https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/528/1913-05-01-The-Author-23-8.pdf d849348fff05b9e12f082ed718554c61 PDF Text Text ������������������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em> Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, <em>The Author</em>, 1890<span>–</span>1914, made available together for the first time.<br /><br />Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&amp;collection=&amp;type=&amp;tags=&amp;exhibit=&amp;date_search_term=&amp;submit_search=Search+For+Items&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1913-05-01 Volume 23 Issue 8 Pages Page range in volume 219–248 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 19130501 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin ~— The Huthor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) FOUNDED BY SIR WALTER BESANT. Vor. X XIII.—No. 8. May 1, 1913. [PRICE SEXPENCE. TELEPHONE NUMBER: 374 VICTORIA. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: AUTORIDAD, LONDON. —_—_—_—_—_—_—_+—_>_+-—___—- NOTICES. — > OR the opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or Tk .8q@ paragraphs must be taken as expressing the ‘6 opinion of the Committee unless such is ues especially stated to be the case. Tur Editor begs to inform members of the «* Authors’ Society and other readers of The _ Author that the cases which are quoted in The + Author are cases that have come before the notice or to the knowledge of the Secretary of the Society, and that those members of the Society who desire to have the names of the publishers concerned can obtain them on application. ARTICLES AND. CONTRIBUTIONS. | Tue Editor of The Author begs to remind ' members of the Society that, although the __ paper is sent to them free of cost, its production would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 5s. 6d. subscription for the year. Communications for The Author should be addressed to the offices of the Society, 1, Cen- tral Buildings, Tothill Street, Westminster, S.W., and should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all literary matters treated from Vou. XXIII. the standpoint of art or business, but on no other subjects whatever. Every effort will be made to return articles which cannot be accepted. ADVERTISEMENTS. As there seems to be an impression among readers of The Author that the Comm ttee are personally responsible for the bona fides of the advertisers, the Committee desire it to be stated that this is not, and could not possj bly be, the ease. Although care is exercised that no undesirable advertisements be inserted, they do not accept, and never have accepted, any liability. Members should apply to the Secretary for advice if special information is desired. +» + THE SOCIETY’S FUNDS. ae “¥\ROM time to time members of the Society |} desire to make donations to its funds in recognition of work that has been done for them. The Committee, acting on the suggestion of one of these members, have decided to place this permanent paragraph in The Author in order that members may be cognisant of those funds to which these con- tributions may be paid. The funds suitable for this purpose are: (1) The Capital Fund. This fund is kept in reserve in case it is necessary for the Society to incur heavy expenditure, either in fighting a question of principle, or in assisting to obtain copyright reform, or in dealing with any other matter closely connected with the work of the Society. (2) The Pension Fund. This fund is slowly increasing, and it is hoped will, in time, cover the needs of all the members of the Society. 2 220 THE PENSION FUND. —— > N January, the secretary of the Society I laid before the trustees of the Pension Fund the accounts for the year 1912, as settled by the accountants. After giving the matter full consideration, the trustees _in- structed the secretary to invest a sum of £300 in the purchase of Buenos Ayres Great Southern Railway 4% Extension Shares, 1914, £10 fully paid. The number of shares pur- chased at the current price was twenty-five and the amount invested £296 1s. 1ld. The trustees are also purchasing three more Central Argentine Railway New Shares at par, on which as holders of the Ordinary Stock they have an option. The trustees desire to thank the members of the Society for the continued support which they have given to the Pension Fund. The nominal value of the investments held on behalf of the Pension Fund now amounts to £4,764 6s., details of which are fully set out in the following schedule :-— Nominal Value. £. 8.4. Local Loans ......----s+seeees 500 0 0 Victoria Government 8% Consoli- dated Inscribed Stock ........ 291 19 11 London and North-Western 3% Debenture Stock ............ 250 0 0 Egyptian Government Irrigation Trust 4% Certificates ........ 200 0 0 Cape of Good Hope 84% Inscribed Stock ...0......515-----.-- 200 0 0 Glasgow and South-Western Rail- way 4% Preference Stock .... 228 0 0 New Zealand 34% Stock........ 247 9 6 Trish Land 23° Guaranteed Stock 258 0 0 Corporation of London 23% Stock, 1927—57............++. 438 2 4 Jamaica 84% Stock, 1919-49 1382 18 6 Mauritius 4% 1937 Stock ...... 120 12 1 Dominion of Canada, C.P.R. 34% Land Grant Stock, 1988 ...... 198 3 8 Antofagasta and Bolivian Railway 5% Preferred Stock .......... 287 0 0 Central Argentine Railway Or- dinary Stock ...........:.... 232 0 0 $2,000 Consolidated Gas and Electric Company of Baltimore 44% Gold Bonds ............ 400 0 0 250 Edward Lloyd, Ltd., £1 5% Preference Shares .i........ 250 0 0 55 Buenos Ayres Great Southern Railway 4% Extension Shares, 1914 (fully paid) ............ 550 0 0 THE AUTHOR. Nominal Value, £ a da 8 Central Argentine Railway £10 : Preference Shares, NewIssue.. 30 0 0 Total, .4-s «cs. £4,764 6 0 — PENSION FUND. Tue list printed below includes all fresh dona- tions and subscriptions (i.e, donations and subscriptions not hitherto acknowledged) received by, or promised to, the fund from October 1, 1912. It does not include either donations given prior to October, nor does it include sub- scriptions paid in compliance with promises made before it. Subscriptions. 1912. Oct. 10, Escott, T. H. S. : Oct. 10, Henderson, R. W. Wright Oct. 10, Knowles, Miss M. W. : Oct. 11, Buckley, Reginald . Oct. 12, Walshe, Douglas Oct. 12, “* Penmark” . : Oct. 15, Sinclair Miss Edith . Oct. 16, Markino, Yoshio Oct. 20, Fiamingo, Carlo Oct. 29, Henley, Mrs. . : Nov. 8, Jane, L. Cecil . Nov. 14, Gibb, W. Dec. 4, De Brath, S. . : Dec. 4, Sephton, The Rev. J. Dec. 4, Cooper, Miss Marjorie Dec. 7, MacRitchie, David Dec. 11, Fagan, James B. Dec. 27, Dawson Forbes 19138. Jan. 8, Toynbee, William (in addi- tion to his present sub- scription). . : . Jan. 9, Gibson, Frank . : Jan. 29, Blackley, Miss E. L. Jan. 81, Annesley, Miss Maude Feb. 6, Rothenstein, Albert . Feb. 10, Bradshaw, Percy V. April 8, Caulfield-Stoker, T... _ Oannnn? nocoooccoooonoeocee™ it bt MN orH oS Cor oooooororcsoooooobm 1 CO 8S Oo a coooooeo —_ SCaARROSOCOS Donations. 1912. Nov. 20, Kennard, Mrs. N. H. 3 Dec. 4, McEwan, Miss M. S. . ‘ Dec. 4, Kennedy, E. B. “ . Dec. 11, Begarnie, George . - ~ anos 0 0 0 0 eoocu  E> fa Se Se d Als jf REAR AR k f on ct tit otic ot hy : Dee. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. 11, Tanner, James T. . é 11, Toplis, ‘Miss Grace . i 14, Watson, Mrs. Herbert A.. 14, French, Mrs. Warner j 17, Smith, Miss Sheila Kaye . Dec. 17,,Marras, Mowbray . Dec. 27, Edwards, Percy J. 19138. Jan. 1, Risque, W. H. : Jan. 1, Rankin, Mrs. F. M. . Jan. 2, Short, Miss L. M. Jan. 2, Mackenzie, Miss J. . Jan. 2, Webling, Miss Peggy Jan. 8, Harris, Mrs. E. H. . Jan. 8, Church, Sir Arthur, K.C.V.O., ete. 4, Douglas, James A. 4, Grant, Lady Sybil 6, Haultain, Arnold 6, Beveridge, Mrs. ‘ 6, Clark, The Rev. Henry 6, Ralli, C. Scaramanja . 6, Lathbury, Miss Eva - 6, Pryce, Richard 7, Gibson Miss L. 8. 10, K. 10, Ford, Miss May 12, Greenstreet, W. J. 14, Anon 15, Maude Aylmer 16, Price, Miss Eleanor . 17, Blouet, Madame 20, P. H. and M. K. 22, Smith, Herbert W. . 25, Anon. . : 27, Vernede, R. E. : 29, Plowman, Miss Mary. 29, Todd, Miss Margaret, M.D. 81, Jacobs, W. W. : 1, ‘Davy, Mrs. KE. M. 3, Abraham, J. J. 4, Gibbs, F. L. A. Feb. 4, Buckrose, J. E. ‘ Feb. 4, Balme, Mrs. Nettleton ; Feb. 6, Coleridge, The Hon. Gilbert Feb. 6, Machen, Arthur Feb. 6, Romane-J ames, Mrs. Feb. 6, Weston, Miss Lydia : ‘ Feb. 14, Saies, Mrs. F. H. (in addi- tion to her subscription) Feb. 14, Maunsell, A. E. Lloyd Feb. 14, O'Higgins, H. J. . Feb. 15, Stephens, Dr. Ricardo Feb. 15, Jones, Miss E. H. Feb. 17, Whibley, Charles Feb. 22, Probert, W. S. Feb. 24, S. F. G. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Feb. Feb. Feb. SCSoSCSOSCSD CoHOSCCOoNMh Hee OOOOCSCSo COMM OR OCH ONHOOCOCOOBRH OH OCOOOOROWOORNWH bn _ Or or Ot Or Ot © _ Qe OK ONE NROOBREY ON GOO oe oO &® OOOH bo eH i rt | — cCrountooe. Or Gr ee — oe OOP or orc 2 ecoaocaace eceoscoconoasoonmsoancocososoosooococosooocos ooooood Secesesosce pa UTHOR. 221 ob p 2 of Feb. Mar. 27, XX. Pen Club : . 7, Keating, Theg Rev. J. Lloyd . : i 7, Tharp, Robert C. 10, Hall, H. Fielding 13, Moffatt, Miss Beatrice 14, Bennett, Arnold. 17, Michell, The Right Hon. Sir Lewis, K.C.V.O. . Mar. 17, Travers, Miss Rosalind Mar. 26, Hinkson, H. A. Mar. 26, Anon. . 5 April 2, Daniel, a J. April 2, Hain, H.M. . April 7, Taylor, Miss Susette M. April 7, Harding, Newman . April 9, Strachey, Miss Amabel Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. TOM oo OS Or On eoeoooaceoce ooooco eoooocuror ht moO oo © = or a nm COMMITTEE NOTES. ag pg MEETING of the Committee of Manage- ment of the society was held on April 24, at No. 1, Central Buildings, Westminster. The first matter before the committee was the election of the chairman for the current year owing to the resignation of Dr. S. Squire Sprigge who has held the post now for two years. On the proposal of Mr. Arthur Rackham, seconded by Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, Mr. Hesketh Prichard was elected to the position. Mr. Prichard, in acknow- ledging the honour conferred on him, stated that he would endeavour to earry out the work of the Society on the lines laid down by his distinguished predecessors in the office. He suggested, however, that as there was a very heavy list of agenda dealing with matters current under Dr. Sprigge’s chairmanship, that Dr. Sprigge should take the chair for the present meeting. This was agreed to. The elections to the Society made at the beginning of April on the chairman’s authority were then formally confirmed, and further elections that had come in during the month were placed before the meeting. The total number of elections since the meeting on March 3 amounted to forty-eight, making the total for the year 186. The committee accepted with regret eight resignations sent in since the same date in March, making the resignations for the year fifty-six. The total number of elections is not as high as up to the same period in 1912, which was a phenomenal year, but the total number of resignations, the 222 committee were glad to report, was also below the number for the corresponding period of last year. The secretary then laid before the committee a list of those members who had been struck pff for non-payment of their subscriptions during 1912 and at the beginning of 1913. Despite the increase in the membership, the number struck off is lower than that which was chronicled last year. In half-a-dozen cases it was decided to write to the members in arrears, as it appeared that the non-payment of their subscriptions was merely due to oversight. The next matter before the committee was the re-election of the sub-committees for the current year. The Dramatic Sub-Committee was, on the suggestion of the dramatist members of the Society, re-elected, except that Mr. Rudolf Besier’s place, vacated by his resignation, was filled by the election of Mr. A. E. W. Mason. The other sub-committees stand as at present, save that the committee received with regret the resignation of Mr. Herbert Sullivan, owing to ill-health, from the Composers’ Sub-Com- mittee and the Copyright Sub-Committee. It was decided to ask Mr. H. J. MacKinder, M.P., to join the Copyright Sub-Committee. The solicitor then reported the cases that had been carried through during the past month. The first case referred to an infringement of copyright to which reference has already been made in previous issues of The Author. The solicitor reported that the action had been set down for trial, and would, most probably, come on for hearing a week or so after Whitsun- tide. Thesecond case was also one of infringe- ment, and here it was decided to take no further action, as the infringement was not very serious, and the member involved was content with the action which had already been Staken by the ociety. The third case related to a dispute over accounts, arising from the peculiar wording of the contract. In accordance with the instructions of the committee, given at their last meeting, counsel’s opinion had been taken, and as the contention of the author had been upheld by counsel, the solicitors had communicated with the publisher, and had now obtained from him a proposal for an equitable settlement which had been accepted by the author. The fourth case arose out of a dispute on an agreement between an author and a publisher as to the date of publication of certain books, and the matter was settled by the publisher surren- THE AUTHOR. dering all claims to delivery of other books, by returning the. MS. that he had held and by forfeiting the amount paid in advance of — royalties. The fifth case was with the same — publisher and referred also to a dispute con- cerning the delivery of further books to be published under the agreement. The matter was in the course of negotiation, and the solicitors had suggested the appointment of an arbitrator if necessary to settle the issues. In a county court case against a music publisher, the solicitors reported that the matter had been settled, but that no money would be recoverable owing to. the fact that a judgment for a large sum had been obtained against the publisher by another creditor. The next dispute arose owing to a fire which had occurred in a publisher’s warehouse, and the solicitor reported. the action taken for the members involved. The solicitor then gave a further report upon an interesting action against the editor of a paper. The editor maintained that in the absence of contract before publication he had a right to pay the author certain fixed terms, the solicitor contended, on behalf of the author, that the editor had no right whatever to make his own terms after the publication of the. work. If the terms suggested by the editor were unreasonable then it would be for the Court to set them aside. The issue will be tried. The next case was against the proprietor of a paper. The solicitor had carefully followed the course of the bankruptcy of the publication, and reported that there were claims for over £2,000, and no assets. This, he said, had been reported to the members concerned, and as there was no prospect of a dividend being paid, and as the claims were small, it was dended not to go to the useless expense of proving in the bank- ruptcy. In the matter of Stephen Swift & Co., Ltd., the solicitor reported that the liquidator had failed to sell the business as a whole, and stated that he was now realising the assets piecemeal. The solicitor thought that a dividend of 3s. in the pound would be declared. Lastly, the solicitor reported that judgment against a publisher had been obtained, and on the threat of execution, had been satisfied and the costs paid. In a case where the publisher had refused to produce vouchers for charges made under a profit-sharing agreement, the committee con- firmed the action of the chairman, who had already placed the matter in the hands of the solicitors. They were instructed to take legal action if necessary for the member concerned,  Go ade 1 3 k st iF THE AUTHOR. as an important principle was involved. Another case arising out of an inadvertent breach of his contract by a member was considered, and the solicitors reported that they hoped to effect a fair compromise on his behalf. The solicitor reported the action he had taken respecting a complicated question of dramatic copyright and international law. The matter was governed, largely, by the French Convention of 1851 before the Interna- tional Copyright Act of 1886 and the Berne Convention had been formed. The solicitor had advised, and as no further action had been taken on the other side, it seemed probable that the claim would be withdrawn. The secretary then drew the attention of the committee to the infringement of dramatic copyright in India, and reported that the solicitors in India had been unable to reach the defendant. The committee instructed the secretary to report to the solicitors in India their wish that these infringements should be stopped, and that the solicitors should use their utmost endeavours to bring the suits against the defendant (who was the manager of a travelling company) on his return to India. : Infringements of dramatic