> with erhaps some admixture of humour ; but<br /> it will prove very comforting.<br /> <br /> I am, Sir,<br /> Your obedient Servant,<br /> HERBERT JENKINS,<br /> <br /> +<br /> <br /> CONCERNING “ Cart ATHLETICS,”<br /> <br /> IN a recent number J é :<br /> <br /> : of the New York Times<br /> se Supplement Mr. Grant Richards<br /> sere “at — - the methods employed by<br /> <br /> 4 ‘ American ishers -<br /> trast a te sae publishers, and con<br /> odious features of the English Jjte ,<br /> is the fiction that has paid to Sop bl<br /> <br /> The first question js; i}<br /> <br /> that “ one of the most<br /> market<br /> t published.”<br /> pays to<br /> <br /> Tho be<br /> <br /> THE AUTHOR.<br /> <br /> published—and why? And the second : What<br /> publishers accept payment Webes<br /> why ?<br /> <br /> Answer (to the first question): Who<br /> to be published, and why ?<br /> of this paper, has paid. Paid twice.<br /> to an American publisher and once<br /> English one for publishing Justice&#039;s novels,<br /> Justice wrote as a free lance for twenty vears—<br /> for money. Yet, until Mr. Wells enlightened<br /> his fellow-craftsmen in the May Author<br /> Justice had supposed the unknown novelist<br /> always paid to publish because 80 informed<br /> Justice’s publishers. In each case, too, wit<br /> the exception of the publishers’ obligato<br /> announcements of fortheoming productions,<br /> Justice was inveigled into “ doing the adver.<br /> tising ” because * decent publishers don’t like<br /> descending to the tricks of the trade.”<br /> also consented to the 13 as 12 clause, to six<br /> ‘“author’s copies ”—and bought in, “at the<br /> lowest possible author&#039;s rates,” copies to<br /> bestow upon “friends” who couk n&#039;t—or<br /> wouldn&#039;t buy. For having the first novel<br /> published, in America, Justice was asked to<br /> pay, and paid, $330. For publishing the<br /> second novel, in London, Justice paid £98,<br /> Answer to the second question : What pub-<br /> lishers accept payment for publishing? The<br /> names of aforesaid publishers are at the disposi-<br /> tion of any serious literary worker requiring<br /> useful information for self-protection, from<br /> Justice, through the Authors’ Society.<br /> <br /> In answer to why the publishers exact<br /> money from novices? Well—ask the pub-<br /> lishers !<br /> <br /> Dear Fettow-Autnors,—Can’t we be-<br /> ginners in our beloved profession hence-<br /> forward, to defeat the “ shark ” publisher,<br /> establish a league to be known as the Wells<br /> League that has for its ideal agreement the<br /> one Mr. Wells advises, and for its actual one<br /> something just as near it as feasible ?<br /> <br /> Mr. Wells writes: ** The ideal thing for the<br /> author to do is to fix up a standing agreement<br /> on the lines I have given above with a big<br /> solvent firm—and think no more of these<br /> things.”’<br /> <br /> Did Mr. Wells “think no more of these<br /> things” in the days before he, on his. own<br /> terms, advertised the publishers—gratis?<br /> <br /> Won’t Mr. Wells tell us somet hing of -<br /> “green and salad” experiences with Pho<br /> lishers ? We can’t write as he does. ;<br /> can? But Napoleon was no less Na —<br /> St. Helena than at Corsica, was he? at Wate<br /> than at Austerlitz. Jou<br /> <br /> to publish, andi<br /> <br /> Justice, the writer}<br /> Onee }<br /> to anf<br /> <br /> Justice &amp;<br /> <br /> egypt	https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/529/1913-06-01-The-Author-23-9.pdf	publications, The Author