copyright in Jamaica were next reported by the secretary. The committee decided to ascertain from the authorities whether steps could be taken to stop such infringements in the future, and if steps could be taken, to ascertain the nature of these steps. The secretary also reported the progress of a case in Switzerland. In the event of judgment going against the Society, it was decided that the matter should be referred back for consideration. A letter forwarded to the editor of The Author was referred to the committee, who regretted they were unable to authorise its insertion. Two important matters referring to domestic and international copyright were then mentioned to the committee. The action taken by the chairman and the secretary was reported. The committee regret that it is not possible, at the present moment, to give further details, as any premature statement might prejudice the negotiations that are proceeding. The secretary then laid before the committee an article that had been written as the result of correspondence which had passed between the Society and certain editors, and it was decided to print the article in The Author with 223 a special editorial note referring to the matter. The question is one of great importance. It deals with the practice of the proprietors of certain papers and magazines of sending to their contributors receipt forms, either apart from or on the back of cheques, signature to which may mean a surrender of rights for which the editor or proprietor has made no contract. The next matter also referred to editors and their contributors. The Society has been in communication with various representatives of important journals, magazines and papers, with a view to arriving at some uniform arrangement by which accepted articles are paid for within a certain period from accept- ance whether they have or have not been published. The replies of the editors were so favourable that it was decided to hold a conference during May at which the matter might be fully discussed, and, if possible, some uniform practice accepted. The secretary was authorised to purchase the copyright laws of all countries, to be retained at the office for reference, and, if later it should appear necessary, to have English translations of the laws made. Refer- ence to the committee in regard to this matter will be made later. A letter dealing with the collection of fees by an outside company was adjourned till the next meeting, in order that the secretary might obtain further information on the matters concerned. Mr. R. C. Carton, who has for the last two years been chairman of the Dramatic Sub- Committee, was unanimously elected to the Council. Sanction was given to the secretary to sign a fresh contract for the advertisement depart- ment of The Author. The secretary reported that the registration of scenarios had grown so enormously and was still growing at the same rate, that it had become necessary to find further accommoda- tion for the plots and plays. He was instructed to make enquiries and to report to the next meeting. The committee desire to express their gratitude to the following members for dona- tions to the Society’s funds: A. Neil Lyons, Mrs. MacLiesh and Miss Jeannette Marks. —— Dramatic SuB-CoMMITTEE. I. Tue March meeting of the Dramatic Sub- Committee was held on Friday, March 28, 22:4 at No. 1, Central Buildings, Tothill Street, Westminster, S.W. It was too late to admit of the publication of this report in the April issue of The Author. In consequence, it appears with the report of the April meeting of the sub-committee, in the present issue. _ Following the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, the secretary reported on the cases that had been dealt with during the past month. One case of alleged plagiarism had been satisfactorily settled, and the secretary laid before the Dramatic Sub- Committee the correspondence that had passed between the solicitors of both sides. The issues were satisfactorily explained and the charges withdrawn. The second case related to a claim for money due under a contract, against an actress. The sub-committee instructed the secretary to lay the matter before the Committee of Manage- ment with a view to taking it into Court if it was found impossible to carry it through by correspondence. A discussion then arose on the settlement of the agenda for the Conference of Dramatists, and this matter was adjourned till the next meeting. One of the members then laid before the Dramatic Sub-Committee an insurance policy he had entered into so as to cover any loss that he might sustain in the event of fire in a theatre during the run of his play. The sub-committee were very interested in the matter, and suggested that the attention of dramatists should be called to it by the publica- tion of an article in The Author, and the secretary was instructed to mention the matter to those dramatists who called at the office, and to thank the member for bringing it to the sub-committee’s notice. An informal discussion then took place as to the election of the Chairman of the Dramatic Sub-Committee for the next year, and it was decided to ask Mr. R. C. Carton to take the reins of office for a further term. The next item before the sub-committee was the question of agents’ fees, and it was decided to accept the terms put forward by Mr. A. Reyding, of Amsterdam, and that the secretary should inform all members who were entering into contracts for the performance of their plays in Holland of the arrangements made with the Society’s agent. The question of Mr. Walter Jordan’s fees in America was also discussed, and the secretary received instructions to make to Mr. Jordan a proposition for his acceptance. The draft prospectus referring to the collec- THE AUTHOR. as to the conditions of theatrical work in tion of dramatic fees by the Collection Bureau was finally settled in the form of a circular to be issued to the dramatist members of the Society. The question of cinematograph fees was also discussed, and adjourned to the next meeting. The sub-committee felt that the matter was of urgent importance, and asked the secretary to make every effort to obtain full information to lay before them at their next meeting. The discussion of the Dramatic Pamphlet was also adjourned to the next meeting, and it was decided to devote that meeting especially to these two matters. The secretary, having reported that the Register of Scenarios was rapidly assuming enormous proportions, it was decided to rent a special room for storage. He was instructed to obtain full information to lay before the sub-committee, and the sub-committee expressed the view that if the fee was too small to cover the cost, the question of a revision of the charges would have to be considered at the next meeting. II, Tue Dramatic Sub-Committee held their April meeting on the third Friday in April, the 18th ult., at No. 1, Central Buildings, Tothill Street, Westminster, S.W. After reading the minutes of the previous meeting, the sub-committee considered the question of the Scenario Register. The secre- tary reported that in accordance with the committee’s instructions he had made enquiries about hiring some extra room where the scenarios could be stored, and stated that he thought that facilities might be available in the building in which the Society’s offices were situated. The Dramatic Sub-Committee gave instructions that the Committee of Management should be notified in order that the necessary accommodation might be found. The secretary then read to the Dramatic Sub-Committee a report received from the Society’s agent in Holland, giving information Holland, and the figures of certain of the chief theatres in that country. The secretary was requested to thank the agent for his report. A further discussion followed as to the possi- bility of working with the German Society of Authors, and the appointment of agents in Germany was also considered. The secretary was instructed to obtain further information and to report to the next meeting.  ue N ce “at oF J SP! Seas Saag THE AUTHOR. Mr. Cecil Raleigh then submitted to the sub-committee his report on Moving Pictures, which is printed in full on another page of The Author. The matter is one of the greatest importance, equally to the writers of books and to dramatie authors, and all members of the Society are asked to give careful attention to the information contained in the report. The secretary reported that a section had been added to the Bankruptcy Bill, as it passed through Committee, which would cover dramatists as well as writers of books, in the case of the bankruptcy of a manager to whom copyright had been assigned subject to the future payment of fees on the performances. It is hoped that this section may become law. It is of importance to dramatists, though not of such pressing importance as to authors of books. The consideration of the dramatic pamphlet was again adjourned owing to the heavy call ‘on the sub-committee’s time. Composers’ SuB-COMMITTEE. THe Composers’ Sub-Committee met at the offices of the Society, at No. 1, Central Buildings, Tothill Street, Westminster, on Monday, April 21, at 11 o’clock. After the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, the secretary read a com- munication from a member of the Society, in which the following suggestion was made: “To forward to all the small musical clubs and choral societies in the country lists of part-songs and small choral works which could be undertaken by such societies, as these societies often found it very difficult to obtain information about the music of modern com- posers.” The sub-committee thought the idea an excellent one, and the secretary was instructed to take steps to obtain a proper list of part-songs, etc., by modern composers, and then to send the list to as many country clubs as possible. The secretary then reported that the Society had succeeded in getting a clause incorporated in the Bankruptcy Bill as it passed through Committee, which would materially benefit the composer, author or dramatist who had assigned his copyright while retaining a con- tinuing interest in the sales of his work or the performance of it. The sub-committee approved the action taken by the Society, and hoped that the clause would, eventually, become law. The answers to the circular to composers, 225 ~ sent out with the sanction of the Com- mittee of Management, were next laid before the sub-committee, and it was decided, when further answers were received, to call a public meeting to discuss the points put forward. In the meantime, the sub-committee directed that another circular should be drafted, in which would be embodied the principles set out in the previous circular, in the form of questions, to which categorical answers would be requested. It was pointed out that from the usual form of agreement between composer and music publisher—which was really no agree- ment at all, but merely an assignment of the rights in his work by the composer—many of the ordinary clauses of an agreement were lacking, and amongst the number, special attention was drawn to the omission of the account clause. The sub-committee decided to circularise the big music publishing firms, suggesting that it would be invaluable to com- posers and to the firms themselves, that some uniform arrangement should be come to as to the rendering of accounts at fixed dates. The agreement of the German Genossenschaft was then discussed, and the matter adjourned for further consideration. —+-—<=—4— Cases. SINCE the last issue of The Author there have been eight cases passing through the secretary’s hands ; four of them have dealt with applica- tions for money. Of these two have been settled and cheques have been forwarded to the authors. The third is in the course of negotiation and a reasonable arrangement will be come to, but the matter has been a little delayed owing to the misreading of the contract. The last case has only recently come to hand. There were three cases for the return of MSS. One has been settled, one in the United States is still open, and the last as it has been impossible to trace the whereabouts of the person to whom the MSS. were sent, has had to be abandoned. There has been a dispute about the trans- lation of a member’s work in a foreign country, and action has been taken by the secretary in the matter. It is not so much a case for legal action as for diplomatic settlement, and it is impossible to say, at the present time, what the result will be. There are still six cases open from the former month; that is, cases still in the 226 secretary’s hands. The others have been settled, with the exception of one placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors. Of the six cases open, four are foreign cases, two lying in the United States, where negotiations can go through but slowly, one in Hungary, where again it is difficult to get a quick answer to letters, and one in India where the member resides. Of the other two cases, one referring to the cancellation of an agreement with a publisher, is very nearly settled, terms have been arranged, but the actual cancellation has not yet taken Jace ; the other a demand from a publisher or accounts, is still open. The publisher has proved on former occasions most difficult to deal with. The present case will, in all probability, have to be placed in the hands of the Society’s solicitors. —— Elections. THE AUTHOR. | Philpot, Stephen Row- land — Richards, Harold Grahame Rothwell, Ernest Her- bert Sargent, HerbertC. . Sarolea, Charles . Stock, Ralph . ‘ /Strachey, Miss Amabel Taylor, Susette M. . 83, Randolph Cres- cent, Maida Vale, W. 13, Hampstead Hill Gardens, Hamp- stead, N.W. 9, Brunswick Square, Hove. Green Room Club, — Leicester Square, W.C. 21, Royal Terrace, Edinburgh. c/o Bank of New South Wales, 29, Threadneedle Street, E.C. Newlands Corner, Merrow Downs, Guildford. 22, Cromwell Cres- cent, S.W. Bourgeois, Maurice Brackenbury, Anita Bartle Bridges, T. C. (‘ Chris- topher Beck ’’). Caulfield-Stoker, T. Dempster, Miss Char- lotte Louisa Hawkins Falkner, Major Percy Hope, R.A.M.C. Fraser, A. Keith. Griffith, Mrs.L.W. . Griffiths, Maj.-General C. Harding Newman Hicks, Rev. E. Savell Heaton Jackson, Henry Cecil . Mace, Charles Augustine McConaghey, Capt. M. E. Mothersole, Miss Jessie Orred, Meta : i Palmer, Mrs. Clayton . Pearson, Mrs. Meynell (‘* Ida Wild’’). 20 bis rue Censier, Paris, France. Oakwood, Warling- ham, Surrey. Moor Lodge, Prince- town, Devon. 26, College Road, Bromley, Kent. 24, Portman Square, W. 22, Victoria Park, Dover. 55, Holland Road, Kensington, W. 8, Fayland Avenue, Streatham Park, S.W. St. Kevin’s Park, Rathmines, Dublin. Khartoum, Sudan. 4, Kingsland Road, N.E Royal Scots Fusiliers Lanark, N.B. 141, Willesden Lane, N.W. 1,Richmond Gardens, Bournemouth. Greenhurst, Oxted. Golf Club, Hindhead, Surrey. The editor regrets that in the last number of The Author Mr. W. Wilfrid Blair Fish’s name was wrongly announced. The name should have been Mr. W. Wilfrid Blair Fish, and not Wilfred. —————_ BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MEMBERS. While every effort is made by the aia to keep this list as accurate and exhaustive as possible, they have some difficulty in attaining this object owing to the fact that many of the books mentioned are not sent to the office by the members. In consequence, it is necessary to rely largely upon lists of books which appear in literary and other papers. It is hoped, however, that members will co-operate in the compiling of this list, and, by sending particulars of their works, help to make it substantially accurate. - 4 ART. VisvaxarMa. Examples of Indian Architecture, Sculp- ture, Painting, etc. Chosen by ANANDA K. Coomaras- wamy, D.Sc. Part Ill. 11 x 9 37 pp Luzac. Qs. 6d. BIOGRAPHY. Tae Marriep Lire of QueEN Vicrorta. By Chara JerRotp. 9 X 53. 399 pp. Nash. 15s. n. Tan TRUTH ABOUT CaRLYLE. By Davin ALEC WILSON, With a Preface by Sir James CrIcHTON- BROWNE. 7k X 5. 122 pp. Alston Rivers, Ltd. 1s. 6d. n. A Smart Boy aNd OTers. By Henry Jamus. 9 X 5}. 436 pp. Macmillan. 12s. n. A Cxuntury or Famous ACTRESSES, 1750—1850. By Harotp Smpson anp Mrs. C. Braun. 9 X 5}. 380 pp. Mills & Boon. 10s. 6d. n. : Mrs. GaskeLt. Haunts, Homes and Stories, | By Mrs. Exuis H. Caapwick. (New and Revised Edition.. 84 x 54. 339 pp. Sir Isaac Pitman. 5s. n.  J Lire oF THE Ricut Hon. Sim Atrrep Comyn Lyatt, P.C., - K.C.B. BySrm Mortmer Duranp. 9 X 53. 492 pp. Blackwood. 16s. n. ’ Tue Tracepy or Isapetya Il. By FRAncis GRIBBLE. 9x 5%. 308 pp. Chapman & Hall. 15s. n. ‘) Wit11am Ernest Hentry. By UL. Core Cornrorp. 3 62 x 4}. 109 pp. Constable. 1s. n. [DRAMA. .) «81 Tue Great Apventurn. A Play of Fancy in Four Acts. ~~i By Arnotp Bennett. 6} x 4}. 152 pp. Methuen. tS 23. n, -& A Woman or ImacrnaTion. go A Acts. By Luoyp Sr. Cram. (Privately printed). 4 Gaston DE Forx. A Play in Three Acts. (Second bs Edition Revised.) 72 pp. PaLaMoN AND ARCITE. BAS A Play for Puppets. By Mavricr Bartne. 7} x 5. 1) Oxford, Blackwell; London, Simpkin. 2s. n. ~ af Tus Generation. By G. M. Fox. 7} x 5. 2s. 6d. n. By Lapy Greaory. 5s. n. A Modern Play in Four 7a % 6s 119 pp. 2acn. 5 158 pp. ai oi] Fisher Unwin. ova New ComEDIEs. wi Putnams. 7k x 5. 166 pp. FICTION. Tue Houser or Spies. By Warwick DEEPING. Cassell. 6s. n. ef Tue CaLLorTHE Siren. By Haroitp SPENDER. : 389 pp. Mills & Boon. 6s. ¥ NEVERTHELESS. By Isapen SmitH. 74 x 43. : Alston Rivers. 6s. ' Tue DetermMrinep Twins. By Epcar JEFSoN. ' 836 pp. Hutchinson. 6s. | Unper THE Biack Eacir. By A. W. Marcumont. ' Tx 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock & Co. 6s. _ Strorres of Rep HanraHAN: Tue Secret Rose: Rosa _ Atcnernica. By W. B. Yuats. 7} X 5}. 228 pp. ee A. K. Bullen. 6s. n. os! Tue Warre Hovse sy THE Sza. ies EDWARDS. xo Collins. 6d. 2? Tue Smirus or Surprton. By Kesre Howarp. : and Cheaper Edition.) 74 x 5. & Hall. 28. n. CaRNivAL. By Compton Mackenzim (New and Cheaper Edition.) 74 x 4%. 446 pp. Martin Secker. ls. Tue Simpexin’s Pror. By G. A. Brrmincuam. 6} x 4}. Nelson. 7d. ‘ | Satt or THE Sua. By Morztey Rozserts. 64 x 4. 471 pp. Nelson. 7d. Tue Partan. By F. Anstey. 7 x 44. 448 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. ls. n. CaRNackI THE Guost FINDER. 7k x 53. 287 pp. Nash. . 6s. Inerrectuat Fires. By E. M. Smrra-Damprer. 74 x 5}. 303 pp. Melrose. 6s. | A Girt or No IMPORTANCE. 320 pp. John Long. 6s. Tue GotpEen Girt. By Atice anp CLAupE ASKEW. 74 x 5. 320 pp. Ward Lock. 6s. CattEpD To JupGMENT. By Coratin STANTON AND Heats Hosxen. 74 x 5. 580 pp. Stanley Paul. 6s. Tue CoNFOUNDING OF CAMELLA. Sepewick. 256 pp. Just a Giru. By C. Garvicn. 356 pp. Is Wotr’s Crotuine. By C.Garvice. 256 pp. (Seven- penny Edition.) 6} x 44. Hodder & Stoughton. Catting THE Tone. By J. H. McCarruy. 8 x 5. 340 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 6s. Tue Laurensons. By R.K.WeeExes. 72 x 5, 312 pp. 400 pp. 72 x 5. 358 pp. 7k x 44. By M. Busruam- (Cheap Reprint.) 8} x 5}. 126 pp. (New 241 pp. Chapman By W. Hors Hopcson. By Otrvia Ramsey. 7} x 5. By Anne Doveas Constable. 6s. THE AUTHOR. 227 An Inn upon THE Roap. By Janet Dopcs. 296 pp. Sedgwick & Jackson. 6s. Tae Curse or THE Nie. By Doversas SLADEN. 74 x 5. 370 pp. Stanley Paul. 6s. THe TEMPTATION OF TAVERNAKE. By E. PHILLIPS OprENHEIM. 7}? X 5. 312 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. Nyrra. By Mrs. CampBeLt Prarp. 74 X 43. 432 pp. New and Cheaper Edition. Rider. 2s. n. THe Spanx IN THE LaByRinTH. By Maupr ANNESLEY. 7% x 5. 316 pp. Mills & Boon. 6s. Tue Wartcuer or Lirr. By Harry Tichr. 7} x 43. 316 pp. Heath, Cranton & Ouseley. 6s. Tur CrystaL Stopper. An Arsene Lupin Novel. By Translated by ALEXANDER ie xD: Mavrice Lz Branc. TEIXEIRA DE Marros. Blackett. 6s. Tue SiagN or THE SrimperR. By Berrtrram MuirtrForp. (New Sevenpenny Edition.) 64 x 4}. 288 pp. Methuen. Once Rounp. By SterHen Knorr. Murray & Evenden. 74k X 5. 366 pp. 6s. Sretta Mario. By W. J. Lockn. 72 x 5. Lane. 6s. Tue DaucutTerin-Law. By E. W. Savi. 7} x 5. 388 pp. Hurst & Blackett. 6s. Mrs. Gray’s Past. By Herpert FLOWERDEW. 278 pp. Stanley Paul. 6s. PatcHwoRK ComEeDY. By Humrrey JorDAN. 7} X 5. 389 pp. Putnams, 6s. HISTORY. Tue History or Enerish Patriotism. By WINGFIELD-STRATFORD. Two Volumes. 8$ x 54 614 x 672 pp. Lane. 25s. n. A MopErN History of THE ENGuIsH Prorie. By R.¥ Gretton. Vol. II. 1899—1910. 8 x 5}. 368)? Grant Richards. 7s. 6d. n. LITERARY. A Lrrttr Book or Covrace. Compiled by ANNIE MatHeson. 74 x 5. 144 pp. Gay & Hancock. 2s. 6d. n. Dante anp Aquinas. By P. H. WickstTEep. substance of the Jowett Lectures of 1911. 271 pp. Dent. 6s. n. MILITARY. Boy Scouts Bryonp THE Seas. ‘My World Tour.” By Sm Rozpert Bapen-Powet, K.C.B., 74 x 5. 250 pp. Pearson. 2s. n. Hints on Trarnrnc TerritorraL Inrantry. From Recruit to Trained Soldier. By Capt. J. F. C. FULLER. 64 x 4. 112 pp. Gale & Polden. 1s. 6d. n. MUSICAL, Tue Responsive Psatter. Containing the Psalms set to Chant Forms in accordance with the Parallelisms of Hebrew Poetry. By the Rev. James EcKERSLEY. 83 <x 54. 296 pp. Simpkin, Marshall. AppiTionaL TuNngEs To Hymns In Hymns, ANCIENT AND MopERN AND OTHER Hymn Booxs. By Rev. JAMES Eoxerstey, M.A., Vicar of Langley, Bucks. Stainer & Bell. 1s. 6d. n. NATURAL HISTORY. British Divine Ducks. By J. G. Murais, F.ZS. Vol. I. 164 x 12. 141 pp. Two Volumes. Long- mans. £12 12s. n. Tur Crecrinc Year. Book IV. Rambles in Winter. Book V. Rambles on the Sea Shore. Book VI. Rambles under the Stars. By W. Prrcivan WESTELL, D.Sc. 93 x. 7s. Nelson. 72 x 43. pope Esm& Being the 7% x Of. 228 PHILOSOPHY. Lire Ipnats AND DuatTH. By F. Grantuam. 6} X 44. 107 pp. Grant Richards. 2s. 6d. n. Tur Fair or ALL SENSIBLE Peoriy. By D. A. Witson. 63 x 44. 124 pp. Methuen. 2s. 6d. n. POETRY. Tur Muse in Exrz. By Wit1am Watson. ‘To which is added an Address on the Poet’s Place in the Scheme of Life. 7} x 42. 116pp. Herbert Jenkins. 3s. 6d. n. Tur CaLL oF THE Mountains AND OTHER Porms. By J. E. Proxerrnc. 7 x 44. 64 pp. Fifield. 1s. n. Puriran Pansies. By Craup Frevp. 74 X 34. 48 pp. Gay & Hancock. THEOLOGY. A Book of Meditations on the Veni Written in the Seventeenth Century Re-edited by E. M. Grern, with 130 pp. CELESTIAL Fire. Sancte Spiritus. by Ricuarp WHITE. Preface by Rev. GrorcE Concreve, §.8.J.E. Longmans. 2s. 6d. n. THE CHILDREN FoR THE CHuRcH. The League of Young Worshippers. By the Rev. Sm W. Rogpertson NIcoLt, LL.D. and the Rrv. J. Witu1ams ButcHEeR. (Reprinted from the British Weekly.) 7 x 43. 126 pp. Hodder & Stoughton. 6s. n. TOPOGRAPHY. By Epwarp Tuomas. Illustrated 82 x 6. 320 pp. Constable. Tur IcKNIELD WAY. by A. L. Comins. 7s. 6d. n. TRAVEL. Ravenna. A Study. By Epwarp Hourron. Ilus- trated. By Harotp Lunpr. 8 x 6. 300 pp. Dent. 10s. 6d. n. Moprrn Cutz. By W. H. Korset. Bell. 10s. 6d. n. 81 x 5}. 278 pp. ————_1- LITERARY, DRAMATIC, AND MUSICAL NOTES. — a A Small Boy and Others” Mr. Henry James gives the memories of his boy- hood, including much about his brother, “Ww. J.,” otherwise the celebrated William James. The publishers are Messrs. Mac- millan & Co., and the price is 12s. net. Mr. Morley Roberts calls his new collection of short tales ‘‘ Gloomy Fanny, and Other Stories ” (Eveleigh Nash). They are in the author’s humorous vein. In “Four Plays” (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2s. 6d.), Mr. Gilbert Cannan publishes as a book his “James and John,” ‘‘ Miles Dixon,” “‘ Mary’s Wedding,” and “ A Short Way with Authors.”’ Messrs. Macmillan & Co. announce the pre- paration of an uniform edition of the works of Sir Gilbert Parker. It will be known as the Imperial Edition, and will consist of eighteen THE AUTHOR. volumes at 8s. 6d. net each. The long novels, the short novels, the short stories, and the verse are embraced, including certain work which has only appeared in magazines or been printed privately. Sir Gilbert Parker has provided a general introduction to the edition as a whole, and a special introduction to each volume. Photogravure frontispieces are also furnished throughout: in the first volume a portrait of the author, in the others pictures from original drawings by well-known artists. The set is to be issued at the rate of three volumes a month, commencing this month. Mr. Bernard Capes’s new novel is entitled “‘ Bag and Baggage.” It is issued by Messrs. Constable & Co. The same firm has published ‘“ Keren of Lowbole,”’ by Una L. Silberrad ; and “ Lifted Curtains,” by Edward Noble. : Mr. Francis Gribble’s latest work is called “The Tragedy of Isabella II.,”’ Messrs. Chap- man & Hall being the publishers, and the price 15s. Mrs. Alec Tweedie, who has in the last six months travelled about 26,000 miles, through Canada, the United States, Brazil, and Argen- tina, has during that period contributed full- page articles to the New York Times. She has been asked to enlarge these articles for pub- lication in book form this autumn for an important American firm. Her last book, “Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman’s Life ” (Messrs. John Lane), has run through four editions. The Rev. Theodore Johnson, vicar and rector of Bodiam, Sussex, has compiled from ancient sources, and issued through Messrs. F. J. Parsons, of Hastings, ‘“‘ The History of Bodiam, its‘Ancient Manor, Church and Castle.” There are a large number of photographs and draw- ings, and a ground-plan of the Castle. The published price of the work is 1s., or 1s. 6d. cloth. Madame Albanesi’s new novel is ‘“ The Beloved Enemy.’”’ The publishers are Messrs. Methuen. Mr. H. F. Prevost Battersby’s ‘‘ The Silence of Men” is published by the Bodley Head. In “ Veiled Women” (Eveleigh Nash) Mr. Marmaduke Pickthall gives pictures of harem. life in the form of a novel. Ghost stories are the content of Mr. William. Hope Hodgson’s ‘“* Carnacki the Ghost-F inder,”’ of which also Mr. Nash is the publisher. Mr. Halliwell Sutcliffe has given to a novel which Messrs. Stanley Paul announces for immediate publication .the title of “The Strength of the Hills.” The scene is laid in  THE AUTHOR. 229 the bare, rough Haworth moorland country, sixty years ago, which was the inspiration of all Mr. Sutcliffe’s earlier work. The same firm has just issued ‘‘ Mrs. Gray’s Past,”’ by Mr. Herbert Flowerdew. The scene of this is an old-fashioned cathedral city, whose peace is disturbed by the scandal arising from the presence of the charming but mysterious widow, Mrs. Gray, and her baby son. Like ‘“‘ The Strength of the Hills ’’ and Miss Annes- ley Kenealy’s ‘‘ Poodle Woman,” “ Mrs. Gray’s Past” has been added to the firm’s Colonial Library. Messrs. Paul have also brought out a six- penny edition of Mr. Rafael Sabatini’s “The Lion’s Skin.” This author’s “ Strolling Saint” is now in its fourth edition. On April 7 Messrs. William Rider & Son published a 1s. edition of Maude Annesley’s ** Wind along the Waste,” which appeared in 6s. form two years ago. The same author’s new novel, ‘‘ The Sphinx in the Labyrinth,” was published by Messrs. Mills & Boon on the 16th. The title is taken from the quotation, “The heart of a woman is a Sphinx within a labyrinth,” and the plot is a very strong one. It is a psychological study of two women and one man. The scene is laid in Provence. This book will be published in America by Messrs. Duffield & Co. This month Messrs. Newnes & Co. are producing a 6d. edition of Maude Annesley’s ‘* All Awry.” Count Plunkett, K.C.H.S., has been elected a corresponding member of the Société Archéo- logique de France. At the recent Historical Congress in London he represented the Paris institution, as well as the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, of which he is President. Messrs. Harrap & Co. have just issued another number of their ‘‘ All Time Tales,” viz., ‘‘ Ivanhoe,” by E. P. Prentys. Mr. Walter Wood, who has written exten- sively on North Sea fishermen—one of his most recent books being ‘‘ North Sea Fishers and Fighters ’—has been appointed by the Council of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen to the editorship of Toilers of the Deep,. the Mission’s monthly magazine, in succession to the late Mr. George Andrew Hutchison. Mr. Hutchison (who was also the editor of The Boy’s Own Paper) had conducted Toilers of the Deep since its foundation in 1886. The Quest contains in its April number a metrical version of the medieval French legend of Our Lady’s Tumbler, entitled “‘ The Jongleur of Poitou,” by K. L. Montgomery. The authors who write under this name are contributing to the English Illustrated Magazine some articles on Portraits in European Galleries.”” Their Welsh novel, ‘‘ The Gate- Openeis,”’ is in its fourth edition. Miss Lillias Campbell Davidson has a new serial running in the Ladies’ World, under the name of “‘ The Primitive Law.” Miss Ethel Canning, author of ‘“ Sybella,” has had another novel published by Messrs. Digby, Long & Co., entitled “‘ The Sky-Line.” Derek Vane’s new novel, ‘‘ The Paradise of Fools,’’ will be published by Messrs. Everett in May. The American serial rights of this story were sold for £250. The same author is now writing a series of short stories for an American magazine, entitled “The Indiscretions of Fantine.” ‘* Ineffectual Fires,”’ a novel by E. M. Smith- Dampier, has been published by Messrs. Melrose. A second edition is announced of E. Yol- land’s “The Struggle for the Crown,” a romance of the seventeenth century (Lynwood & Co.). Verse claims somewhat larger attention this month than usual in comparison with prose. The first number has appeared of the quarterly Poetry and Drama, published by the Poetry Bookshop, 35, Devonshire Street, Theobald’s Road, at an annual subscription of 10s. 6d. post free. Mr. Maurice Hewlett occupies the first place in the poetry section of the magazine with ‘“‘ The Voyage,” the other contributors being Messrs. James Elroy Flecker, Lascelles Abercrombie, and Michael Mecredy. The rest of the magazine is divided between articles and criticism. A “‘ personal explanation ” by the editor sets out the descent of Poetry and Drama from the Poetry Review. Mr. James E. Pickering has published “* The Call of the Mountains, and Other Poems,”’ which is No. 23 of Messrs. A. C. Fifield’s Grey Board Series, 1s. net. Mr. Pickering’s ‘‘ The Cap of Care ’’ was No. 18 in the same series. Mr. Arthur Scott Craven has a long poem, entitled ‘‘ Dawkins,”’ in the current number of the Magpie. A story by him, ‘“ The Man who had Greatness thrust upon Him,” will appear in the June issue of the Pall Mall Magazine. ** A Memorial Ode to Our Antarctic Heroes,” from the pen of Alfred Smythe, F.R.G.S., appears in the May number of the Westminster Review. Mr. Smythe is the author of ““ A New Faust,” “ Sir Dunstan’s Daughter, and Other Poems,” ‘‘ The Warlock” (a lyric play pro- duced at the Gaiety and Queen’s Theatres, Dublin), as well as other works, and has con- tributed prose and verse to journals, both in London and in New York. His lines of wel-  230 .come on the occasion of Their Majesties’ return from India were accepted by the King. “Modern Verse,”? published with the im- print of Morland, Amersham, Bucks, at the price of 1s., announces that half a guinea is paid for every poem appearing in its pages. The number before us contains twenty-five short poems. The English Review for April contains a story by E. H. Young, called ‘‘ Cow’s Tail.” MUSICAL. The Rev. James Eckersley’s ‘‘ Responsive Psalter,” mentioned last month, is published in two editions; one 3s. net, the other, with words only, 1s. net. This work provides musically responsive chant-forms correspond- ing to the parallelisms of the Hebrew poetry, which, the editor maintains, cannot be done by plain-song or Anglicans, owing to the unequal length of their sections. The melodies are kept within moderate range, so that they may be sung in unison by the congregation, and changes of chant are given wherever demanded by the words. A method of printing is adopted with a view to prevent hurried recitation, and short, barless chants to avoid false accents. DRAMATIC. Sir Arthur Pinero’s ‘“‘ Playgoers,” in one act, was produced at the St. James’s Theatre, on March 381, before Mr. A. E. W. Mason’s “‘ Open Window.” On April 22, at the New Royalty Theatre, Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s first play was seen— the first, that is to say, from him as his own dramatist ; for ‘“‘ The Light that Failed ” and ‘* The Man Who Was ”’ owed their conversion to drama-form to other hands. The new piece is entitled ‘‘ The Harbour Watch,” and is to be played, for a commencement, at six matinees in all. ‘‘ The Light that Failed,” it may be mentioned, was one of the items of Mr. Forbes Robertson’s farewell season at. Drury Lane. Mr. Forbes Robertson’s season also included revivals of Madeleine Ryley’s ‘“‘ Mice and Men ” and Mr. Bernard Shaw’s “‘ Cesar and Cleo- patra.’ The latter was more than a revival, however, as there were additions since the original production, including a prologue. On April 1 Mr. Ernest Denny’s comedy ‘** Vanity ’’? was produced at the Globe Theatre by Miss Ethel Irving. April 8 saw the first night of Mr. Frank Stayton’s “* The Inferior Sex,”’ at the Comedy, with Messrs. Kenneth Douglas and QO. B. VTHE AUTHOR. | Clarence and Miss Renée Kelly in the leading parts. The run of ‘ Lolotte,”’ as adapted by Mr. John Pollock from the French of Meilhae and Halevy, terminated at the Coliseum on April 5. The play has been taken on tour by Madame Lydia Yavorska (Princess Bariatinsky). The bill at the New Royalty on April 22, in addition to the already mentioned Kipling play, contained a comedy called “* Thompson,” by the late St. John Hankin, completed by Mr. George Calderon. Messrs. Vedrenne and Eadie are the producers of “‘ Thompson.” The repertory season at the Grand Theatre, Croydon, opened on April 14 with Miss Eliza- beth Baker’s ‘‘ Chains.” At the King’s Hall, Covent Garden, on April 29, the masque “* Love and the Dryad ” was produced. The music of this is by Agnes H. Lambert (Mrs. Heygate Lambert). In Mr. Galsworthy’s revival of “Strife” at the Comedy, which is due just as we are going to press, Mr. Norman McKinnel resumes his role of John Anthony. Others in the cast are Mr. J. Fisher White, Mr. Kenneth Douglas, and Mr. O. B. Clarence. ‘Strife’? has just been produced in Vienna under the German title “ Kampf.” Mr. J. M. Barrie’s new play, “‘ The Legend of Leonora,” will be produced by Mr. Frohman in London, at the beginning of the autumn season. The Drama Society will present before the close of this month a new play by Mr. Gilbert Cannan. Oe PARIS NOTES. 1 HE prize awarded annually by La Vie Heureuse has been given this year to M. Emile Nolly for his book, ‘‘ Gens de Guerre au Maroc,”’ about which we spoke in the January number of The Author. The book by Pierre Loti, entitled ‘* Turquie agonisante,’’ has made its way to all countries. The result has been that the author has been besieged by documents and letters giving him further information. He has now added so much new matter to his original book that the new edition should be read by all who are interested in the subject. In a new volume, ‘Les Merveilles de l’Instinct chez les Insectes,’’ J..H. Fabre, the celebrated naturalist, gives us a series of well- chosen extracts from his ‘‘ Souvenirs Entomo-  re is = bow we pee ae me Sew wo ee a. ee Se Peer eae a Ee ey it _ GED ht ot £ Ake THE AUTHOR. logiques,” and some hitherto unpublished studies concerning ‘‘ Le Ver luisant ”’ and “ La Chenille du chou.” The chapter on the grave- diggers and the studies of the spiders and the glow-worms are remarkable. Dr. G. V. Legros has now published the life of the great naturalist “La Vie de J. H. Fabre.” The titles of the chapters will give an idea of the book: Intuition de la Nature, Instituteur primaire, Séjour en Corse, Fabre d’Avignon, Un grand Educateur, Dans l’ermi- tage, Interprétation de la Nature, La merveille de l’Instinct, Le Transformisme, L’Ame des betes, Harmonies et dissonances, Traduction de la Nature, L’épopée animale, Vies paralléles, Les Veillées de Sérignan, Au crépuscule. In the last chapter Dr. Legros gives us an idea of the simple, dignified life which the great naturalist has led. The whole book is well worth reading. “‘Ta Belle Madame Colet’’ is the title of the book by J. de Mestral-Combremont which we have been awaiting for some time. It is the first one to give us a definite account of this déesse des romantiques. The biographer has had access to many documents which throw new light on the history of this extraordinary and not very interesting woman. We have many enlightening details about her various friendships and her efforts to become acquainted with the chief writers of her day. Another new novel is announced by M. Henry Bordeaux. The title is “ La Maison.”’ M. Frédéric Masson continues his series of books on the Bonaparte family. The tenth volume is entitled ‘“‘ Napoleon et sa Famille.” It treats more particularly of the fatal years 1814 and 1815. “Elisabeth de Baviére,”’ by Jacques de la Faye, is another interesting biography by a writer who has given us several valuable historical works. The preface is written by M. Maurice Barrés. The first volume of the works of Paracelsus has recently been published in French. M. Grillot de Givry has undertaken to translate the whole series. “Le Costume civil en France,” by Camille Piton, is to be published in twelve parts. It is a work which will be of great value to illus- trators, as there are to be some 700 illustrations of the various transformations which costumes have undergone from the thirteenth century to the nineteenth. The death of M. Honoré Champion will be regretted by all bibliophiles. He was not only a seller, but a true lover of books, and all those in search of curious editions wended their way 231 to the Quay to consult with M. Champion. To the favoured few he would show his treasures, one of which was a manuscript of the ‘‘ Memoires d’outre-tombe,’”’ written by Hyacinthe Pilorge and annotated by Chateau- briand himself. A curious legal case has just been tried in Paris. A novel, entitled “‘ Kowa la Mystér- ieuse,” by Charles Foley, was translated, without the author’s permission, and pub- lished in an Argentine paper, La Prensa, which has a branch office in Paris. M. Foley brought an action against the manager in Paris, and has won his case. The story was published before the legislation of the country concerned had agreed to protect the rights of literary property, but, as copies of the journal had been sold in Paris, M. Fole¥ won his case. An appeal was made to a higher court by the Paris manager of La Prensa, and M. Foley has once more won. At the Comédie-Francaise, ‘‘]’Embuscade,”’ by M. Henry Kistemaeckers, has been greatly appreciated. It is a four-act piece, with plenty of movement and a strong plot. “ Hélene Ardouin,” the comedy in five acts, by M. Alfred Capus, is still being played at the Vaudeville. At the Gymnase ‘“‘ La Demoiselle de Magasin,” a three-act play by MM. Fonson and Wicheler, is now being given. Atys HALLArD. “Gens de Guerre au Maroc.” (Calmann Lévy.) “Turquie agonisante.”’ (Calmann Lévy.) “Ta Vie de J. H. Fabre.” (Delagrave.) ‘Ta Belle Madame Colet.” (Fontemoing.) “ Napoléon et sa Famille.” (Ollendorff.) ‘“ Blisabeth de Bavitre.”’ (Emile Paul.) Works of Paracelsus. (Chacornac.) “Le Costume civil en France.” (Flammarion.) —___—_+—_->—_+____—__ NEW UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT ACT. —+-——+ (Received from the Copyright Office : The Library of Congress.) (Note: The new matter in this amendatory Act is printed in italics.) AN ACT To amend section fifty-five of “‘An Act to amend and consolidate the Acts respecting copyright,” approved March fourth, nine- teen hundred and nine. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section fifty-five of the Act entitled “‘An Act to amend and consolidate the Acts respecting copyright,”’ 232 THER AUTHOR. approved March fourth, nineteen hundred and nine, be amended to read as follows : “‘ Sec. 55. That in the case of each entry the person recorded as the claimant of the copy- right shall be entitled to a certificate of regis- tration under seal of the copyright office, to contain the name and address of said claimant, the name of the country of which the author of the work is a citizen or subject, and when an alien author domiciled in the United States at the time of said registration, then a statement of that fact, including his place of domicile, the name of the author (when the records of the copyright office shall show the same), the title of the work which is registered for which copyright is claimed, the date of the deposit of the copies of such work, the date of publication if the work has been reproduced in copies for sale, or publicly distributed, and such marks as to class designa- tion and entry number as shall fully identify the entry. In the case of a book, the certificate shall also state the receipt of the affidavit, as provided by section sixteen of this Act, and the date of the completion of the printing, or the date of the publication of the book, as stated in the said affidavit. The register of copyrights shall prepare a printed form for the said certificate, to be filled out in each case as above provided for in the case of all registra- tions made after this Act goes into effect, and in the case of all previous registrations so far as the copyright office record books shall show such facts, which certificate, sealed with the seal of the copyright office, shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, be given to any person making application for the same. Said certifi- cate shall be admitted in any court as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. In addition to such certificate the register of copyrights shall furnish, upon request, without additional fee, a receipt for the copies of the work deposited to complete the registration.” Approved, March 2, 1913. ———_+- o_o —__—__ DRAMATIC REPRESENTATION AND INSURANCE. > R. JAMES T. TANNER, one of the members of the Dramatic Sub-Com- mittee of the Society of Authors has kindly called the attention of that committee to a method of protecting dramatic returns in ease of fire at a theatre. It has been his custom—after some difficulty and negotiation —to arrange for an insurance policy by which he is to be paid a certain sum per. week in case the run of a piece is interrupted through a fire or an agreed amount of total compensa- tion should the run of the piece be entirely stopped by the destruction of the theatre by fire. The Dramatic Sub-Committee think the matter of such importance to members of the profession generally, that they desire, through the columns of The Author, to draw attention to the details. The insurance policy in the case mentioned is for £2,000, though the amount could be fixed either higher or lower according to the wishes of the insurer ; and a special memoran- dum, which covers this special policy, runs as follows :— ‘In the event of the said theatre being damaged or destroyed by fire during the run or rehearsal of one of the insured’s plays at said theatre, thereby occasioning loss to the Insured, this Company shall be liable to pay to the Insured the sum of £40 per week or a pro rata share thereof during the period for which the performance of such play is . in consequence of the damage done by such fire, ut not exceeding in all the sum of £2,000 (two thousand pounds). “Tt is, however, hereby declared that in the event of the entire destruction by fire of the within mentioned theatre, the Company shall pay to the Insured the total amount insured by this Policy, viz., £2,000. The Insured’s interest in the said theatre is hereby admitted.” There are some further special stipulations, and some further points in the usual policy issued by the company are cancelled. “The Insured binds himself under Clause 6 as follows : On the happening of any fire by reason of which the Insured shall sustain any Loss under this Policy, the Tnsured shall forthwith give to the Company notice thereof and shall use due diligence and do and concur in doing all things which may be practicable to minimise and to avoid or diminish such loss, and shall, at his own expense, deliver to the Company a claim in writing for the loss, together with, if demanded, a statutory declaration in support thereof, and no claim under this Policy shall be payable unless and until the terms of this condition are complied with.” We have by the courtesy of Mr. Tanner set out the main features of the policy, and shall be pleased to give any further details in confidence to members of the Society. His contract is with the Phoenix Assurance Company ; it is possible, however, that other companies would be willing to enter into a similar contract with dramatic authors should they desire to protect themselves in the same way as Mr. Tanner has done. No doubt the loss that a dramatist would sustain if a theatre was burnt in the full run of his play would be very serious, and it is perhaps probable that this chance has not entered the minds of numbers of the dramatic authors. Again, if it has done so, it is possible that they have been unsuccessful in carrying out the desire  SN. a ne ee - twenty-five copies, or positive films. THE AUTHOR. to protect themselves against loss. The Dramatic Sub-Committee hope, therefore, that those who wish to protect themselves may follow in Mr. Tanner’s footsteps and take up the idea which he has so kindly presented to them. a MOVING PICTURES. s HE excellence of Moving Pictures is already such, and their development is so rapid, that before long the Picture Palace will undoubtedly come into more or less acute competition with the Theatre. Dramatists, therefore, are advised to give some serious attention to the Moving Picture, as a vehicle for expressing their thoughts, and generally to the Picture Palace industry. The machine that flings the Moving Picture on to a screen is nothing more nor less than a superior magic lantern, but instead of the glass slide of our childhood there is run through this lantern a long piece of celluloid gelatine covered with photographs. This piece of celluloid gelatine is less than an inch wide, and is from 100 to 2,000 feet in length. It is called a film. This film in its original state is passed very rapidly through a camera, which is focussed upon the subject of the Moving Picture. When it is complete it is called the negative, and from it it is possible to print That number is not always printed, but can be printed in the case of a successful picture. The first exhibition of the film is what is called ‘‘ exclusive,’’ that is to say, it is exhibited in one, or possibly, two halls only. It is practically impossible to say what price is charged for the “exclusive”’ exhibition of a film. It depends upon the subject, the excellence of the film, and a variety of other conditions. In time the name of an author will also give it value, that is when authors write more regularly for the picture theatre. But the fact that the price I have mentioned is so uncertain, makes it essential that the author should be paid by taking some share of the money that the manufacturer receives. The “exclusive” period being over, the film comes on to the open market. Now it is the custom in Picture Theatres to change the programme twice in every week. Any one film therefore is let twice in each week, and for each of these lettings £6 odd is charged. This goes on for about six weeks, when the value of the film is supposed to have lessened. It is 233 then shown for about another six weeks, a little over £4 per let being charged for its hire. It then arrives at what is known as its third or final re-lease, when £2 per let is charged for it. It is not returned to the manufacturer, but remains the property of its last hirer, who resells it, or sublets it, to the small cheap halls, where the price of admission is 1d. or 2d. It will be seen that in its earlier stages one film earns over £12 per week for, say, six weeks. Say this equals £72. If twenty-five films of the same subject are also busy at the same time, twenty-five times £72 is earned, or £1,800. In the next six weeks the film is let twice in each week at £4 per week, that is to say £8 per week in all. In six weeks this equals £48. If twenty-five films.are at work the result is £1,200. If £200 were charged for the first ‘* exclusive ” exhibition of the film, you will see that £3,200 could be earned by a successful picture, without counting the small money when it gets down to its £2 value. When, therefore, an author is invited to sell a story or a play, or write an original scenario for Moving Picture purposes, it seems highly desirable that he should insist upon a percen- tage of the gross fees earned by the films of his subject being paid to him. There is no difficulty about this. I recently received the following letter from a well-known American manager. “ Regarding the matter of moving pictures of plays, our custom here is to pay from £200 to £400 down on account of royalty, which runs from 5 per cent. to 15 per cent. of the profits accruing to us from the sale of films, rentals and exhibitions through our subsidiary companies and affiliated companies. But this amount depends entirely upon the prominence of the play or the popular value of the star. We make the same terms with the star who owns the play, or any who appears for us in a standard work of fiction. “These are terms that we are now using. Of course there is something in a business connection with a company of good standing which does the work. There are numbers of predatory companies who make big offers, and take their chances upon capitalising their quarry, just as you might find it with theatrical management. “With a sound and well-established company there is no difficulty about honest payments, as special, verified accounts in books are kept of each separate display. We also have other terms, such as paying £100 outright for a copyrighted novel (of which we have many in this country), and which the publishers realise are a help in stimulating the sale of the novel.” The highest terms above quoted are a little exceptional, however, and they refer mostly to a novel experiment that has been tried by certain American film manufacturers, who induce well-known actors and actresses to appear for them before the camera either in scenes from a popular play or in specially 234 written incidents. The remuneration of these actors and actresses is a percentage of the earnings of all the films showing such scenes and incidents. The Picture Palace proprietor is thus able to announce :-— “‘ Mr. Lewis Waller as ‘ Beaucaire ’ every night.” and the public is drawn accordingly. I do not know whether Mr. Waller has ever appeared for Moving Picture purposes, I merely give his name as an example of the system. As will be seen from the letter I have quoted, in the special cases referred to the author gets the same percentage as the star actor. It will be found, however, that, speaking generally, such a payment, down, as £400 on account of 10 per cent. is rather high, and can only be secured by authors with very well- known names. £100 down on account of five per cent. is quite fair remuneration either in this country or in America. All kinds of different prices have been charged. In America it is said that everybody writes moving picture plots, and that their price is $2. In this country endless plots have been written for £2 and £3 a piece. But this period is passing away, as the pictures develop upwards and require better work. I know of several instances in which dramatists have séld the Moving Picture rights of their plays for £200. That looked like becoming a standard price, but competition luckily brought an advance. Not long ago an author received £500 for the entire rights in a play, and more recently an author with a world-wide reputa- tion received £750 on account of a percentage of the gross. What I have said above refers to England and America. Dramatists should remember that there are several rights in a subject, the English right, the American right, the Con- tinental right, and so forth, though manu- facturers as a rule like to deal with the All- World right when they purchase, and this is only reasonable, because when once a film has been made it is difficult to control and easy to copy. What is the custom on the Continent with regard to the payment of authors I am unable to say. The French Society of Authors and Composers sent a long communication to the Dramatic Sub-Committee of the Authors’ | Society, laid emphasis on “ urgency,” sug- | gested a conference, and announced that they | had appointed a sub-committee. Since then our secretary has received no further com- munication. THE AUTHOR. On the other hand, we have had very interesting communications from America. It is only right that I should mention ‘a method of payment which some people hold in favour. Instead of a percentage on the gross receipts earned by the various films of any one subject, they advocate a payment of so much per foot on the films manufactured. Of course, if a film is 1,000 feet long, and twenty-five copies are made of it, and you charge let us say 1s. per foot, you would, as author, receive 25,000 shillings, or £1,250, But a good subject is not necessarily a long subject. A bad film may be 2,000 feet long. A brilliant and most effective film may be only 500 feet long. Payment by length is never so desirable as payment by merit. Also, so far as my enquiries go, I doubt whether any manufacturer would pay so much as 1s. a foot. In thinking of the value of their work, dramatists should remember that in the making of Moving Pictures, scenery repre- senting exteriors cannot be used. It is pos- sible to photograph upon a film any built-up interior, but when you come to an exterior, it must be a real exterior, or at any rate some- thing that looks like a real exterior. I¢ cannot be ordinary paint and canvas scenery such as are used in theatres. I am now speaking of course of the author who has in his mind the writing of a serious plot for a Moving Picture representation. Ifa dramatist wants to write a ‘“freak”’ plot, that is to say, a story in which people fly over the roofs of London by night, or jump over houses, or visit the moon, he had much better go to a Moving Picture manufacturer first, and before he wastes much time upon his work, ask the manufacturer if the idea is possible. Very remarkable results are sometimes produced in “ freak ” or “‘ faked ’’ films. In writing plots for Moving Picture purposes, authors should remember that set words for the characters to speak are useless. The plot should be written out in exactly the same way that a ballet is written. The facts and the emotions only should be stated, as for example : “Gretchen is sitting Centre reading her lover’s. letter by the aid of a candle. Suddenly the door R is thrown open, and her father enters. Gretchen springs up in surprise, holding her lover’s letter in her left hand, which she keeps behind her. Her father eyes her sternly. He throws down his rifle, flings from his shoulder the dead chamois that he has brought back from his hunting, and throws aside his cloak. He comes down stage and for a moment eyes her critically. He holds out his hand as  Av dup * Sititegs 3 ye ted) Le <A Dera G WET ne uh “SP aS as FADE UR Racks ” he Ta i Ff THE AUTHOR. though he would say, ‘Show me what is in your hand.’ She holds out her right hand before him. He shakes his head and demands the other hand. Vevy reluctantly she holds out her left hand from which, with a quick gesture of anger, he snatches her lover’s letter. He reads it and turns fiercely upon his daughter who falls back to the table L.” It is in these terms that the actual producer of a moving picture has got to think. If the author desires to be successful, the author must do likewise. In connection with the Moving Picture industry there are at present three combina- tions, the actual manufacturers of films, the renters, or middle-men, who do the work of distribution and the arranging of leases, and the exhibitors, who are the actual proprietors of the picture palaces. Between these bodies, both in this country and in Ametica, there is friction. In the fulness of time the renters will probably become extinct as a separate body, and will be amalgamated as part of the manufacturers’ organisation. The exhibitors naturally want to get their films wherever they like. Some of the greater manufacturers are a little inclined to say : “You shall take ours and ours only.”” The combination of manufacturers would of course, be very powerful, and could dictate to the best halls, what they could and could not show. . But these considerations do not, for the moment, affect the author very much. They may some day. At present the author should watch the developments of picture palaces regularly and seriously. They are bound to affect him. The production of words by means of the gramophone to be spoken in connection with the moving picture has been frequently attempted, but is not perfect yet. Something of the sort will come, however. A machine has already been patented which successfully reproduces noises, such as the ringing of bells, the blowing of motor horns, engine and steamboat whistles, which works quite correctly and automatically in connection with moving pictures. The singing of a song by a gramophone while the moving picture shows the artist is sometimes remarkably accurate, but is a little difficult. The time is not far distant, however, when public speeches will be taken down on a gramophone while the speaker, with all his movements and gestures, is being taken by the film. A speech made in Liverpool at twelve o’clock in the morning will be heard and seen at the Palace on the same evening. The Grand National Steeplechase which was run at Liverpool did not finish till nearly three 235 o’clock, but it was seer practically from start to finish on the screen at the Palace Theatre the same night. The needs of the Moving Picture will, in all probability, be of great advantage to dramatic art though not to dramatic literature. The moving picture story is told, not by beautiful and well-chosen words, but by dramatic and expressive gestures. These things are rare on the English stage, though they are common enough in France and Italy. Hundreds of artists who will be wanted for Moving Picture purposes in this country will have to give up looking fearfully well-bred, and doing nothing to emphasize their words except twiddling their watch chains. Their faces will have to express, their hands will have to indicate, they will have to act all over with their bodies, they will have to be something more than authors’ gramophones. And for this blessing let us be grateful to the Moving Pictures. Ceci RALEIGH. ——____+—~>-+ MAGAZINE CONTENTS. — BLACKWOODS. Some Novels by Surtes. By Moira O'Neill. Musings Without Method. Lord Acton’s Letters. British REVIEW. Poetry: The Grey Rock. By W. B. Yeats. Pennant and His Friends. By the Countess of Denbigh. CoNTEMPORARY. The Fairy Tale in Education. donald, M.D. Maeterlinck, the Revolutionary. By J. H. Harley. The Optimism of Ibsen. By Edwin Bjorkman. The Conception of Resurrection in Literature. By Greville Mac- CoRNHILL. Books and Reading: a Retrospect. Green. By the Rev. W. C. Enoeuiso REVIEW. To Swinburne: a Poem. By John Helston. A National College of Music for Wales. By Granville Bantock. Literature as a Fine Art. By R. A. Scott-James. SCALE FOR ADVERTISEMENIS. [ALLOWANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY 20 PER OENT.) Frout Page ae FOE A vie £4 0 0 Other Pages ot 80.8 Half of a Page .. “i 0 Quarter of a Page Highth of a Page eae Nes ee ae Single Column Advertisements perinch 0 Reduction of 20 per cent. made for a Series of Six and of 25 per cent. for Twelve Insertions. All letters respecting Advertisements should be addressed to J. F. Brimont & Co,, 29, Paternoster Square, London, £.C. oor me 0 5 6 7-0 6 0  HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. — 1. VERY member has a right toask for and to receive K advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. The Secretary of the Society is a solicitor; but if there is any special reason the Secretary will refer the case to the Solicitors of the Society. Further, the Committee, if they deem it desirable, will obtain counsel’s opinion without any cost to the member. Moreover, where counsel's opinion is favourable, and the sanction of the Committee is obtained, action will be taken on behalf of the aggrieved member, and all costs borne by the Society. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publishers’ agreements do not fall within the experi- ence of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society. 3. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the document to the Society for examination, 4. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no direct benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of your calling in promoting the independence of the writer, the dramatist, the composer. 5. The Committee have arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fire- proof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as confidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers : (1) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (2) To keep agreements. (3) To enforce payments due according to agreements. Fuller particu- lars of the Society’s work can be obtained in the Prospectus. 6. No contract should be entered into with a literary agent without the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Members are strongly advised not to accept without careful consideration the contracts with publishers submitted to them by literary agents, and are recommended to submit them for interpretation and explanation to the Secretary of the Society. This The 7. Many agents neglect to stamp agreements, must be done within fourteen days of first execution. Secretary will undertake it on behalf of members. 8. Some agents endeayour to prevent authors from referring matters to the Secretary of the Society; so do some publishers. Members can make their own deductions and act accordingly. 9. The subscription to the Society is £1 1s. per annum, or £10 10s. for life membership. ——— ee WARNINGS TO THE PRODUCERS OF BOOKS. —+—>— + ERE are a few standing rules to be observed in an agreement. There are four methods of dealing with literary property :— I, Selling it Outright. * This is sometimes satisfactory, if a proper price. can be THE AUTHOR. obtained. But the transaction should be managed by 4 competent agent, or with the advice of the Secretary of the Society. Il. A Profit-Sharing Agreement (a bad form of agreement), In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pre- duction forms a part without the strictest investigation, (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements in his own organs, or by charging exchange advertise- ments. Therefore keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for ‘office expenses,” unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental] rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor | III. The Royalty System. This is perhaps, with certain limitations, the best form of agreement. It is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately the truth. From time to time very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. IV. A Commission Agreement. The main points are :— (1.) Be careful to obtain a fair cost of production. (2.) Keep control of the advertisements. (3.) Keep control of the sale price of the book. General. All other forms of agreement are combinations of the four above mentioned. Such combinations are generally disastrous to the author. Never sign any agreement without competent advice from the Secretary of the Society. Stamp all agreements with the Inland Revenue stamp. Avoid agreements by letter if possible. The main points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) Always avoid a transfer of copyright. —__—_———__+—>_>+—___ WARNINGS TO DRAMATIC AUTHORS. EVER sign an agreement without submitting it to the Secretary of the Society of Authors or some com- petent legal authority. 2. It is well to be extremely careful in negotiating for the production of a play with any one except an established — manager. 3. There are three forms of dramatic contract for plays in three or more acts :— (a.) Sale outright of the performing right. This is unsatisfactory. An author who enters into such a contract should stipulate in the contract for production of the piece by a certain date and for proper publication of his name on the play-bills,  THE AUTHOR. (2.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of percentages on gross receipts. Percentages vary between 5 and 15 per cent, An author should obtain a percentage on the sliding scale of gross receipts in preference to the American system. Should obtain a sum in advance of percentages. A fixed date on or before which the play should be performed. (c.) Sale of performing right or of a licence to perform on the basis of royalties (é.e., fixed nightly fees). This method should be always avoided except in cases where the fees are likely to be small or difficult to collect. The other safeguards set out under heading (d.) apply also in this case. 4, Plays in one act are often sold outright, but it is better to obtain a small nightly fee if possible, and a sum paid in advance of such fees in any event. It is extremely important that the amateur rights of one-act plays should be reserved. 5. Authors should remember that performing rights can be limited, and are usually limited, by town, country, and time. This is most important. 6. Authors should not assign performing rights, but should grant a licence to perform. The legal distinction is of great importance, 7. Authors should remember that performing rights in a play are distinct from literary copyright. A manager holding the performing right or licence to perform cannot print the book of the words. 8. Never forget that United States rights may be exceed- ingly valuable. They should never be included in English agreements without the author obtaining a substantial consideration. 9, Agreements for collaboration should be carefully drawn and executed before collaboration is commenced. 10. An author should remember that production of a play is highly speculative: that he runs a very great risk of delay and a breakdown in the fulfilment of his contract. He should therefore guard himself all the more carefully in the beginning. 11. An author must remember that the dramatic market is exceedingly limited, and that for a novice the first object is to obtain adequate publication. As these warnings must necessarily be incomplete, on account of the wide range of the subject of dramatic con- tracts, those authors desirous of further information are referred to the Secretary of the Society. a REGISTRATION OF SCENARIOS AND ORIGINAL PLAYS. <> + CENARIOS, typewritten in duplicate on foolscap paper forwarded to the offices of the Society, together with a registration fee of two shillings and sixpence, will be carefully compared by the Secretary or a qualified assis- tant. One copy will be stamped and returned to theauthor and the other filed in the register of the Society. Copies of the scenario thus filed may be obtained at any time by the author only at a small charge to cover cost of typing. Original Plays may also be filed subject to the same tules, with the exception that a play will be charged for at the price of 2s. 6d. per act. 237 DRAMATIC AUTHORS AND AGENTS. —— RAMATIC authors should seek’ the advice of the Society before putting plays into the hands of agents. As the law stands at present, an agent who has once had a play in his hands may acquire a perpetual claim to a percentage on the author’s fees from it. As far as the placing of plays is concerned, it may be taken as a general rule that there are only very few agents who can do anything for an author that he cannot, under the guidance of the Society, do equally well or better for himself. The collection of fees is also a matter in which in many cases no intermediary is required. For certain purposes, such as the collection of fees on amateur performances, and in general the trans- action of frequent petty authorisations with different individuals, and also for the collection of fees in foreign countries, almost all dramatic authors employ agents; and in these ways the services of agents are real and valuable. But the Society warns authors against agents who profess to have influence with managers in the placing of plays, or who propose to act as principals by offering to purchase the author’s rights. In any case, in the present state of the law, an agent should not be employed under any circumstances without an agreement approved of by the Society. gg WARNINGS TO MUSICAL COMPOSERS. ee ae ITTLE can be added to the warnings given for the assistance of producers of books and dramatic authors. It must, however, be pointed out that, as a rule, the musical publisher demands from the musical composer a transfer of fuller rights and less liberal finan- cial terms than those obtained for literary and dramatic property. The musical composer has very often the two rights to deal with—performing right and copyright. He should be especially careful therefore when entering into an agreement, and should take into particular consideration the warnings stated above. a i oe ee ee STAMPING MUSIC. a The Society undertakes to stamp copies of music on; behalf of its members for the fee of 6d. per 100 or part of 100. The members’ stamps are kept in the Society's safe. The musical publishers communicate direct with the Secretary, and the voucher is then forwarded to the members, who are thus saved much unnecessary trouble. ie ee ee THE READING BRANCH. ——> + EMBERS will greatly assist the Society in this branch of its work by informing young writers of its existence. Their MSS. can be read and treated as a composition is treated by a coach, The term MSS. includes not only works of fiction, but poetry and dramatic works, and when it is possible, under special arrangement, technical and scientific works. Tbe Readers are writers of competence and experience. The fee is one guinea, —_——_—_—_—_.—>—_____—__ REMITTANCES. AEs The Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post. All remittences should be crossed Union of London and- Smiths Bank, Chancery Lane, or be sent by registered letter only. 238 COLLECTION BUREAU. 1 HE Society undertakes to collect accounts and moneys l due to authors, composers and dramatists. 1. Under contracts for the publication of their works. 2. Under contracts for the performance of their works and amateur fees. 3. Under the Compulsory Licence Clauses of the Copy- right Act, i.e., Clause 3, governing compulsory licences for books, and Clause 19, referring to mechanical instrument records. : The Bureau is divided into three departments :— 1. Literary. 2. Dramatic. 3. Musical. The Society does not desire to make a profit from the collection of fees, but will charge a commission to cover expenses. If, owing to the amount passing through the office, the expenses are more than covered, the Committee of Management will discuss the possibility of reducing the commission. For full particulars of the terms of collection, application must be made to the Collection Bureau of the Society. The Bureau is in no sense a literary or dramatic agency for the placing of books or plays. —_——__+ > +___— GENERAL NOTES. ——— + Tur AutHors’ LEAGUE OF AMERICA. WE must give our heartiest welcome to the first number of the Bulletin of the Authors’ League of America, which was issued on April1. We hope the date is not ominous; but, putting aside this question, it is of the greatest interest to see that the American authors are combining, and it is very flattering to see that they are combining almost entirely along the lines of our own Society. We note their list of members and the statement that they number already 350, and that applicants are coming in daily. All this is very healthy and very satisfactory, and we feel convinced that the Authors’ League will justify its present popularity by showing that it really turns out useful information, and gives to its mem- bers strong legal support, according to the proposals set out in its paper and its pro- spectus. The committee of the Society of Authors promised to give the League its best assistance. As we hope the League may be able to furnish the Society with interesting advice as to the position of publishers, editors of magazines, theatrical managers, and others who deal with copyright property in America from the trade side, so the Society will be able to help the League by information from England. But why, if the League considers it necessary to appoint a literary agent in London, do they appoint a publisher? We THE AUTHOR. deal with the matter on principle. How can a publisher act as a literary agent, for it means either that he cannot publish himself any of the work put into his hands, or if he does publish it himself, that he ceases to be an agent. Perhaps the American Authors’ League will reconsider the position and explain. PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATION. WE desire to tender our congratulations to Mr. J. H. Blackwood on his election to the presidency of the Publishers’ Association, in succession to Sir Frederick Macmillan, who retired and was elected vice-president. While, in many cases, the interests of authors and publishers are necessarily opposed, there are still not a few matters on which their interests are at one. The recent Copyright Bill to which Mr. Blackwood, in proposing a vote of thanks to the retiring. president, referred, afforded the Society of Authors and the Publishers’ Association an opportunity of working together. We feel certain that in the event of any matter arising where joint action between the two bodies is feasible, we may count on the assistance and co-opera- tion of the Publishers’ Association’s latest president as we could on that of his predecessor in the chair. Movine Pictures. By the desire of the Dramatic Sub-Com- mittee, we print an article on Moving Pictures, being a report compiled by Mr. Cecil Raleigh for the benefit of dramatists who are members of the Society. Although Mr. Raleigh has been so successful in presenting the matter in practical form and in giving the figures obtainable, the Dramatic Sub-Committee desire to impress upon members the fact that before making any contract affecting their cinematograph rights, they should apply to the Society for advice. All information which is forwarded to the Society concerning these contracts will be submitted with the sanction of the member, to the Dramatic Sub-Committee and will be treated in absolute confidence. It is hoped that members will give their best support to the efforts of the Dramatic sub-Committee. It may be necessary with the larger develop- ment of the cinematograph to amplify and amend the report. The more information therefore at the disposal of the sub-committee, the more lasting will be the conclusion at which it is possible to arrive.  THE AUTHOR. MacazinE RicHTs IN THE U.S.A. Toucutne the matter of magazine rights, an American correspondent informs us that most of the better class magazines will accept or return a serial of some 60,000 to 100,000 words within ten days, while a short story takes about the same time to get through, because, as a rule, it fetches a much higher price in proportion. Practically all magazines pay on acceptance, and have their stated pay-days, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Those magazines that are of best repute for quick decisions and prompt pay get the pick of the market in fiction, and those at the bottom of the grade—information concerning which every author can easily obtain—get the dregs. He states further that almost every editor in America is easily accessible to, and is even anxious to meet, any contributor who shows promise of affording him scope of adding to his circulation. Serra, RIGHTS IN THE U.S.A. Tue Information Bureau of the Authors’ League of America received a number of letters from members, asking what practical steps it was necessary to take in order that the author of the serial story appearing in a magazine in America may obtain for himself copyright of all other rights excepting the right of first publication owned by the magazine. The same question is constantly arising in Great Britain. We take pleasure therefore in printing the reply to such a question received from Mr. Thorwald Solberg, who is the Registrar of Copyrights in Washington. In addition to following the instructions contained therein, the author should, of course, publish under each instalment of his story a notice of the copyright reserved by him :— . “ Liprary or CONGRESS, ‘**CopyRIGHT OFFICE, ‘* WASHINGTON. “ Authors’ League of America, “30, Broad Street, New York. “ Duar Sres,—In response to the question raised in your letter, I beg to say that it would no doubt be a safer course to pursue to file a claim of copyright in each serial instalment upon the deposit of a copy of the periodical containing it in accordance with the express provisions of the copyright law. “ Under the express provisions of the statute, only the numbers which are deposited at the same time can be included in one registration. In the case of serial publica- tions some publishers believe that it is a secure enough procedure to hold numbers and send three or four at one time, and if this is done the Copyright Office will register them upon the responsibility of the claimant. “Tt is to be noticed, however, that if that course is 239 pursued, any inquiry as to whether the work has been registered for copyright in the United States must be answered in the negative before the deposit has been made. It is probably to obviate the possibly practical difficulties which might arise from such negative answers that more cautious publishers will deposit each instalment separately and pay a separate fee for each. “To the above I must add also that there is of necessity a limit of space in the record books of the Copyright Office for indicating the date of publication, and therefore the Office cannot undertake to include a great many separate issues of magazines with separate dates of publication for one registration. (Signed) ““THORWALD SOLBERG, “ Register of Copyrights.” We only wish it had been possible to obtain an equally authoritative answer to the question how to obtain copyright in Great Britain and America in the same story when it is published serially in both countries. Tue AUSTRALIAN MARKET. In another column of this issue we print an article from the Bookfellow, Sidney, Australia on The Tied Book System. The article needs consideration as it has been written by an Australian with a knowledge of the Austra- lian markets, but although it is important to hear that side of the question, the statements contained in the article are not in accord with other statements that have been received at the Society’s office with regard to the Austra- lian book trade. Indeed, in those cases where English authors have published themselves with one Australian publisher, the result has. been most satisfactory and the authors have obtained a wider circulation than they generally obtain from the free competition. We trust that the time is not far distant when the Australian publisher will come forward, contract with the English author and produce an edition in Australia for the Australians. If such a contract could be entered into, the advantage to the publisher as well as to the author would stimulate a much wider circulation. If a person produced a book at his own expense in England, no publisher would take it up unless he had a monopoly of publication. Why the same rule should not apply in Australia it is difficult to say. Toe TREATMENT OF THE LATE COLERIDGE TAYLOR BY THE Frrm oF MEssRs. NovELLo. In a paper called the Musical News, in the issue for March 22, there is an article on this subject by Mr. T. Lea Southgate. It is a rather pathetic presentation of the 240 relations between authors and composers and their publishers which were thought proper in the evil old times, when the artist regarded his publisher as his patron. Mr. T. Lea Southgate pleads his age and experience entitling him to discuss the whole question at large, but in truth the world has moved on without his knowledge, leaving him with nothing to say worth saying. We are glad to acknowledge his fairness, however, in one direction. He acquits Mrs. Coleridge Taylor of responsibility for the efforts of the chairman of the Society of Authors on behalf of her and her family. Tue AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER. A CORRESPONDENT has sent us a funny little pamphlet with this title, written by Mr. Filson Young, and reprinted from the Eyewitness. In this pamphlet we are told that ‘‘ agencies and societies exist for no other purpose than to point them (the sins of the publisher to the author) out’; and that “it is seriously believed also that, except for the vigilance of societies and agents, authors would all be starving in the gutter, and pub- lishers would all be millionaires.” To the novelist who is prudent enough not to séll his property outright unless he can get good terms we have this reference: ‘‘ Over a quite worth- less library novel he talks importantly about ‘reserving the copyright,’ with the fond idea that his grandchildren may possibly derive a handsome annual income from it.’ To the novelist who would act in business affairs like any other sensible person, and would take his wares to the best market, wherever that might be, the following advice is addressed: “ For the author who writes books from any serious motive, and who wishes them to live, the plan of sticking to one publisher is far the best.” The pamphlet might make a good circular for a publisher, but as the counsel of an author to his brother authors it is an amazing piece of work. E. M. Unprerpown, K.C. WE regret to record the death of Mr. E. M. Underdown, K.C., which occurred suddenly last month. He was, for many years, honorary counsel to the Society, and one of the very earliest members of the company of authors from which it has_ evolved. Mr. Underdown rendered the Society many services in its earlier years—more particularly in connection with copyright law reform, which from the date of its foundation the Society THE AUTHOR. was endeavouring to promote. Many of the Bills initiated in those early days by the Society failed to obtain the Parliamentary facilities necessary for their transformation into Acts of Parliament. Nevertheless, the time spent was not wasted, and the knowledge of copyright law possessed by Mr. Underdown was of great assistance to the Society, and was generously placed at its disposal by him. He was an extraordinarily accomplished man, a great commercial lawyer, an expert musician, and at home in five European languages. Proressor EpwarD DowDEN. WE have also, with regret, to chronicle the death of Professor Edward Dowden, whose contributions to literature are well known to all students. Elected to the professorship of English Literature and Oratory at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1867, he published, eight years later, his first Shakespearean study, ‘‘ Shakespeare : His Mind and Art.” This work made him widely known as a critic, and was translated into German and Russian. Many other essays in criticism followed, but it was his ‘ Life of Shelley,’’ published 1886, which brought his name to the notice of the general public. He was also the author of several books of poems. His scholastic honours included the Cunning- ham Gold Medal of the Royal Irish Academy (1878), an Honorary LL.D. of Edinburgh, and an Honorary D.C.L. of Oxford. Apart from his literary work he held several public posts, - and displayed keen interest in political ques- tions as a Unionist. His association with the Society continued till his death, though his many other interests gave him little leisure for active participation in the Society’s work. ——_ FIELD-MARSHAL THE YISCOUNT WOLSELEY, K.P., P.C., ETC. E regret to chronicle the death of Field - Marshal Viscount Wolseley, K.P., P.C., ete., which occurred on March 27. It is unnecessary in these columns to give a detailed statement of his distinguished career as a soldier and of the brilliant services that he rendered to his country during the many campaigns through which he fought; all this has already been set out in the general press. It is only for us to chronicle his work as an author. ‘‘ The Soldier’s Pocket Book for Field Service”’ was already in its fifth edition  THE AUTHOR. in 1886. This work without doubt, from the practical point of view, from the point of view of Lord Wolseley as the writer for his own pro- fession, is the most important work that he produced as an author. He wrote other works which are recognised as authoritative on their subjects, and they all of them deal with mil- tary matters: “The Life of the Duke of Marlborough,’ ‘‘The Decline and Fall of Napoleon,” and his own auto-biography, which is confined to the soldier side of his life, are the most important of these publica- tions. Though he was first and last a soldier, he was successful as a writer, as might have been expected, because he always wrote out of the fulness of his knowledge. He joined the Society in June, 1903, was elected to the Council, and, although he took no active part in the Society’s work, he was fully in accord with the principles on which’ it is based. We have pleasure in recording that his daughter, who succeeds to the title, has also been a member of the Society for some years. ———_+——_+___—_ THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 1 2 ieee Annual Society of Authors was held at 4.30 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, in the rooms of the Society of Arts, 18, John Street, Adelphi, when, amongst others, the following members were present :— Dr. S. Squire Sprigge, Chairman; James Baker, Mackenzie Bell, Percy J. Brebner, Prof. Lewis N. Chase, Mrs. Lewis N. Chase, Miss W. J. Curwen, Mrs. L. F. Wynne Ffoulkes, Charles L. Freeston, Anthony Hope Hawkins, John Helston, Miss E. M. Hine, Mrs. Hope Huntly, The Rev. H. N. Hutchinson, John Ivimey, Cliff Keane, C. Lincoln, Gilbert S. Macquoid, Mowbray Marras, Miss H. E. Marshall, E. D. McCormick, Aylmer Maude, H. W. Ord, H. M. Paull, Mrs. Charles Perrin, Miss Alice Grant Rosman, Firth Scott, P. W. Sergeant, H. W. Seton-Karr, Adolphe Smith, Miss L. E. Tiddeman, Major Philip Trevor, George Vernon, L. C. Wharton, Louis Zangwill. The agenda list was as follows :— 1. To receive, and, if desired, to discuss the accounts and report of the Committee of Management. 2. To elect a member of the Pension Fund Committee under the scheme for the management of the Pension Fund. (Mr. M. H. Spielmann resigns in due order, General Meeting of the 241 but submits his name for re-election. The name of no other candidate has been put forward). 8. To appoint scrutineers to count the votes under the Society’s constitution. 4. To consider a proposal: (a) That all sums recovered through the agency of the Society’s solicitors for those members who are not employing the Society’s Collection Bureau shall be subject to the deduction of com- mission. (b) That the commission so deducted shall be the same as is deducted for the time being in the case of its members employing the bureau. Dr. S. Squire Sprigge, Chairman of the Committee of Management, who presided, proposed that the meeting should take first the second and third items of the agenda. Mr. M. H. Spielmann having been re-elected to the Pension Fund Committee, the election of scrutineers was left in the hands of the Committee of Management. Coming next to the accounts and report, which were already in the hands of the members, the Chairman invited any of those present who had anything to say concerning these to do so. The past year, he said, had been very favour- able to the Society. The membership had gone up, the total number of elections being 345, a great advance on the numbers for the past four years; and the financial position was very strong. There had, moreover, been a drop in the number of resignations, the report showing a loss of 180, including fifty-five erasions for non-payment, ninety-nine resigna- tions, and twenty-six deaths. The question of resignations had always been, said the Chairman, a difficult one for their Society, for apparently a great number of people only came to them when in trouble. If these people, after obtaining the aid which they sought, did not remain to share the troubles of others, but dropped their membership again, then they were only a drain upon the finances of the Society. He hoped that the decrease in the number of resignations, even if it were only a slight one, might be taken as a sign that authors were beginning to recognise that the Society should be used as a form of insurance and a means of co-operation with their fellow-writers. With regard to finance, the accounts showed that their income last year was the largest they had ever received, an increase of £185 bringing the revenue from annual subscriptions to £2,250. At the same time the legal expenses of the year had been smaller, a point for congratulation when their membership was increasing. He again invited any who had remarks to make on the  242 report, or suggestions as to the future conduct of the Society, to make them now. No one responding to the invitation, the Chairman passed on to the fourth item in the agenda. This, he explained, arose partly out of a proposal, somewhat to the same effect, made at the last Annual Meeting by Mr. Paull. Similar suggestions had reached the Committee of Management, generally in letters from members, the effect of which was that it seemed to them a legitimate source of income to the Society to charge a small commission on moneys collected. Members usually made the suggestion when sending donations at the end of successful actions undertaken on their behalf by the Society. The Committee of Management had, therefore, decided to put forward the proposal now before the meeting, without expressing any collective opinion of their own either for or against it. They were not, indeed, all agreed upon it; but the proposal, in its present form, was the result of several debates in committee. The fact that the net result of its being passed would be an increase of revenue was a matter of importance to the Society, for, though their financial position was good, their growing work necessitated larger offices and more clerical assistance, and it must be remembered that the bigger their income the more good they could do on behalf of authors. It must also be remembered that they were not at resent banking any substantial reserve fund, and that the guinea subscription barely covered the expense of the services rendered to members. He asked Mr. Paull if he would speak first on the subject. Mr. H. M. Paull said that what appeared upon the agenda was not in so many words his own proposal, but he welcomed it never- theless. A large number of members did not appreciate the cost to the Society of the recovery of sums due to them. He knew himself of cases where the money recovered amounted to several hundreds of pounds. A small percentage charged as commission on such would be very acceptable to their funds. How could any reasonable objection be made to the charge of a small percentage? Yet he knew that some authors at least made no return to the Society for the money which it obtained for them. He expressed his pleasure in putting forward the proposal as it stood. Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins said that he was sorry that this matter had been brought before so small a meeting as the present one. The decision would be hurried if they adopted the proposal now and instructed the committee to THE AUTHOR. act upon it. He regarded it as a departure from the guiding principles of the Society hitherto, and suggested certain modifications as being necessary. For instance, members who had already paid subscriptions for several years without asking for legal assistance ought to be exempt from such a charge. They might get the case of an author, who was also a poor man and who had already paid five guineas in the course of five years, and who then sued, through: the Society, for the recovery of a sum of five guineas, on which he would be called upon to pay a commission of 10s. 6d. Might he not justly think that he had already paid five guineas in subscriptions toward the expenses of recovery of his five guineas? Then there were some cases in which all that was needed was the sending of a lawyer’s letter. Was it reasonable to charge for this 5 per cent. on the sum recovered ? The Society wanted to get hold of every author it could. Would it get more members if it adopted this proposal, or would it not rather lose members thereby ? He thought that it would be right for the matter to be decided upon by a more representative gathering than was present that day. Let them not enable people to say, with more force than now, that the Society gave nothing in return for the guinea subscription. He would adopt the time-honoured device of moving “‘ the previous question.” It having been pointed out that the proposal had not yet been seconded, Mr. Aylmer Maude begged leave to do so. He admitted that it was a pity the meeting was so small, but considered that those who had come to it had a right to express their opinion. A plebiscite of the Society might follow. With regard to the justice of the proposal, they could not really afford to collect money for nothing. They had started a bureau for the collection of moneys, charging five per cent. commission without the benefit of legal proceedings. But there were some members for whom they were collecting money, with the aid of the law, and whom they were charging nothing. This was surely unreasonable. (Mr. L. Zangwill: No, no). Mr. James Baker, after congratulating the Society on its excellent financial position, said that he thought the proposed step unwise and unlikely to have a favourable effect on the membership. Mr. Louis Zangwill opposed the motion. He disagreed entirely with the sugges- tion that the members of the Society who did not employ the Collection Bureau had i 3 THE AUTHOR. now an undue advantage. As soon as what he might call the non-bureau group of authors passed over into the legal proceedings group they stood merely on a position of equality with the bureau group. Mr. James Baker, having formally seconded Mr. Hope Hawkins’s amendment (‘the previous question”) the Chairman put it to the meeting, when it was carried by twelve votes to seven. Several members did not vote. Mr. Hope Hawkins proposed a vote of thanks to Dr. S. Squire Sprigge for his services as Chairman. This was carried unanimously, and the meeting then came to an end. COPYRIGHT AND “THE LADY.” — 1 N the May number of The Author, 1912, an J article was printed in criticism of a letter which had been issued by the proprietor of a paper to certain contributors. The letter asked for the transfer of the copyright to the proprietor. One paragraph ran as follows :— *¢ We shall be glad to have your assent to this arrangement, which is a mere formality required by the Copyright Act, and does not make any alteration in the conditions existing prior to the Copyright Act of 1911, when the copyright of such articles or photographs was also vested in the newspaper or periodical in which they appeared.’ The article pointed out that such a statement was distinctly mis- leading, that the matter was not one of mere formality, but of serious importance to the author; and that the suggestion that the assignment of such copyright did not make any alteration in the conditions existing prior to the Act was quite incorrect. The reason for bringing the matter forward again is because the manager of The Lady has asked the editor of that popular paper to send out a circular for the signature of contributors. It runs as follows :— 39 anp 40, BeprorpD STREET, Srranp, W.C., March 13, 1913. “The Lady.” Dear Mapam,—The Manager has requested me to send you the enclosed for your signature. The idea, so I under- stand, is to save contributors the trouble of sending him a special form of acknowledgment on receipt of each cheque. Once the enclosed has been signed, the indorse- ment on the cheque will be the only receipt required by the Manager. Yours truly, THe Eprror. 248 [ENCLOSURE. | To the Proprietor of “ The Lady”? Newspaper. Tn consideration of your publishing in your newspaper or purchasing any article or drawing written or made by me I hereby assign and transfer to you the original and the copyright therein and also agree to assign and transfer to you the original of and copyright in all future articles and drawings written or made by me which may hereafter be purchased by you or published in your newspaper. Signature........ Wetec. co os as It is quite true that “ once the enclosed has been signed the endorsement at the back of the cheque will be the only receipt required by the manager”; because under the docu- ment which.the author or artist is asked to sign he is transferring not only all his rights under the Copyright Act of 1911 in_ any contribution he is making at the time, and also the original of the drawing—if the matter refers to a drawing—but he is also assigning his copyright in any future article or drawing that he may contribute. The members of the Society have often been warned that in selling their work to a paper they should not sell anything beyond the first serial use of their work for that paper, and there is no real reason why the proprietor or manager should demand more than this. According to the ‘‘ Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book,’? Zhe Lady publishes articles which should not exceed a thousand words and stories of about 5,000 words, and also illustrations. If the author is writing on any special subject, and no doubt articles in The Lady would fall under the category, it is quite possible that he or she may wish to reprint the articles at a later date in book form. This could not be done, however, if the paper printed above were signed. The writer of a short story of 5,000 words might wish to deal with it in many ways. He might wish to republish it in a volume of stories, he might wish to sell secondary serial rights, he might wish to amplify it into a novel, or he might wish to dramatise it as a sketch for the theatres and music-halls. None of these undertakings would be open to him if he had signed the enclosure printed above. The question remains, “* Does the manager or the editor desire to print these articles in book form ? does he desire to utilise the short stories for dramatic purposes or for further publica- tion in any form?” If he does not so desire, and it is most improbable that he will, then there can be no reason for him to ask for the assignment of the copyright—it is mere greed hoping to trade on possible ignorance, and this comment would be due concerning any assign- 244 ment of copyright, without any consideration by a contributor to serial literature. But here the position is worse. The manager of The Lady asks for the assignment not only of those articles and drawings that are sub- mitted to him, but for the copyright of all future articles. An author might sign the paper inadvertently, thinking it referred merely to one article, but might, a year afterwards send another story and _ then suddenly find that he had transferred his copyright in that also. If The Lady desires such full rights and so wide a power, then the manager or proprietor should pay for them proportionately. There is no mention in the document of the usual rate of payment. But supposing an author was willing to sell a short story of 5,000 words for £4 a thousand | for the first serial use, which would amount to £20, he most probably would not sell the whole copyright for a sum under £100, and if he was asked at the same time to bind himself to sell the copyright of future work, as his obligation increased his price would increase to £150 or £200. Would the manager of The Lady be willing to pay these prices ? As regards literary work, the contract is bad enough, but when it comes to artistic work it is even worse. An original MS. is really not of much value after it has been through the printers’ hands, as it generally comes back to the author in a mutilated condition, but an original drawing has always its market value ; and if artists in subsequent years became famous, these drawings some- times fetch a good price. The artist, therefore, is not only asked to sell the copyright, that is the right to reproduce the work in any form, in any size, and by any process at any price, but he is also asked to sell the original under the enclosure printed above, and to bind him- self to do the same with regard to any future work. Again, it is necessary to point out that the usual contract that a paper or magazine enters into with an artist is the right of reproduction in that paper or magazine, the author retaining the original drawing, which in many cases he will be able to sell, as well as the right to reproduce that drawing in other forms and by other process of production if necessary. The demand, therefore, which is made by the manager of The Lady through the editor is contrary to custom, though put forward in a way that might lead any unsus- pecting author or artist to think that it was a quite usual arrangement. If any more members of the Society have this enclosure forwarded to them, and it would THE AUTHOR. appear that it has been sent out as a general circular, they should at once refer the matter to the Society. THE TIED BOOK SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA. nh ee ah (Reprinted from the Bookfellow, Sidney, Australia,) EER. Ale. Stout. Stingo. Heavy. wet. With all variants from four-’alf to the brewer’s pride measured into a wine-glass for sixpence. The any-class, low- class, no-class people who live in English stories like Edwin Pugh’s or Neil Lyons’s seem to think that the drinker is better served in a ‘* free house ”’ than in a ‘“‘ tied house.” You know more about that. Weknow more | about books; and we affirm that authors and — readers are better served with a “‘ free book ” than with a “ tied book.’’ For just the same reasons. As soon as you give an English ~ publican or an Australasian importer a monopoly of his goods, either the price will tend to go up or the quality will tend to go down. We say “‘ tend,’”’ because the rule has — exceptions. Nevertheless, the rule is that as — soon as checked competition interferes with free consumption somebody is bound to suffer, — Because every monopolist is bound to get a | profit on his monopoly as well as a profit on the goods. “ That’s business.” How iT OPERATES IN AUSTRALIA, Not long ago we showed how the tied-book — system in fiction was operating in Australasia to reduce, upon the whole, the range and — quality of novels offered to readers. Authors come into consideration too. Australian — novelists publishing in London, as well as — English and American novelists, need to think hard about the tied book system. . Take the case of a book like “‘ The Happy _ Warrior,” which recently we called (provi- sionally) the “* biggest ” English novel of 1912 The London publisher of “* The Happy War rior ” sent the book for review. But you can’t — buy that book. Why not? We are informed — that it is because an importing firm has ~ “bought the Australasian market,” and “The Happy Warrior” is tied, bound, and — hermetically sealed to the importing firm. - Yet even so, why does not the monopolist — sell the book ? There may be several reasons. In the first place, a monopolist in Australasia, — buying novels in London, cannot always fore- —  998 2A EE Me Le) ud oT THE AUTHOR. see how many copies of a novel can be sold in Australasia. He may not have enough stock to go round all the booksellers. In that case, he is apt to keep the book off the market while he is getting fresh supplies from London in order that he may prevent dissatisfaction by supplying all the booksellers together. In the next place, a monopolist importer is apt to accumulate so many tied novels that even voracious Australasian readers cannot swallow them all at a gulp. Besides, English publishing follows the sun and the seasons : novels are published chiefly in the English spring and autumn; so that, tallying with the English spring and winter, there are “ slack seasons ”’ here when there may not be enough good novels to satisfy readers’ demand. So a monopolist importer is apt to lay by a few novels for the slack season, and feed them out judiciously when he thinks that readers are hungry. His agreement with the English publisher ensures that the Australasian market is preserved to him. Thus a novel published in a London “Colonial Library”? in March may be held over for Australasian sale in September, or in December, or later still. A monopolist Australasian importer is like a Marguerite plucking her petals of tied books and murmuring ‘“‘ This year—next year—some time—any old time will do for Australasian readers.” Sometimes a few books filter past the barrier, but not many ; because the English publisher has tied himself by agreement. In considera- tion of an Australasian importing firm buying so many copies of a new novel, he has under- taken not to sell that novel to anybody else in Australasia. Usually all Australasian book- sellers who want a tied book to sell to their customers must come and buy it from the monopolist at the monopolist’s price. The marketing system causes a lot of business friction. Naturally. Booksellers, readers, and authors are affected in this way. The author of a novel is usually paid by a royalty on sales. Upon every copy of his book that is sold at the usual English price (4s. 6d.) the London publisher may agree to pay him 25 per cent. of the price—sometimes less. Then the London publisher puts the book into what is called a ‘“ Colonial Library,’’ and it is offered to Australasian readers at 3s. 6d., or perhaps at 2s. 6d. in paper covers. “‘ Colonial Libraries ”’ usually get a separate clause in the -author’s agreement with his publisher. As the price is lower, the author is not promised so high a royalty per copy sold. Perhaps the 245 author is promised 3d. per copy. Perhaps he gets 14d. s But, whatever the author gets, he is paid usually according to sales—for ‘ Colonial Libraries ” too. So that anything tending to hamper the Australasian sale of a book reacts against an author. If fewer copies are sold in Australasia, he gets usually a smaller payment for his labour. And the marketing system, the tied-book system, is apt to be such a hamper on sales. The rule has few exceptions. Suppose that ‘The Happy Warrior” is a tied book, and Louis Stone’s ‘‘ Jonah ”’ is a free book (since many English publishers in the best class have refrained from selling the Austra- lasian market of their books to a monopolist importer). Then, if a monopolist has bought 1,000 copies of ‘‘The Happy Warrior” in order to secure the Australasian market, clearly, when the monopolist is ready to sell ‘“The Happy Warrior,” he is likely to put ‘Happy Warriors” in the front row and “ Jonahs ” in the back row. Or even he may put all his tied books in all the rows and leave out some free books altogether, because his business eggs are in the tied-book basket. He has so many tied books which he must sell or lose money. And, as a monopolist, he makes a higher profit on his own tied books than on other people’s free books. So that, comparing the tied author with the free author, the free author is unlikely to get the fairest innings in a monopolist’s shop. Consequently, it is to the interest of free authors to oppose the monopoly system, because the free trade system is more likely to give every novel a chance of sale on its merits. But the tied author does not get a fair chance on his merits either. Because the booksellers who are not monopolists prefer to sell the free books. They may have to pay more for the tied book, because the monopolist wants a profit on his monopoly ; so that the free book- seller is not unlikely to get a smaller profit on, the tied book. Or, with good business reason, they may object to supporting a trade monopoly. So that all the time, in Australasian book- selling to-day, monopolised trade and _ tied books are fighting free trade and free books ; and the unfortunate author is squeezed out of his royalties in the middle. He may be squeezed very little, or he may be squeezed a whole lot; but always he is being squeezed, for always he has one section of booksellers standing against him. Not necessarily pulling against him, since when a book is demanded by readers it must be sold; but standing against  246 him. Declining to push a book on its merits because it is tied to an opposition monopolist. Or declining to push a free book because invested money must first be got out of a monopolised book. The effect of the tied-book system must be to limit the sale of any given book, since always under that system there is a section of book- sellers actively or passively hostile to a sale of any given book. The tied-book author makes his quick sudden profit only by bringing into operation forces that tend to restrict his further profit. And, not in every case, but in the long run, it is true that as many copies of a free novel will be sold in Australasia as a monopo- list can offer to buy. The cost of exceptions comes out of the monopolist’s pocket. Mono- poly is beer and skittles, but it isn’t all beer and skittles. For these reasons and others, should oppose the tied-novel system. authors THE SNOBBERY OF FREE-LANCING. —_1+—~—+— By AN Ex-Eprror wuHo Is ProupD OF His PROFESSION OF FREE-LANCE. HIS has been roused by an article in the April Author on ‘“‘ The Common-sense of Free-Lancing.” I want to protest as vigorously as I know how against those patronising obiter dicta of the editor who now leans back in his arm- chair, serene in the dignity of Editordom, complacent in the easy réle of critic, passing out from the editorial.desk crumbs of consola- tion to the poor free-lance. I want to protest against that tacit assump- tion that the one and only career for the free- lance must lie along the paths of journalistic snobbery. I. want to protest against that smug patronage of the profession to which I have the honour to belong. Snobbery. The: idea that the free-lance must set as his rungs of ambition the pages of solemn mausoleums such as the ancient weekly and monthly reviews; and his goal the rever- sion of an editorial chair in their musty sanctums. Snobbery. Servile bowing before the senile and gritless in journalism, merely because of a past tradition from the days when critic was king and creators courtiers. Snobbery. The ignoring of the vast popular THE AUTHOR. Press of to-day—daily and weekly and monthly —which reaches, and influences, its hundreds and thousands of readers to every unit reader of the former. A “cachet” is supposed to attach to the contributor who has an article accepted by the Joves of the journalistic Olympus. At least, that is what the free-lance coming fresh from the country is told. He is to gain fame by writing formal essays and criticisms of other men’s work for papers which announce on the front page: ‘‘ We neither return manuscripts nor enter into any correspondence regarding them. A manuscript not acknowledged within a month can be considered as rejected.”’ I contend that any professional free-lance with a pride in his calling should throw such papers in the discard. Writing for them can be left to those who take up authorship as a sideline and are content to wait hat-in-hand on the pleasure of self-important editors. ‘ The professional free-lance has a far wider, far more lucrative, and far more self-respecting field elsewhere. If he avoids the snobbery of free-lancing, and concentrates on the popular Press, Grub Street can be left very far behind. Certain very well-known writers have pointed the way. Many of us are quietly following, and finding it profitable as well as exceedingly pleasant—making incomes easily larger than editorial incomes, and being freed from the shackles of the office desk. Articles for the popular monthly magazines yield ten to twenty guineas apiece even for the rank and file of us who have not yet “ made our names.” Stories for the popular magazines—say of 5,000 words in length—can be sold even by the rank and file of us for twenty-five and upwards, counting English and American rights together. Book rights and translation rights may easily add another ten or fifteen. Such stories (I speak from personal experience) can be evolved—plot, writing and revision—in from three to five days apiece. Many of the popular weekly papers pay as highly for their articles as the gods of Olympus. A few pay higher. The daily papers of to-day, with their “ fourth-pages ” and their ‘‘ magazine pages,” offer a splendid field. All these media are profitable not only in actual coin, but what is more important tor the professional free-lance, in publicity. A signed article in the popular evening oF morning papers brings the unknown’s name  THE AUTHOR. before half a million to two million readers. At the same expenditure of mental energy, he would secure in the Olympian Press a mere 10,000 to 30,000 readers—mostly of the Victorian era. Moreover, the gods of Olympus like to veil their contributors in anonymity. From the professional point of view, writing unsigned articles is a fool’s game. Very few indeed amongst readers ever trouble to guess who the author may be. The unsigned effort brings in merely the bare monetary payment, stripped of the larger payment of publicity. Better a signed article in Answers than an unsigned in the Atheneum. I hope that the readers of The Author will agree with me in my contention that the professional free-lance needs no patronising from the Olympian editor. The free-lance is his own master. He builds up in his name a property of his own. He is not dependent for his income on the whims of one individual proprietor. He is not shackled to an office desk. He is free to travel the whole wide world and earn his living at the same time. He can work on ocean liners as well as on terra firma. He can choose town or country, England or the continent, Europe or America, for his writing-desk. The common-sense of free-lancing, I maintain, is to avoid the snobbery of free-lancing; to treat one’s work as a profession ; to study the modern reading demands; to join one’s professional union, exchange knowledge of publishing conditions with fellow-workers, and unite with them in action for the rights of the profession; to let it be known that we are proud of our calling and want no smug patronage from an outworn Olympus. Max RITTENBERG. .CORRESPONDENCE. —+ + CONCERNING Cat ATHLETICS. Dear Srr,—I am always ready to oblige a fellow member of the Authors’ Society, and so let me help “ Justice” to the career he contemplates by telling him that the sum ‘to a ha’penny” I have ‘‘ put out advertising” to “ arrive ” at my “ present stage of success ” is just exactly £0 Os. Od., and I have no doubt that Mr. Bennett and Mr. Shaw will confess to an equal parsimony. What my publisher spends is between himself and God. I never 247 pay for advertisement or corrections, never allow. an agency clausé in my agreements (I generally don’t do business through agents), always take 25 per cent. upon a 6s. book, always exact a big cheque on account of royalties (rather larger than what is caused by the certain sales), always reserve the right to publish a cheap edition at less than 13d. at the end of two years, and never suffer a 13 as 12 clause. I draw up my own agreements with Messrs. Macmillan, who also, as a matter of courtesy—and subject, of course, to a con- siderate use of the privilege—give me unlimited free copies. If an author is really worth while publishing, he can get these terms from any decent publishing house, and I wish we could make some agreement among authors to hold the publishers generally at this level. In the past I was not so wise as I am now; [ left nearly all my business to an agent. T am still encumbered with his slovenly and disadvan- tageous agreements. Now I do business with an agent when it suits me. None of them is good all round, and none can be trusted to “handle” the whole of an author’s affairs. One agent is rather good with short stories, another is brilliant at a serialisation, another who goes about upsetting authors with imperfectly substantiated offers of large sums in order to get hold of their business is a dangerous nuisance. The ideal thing for an author to do is to fix up a standing agreement on the lines I have given above with a big honest solvent firm, give his books to a capable agent to serialise—and think no more of these things. H. G. WELLS. oo CoMMON SENSE AS IT APPEARS TO A FREE LANCE. I reap with keen interest the reply to my article: ‘‘ The Sorrows of a Free Lance,”’ in the March Author, but common sense does not allow me to convince myself (nor, I think, will it convince free lances in general, whether sorrowing or not) that amending one’s ways will suffice to turn one in due course into an editor. If luck is left out of the reckoning as an incalculable factor in getting to the top— the fact that a free lance has succeeded in doing so proves that he must have been amongst the “strikingly uncommon, clever people compelling attention” which I did not overlook in my article, even though I do not belong to their class; one cannot be guided by exceptions. All contributors know that 248 contributions are, in any case, sent at owner’s risk, but what they do not always realise is, what they are “ risking.” The object of my article was not a complaint, and I made this clear by my final statement ; to me at least it has been very well worth while, but a warning to would-be writers not to “risk” starving if they had nothing to live on but their incomes, as “ ordinary ”’ Free Lances. A Free Lance. 9 Epiror1aL Courtesy. S1r,—The discussion of this subject in The Author seems to me rather one sided. I hold no brief for any editor, but nearly all your correspondents imagine that editors only exist to adjudge the merits or demerits of Free Lancers’ unsolicited MSS., and are all animated by a desire to decry and neglect aspiring contributors to the journals of which they are “the head and front.” This appears to me an absurd assumption. The various and varied duties of editors, occupying their available time, may preclude them from giving due attention to the numerous MSS. of unknown writers; business modes and methods may not have formed a portion of their early training, or may be, neither nature nor art have exactly fitted them for their onerous position. Be this as it may, I think the complainants in The Author are some- what eaigeant, and expect too much from the often harassed controllers of periodicals. One remembers the thorny chair of Thackeray. It is a fact that disappointment and weariness of spirit are the natural concomitants of all those who are striving to gain the ear of the public through editorial channels. It must then be patent to your correspondents that if all free lancers would at once desist from launching their MSS. on the uncertain sea of free lancing, and the agents would also abandon their efforts to gain a hearing, all the periodicals of the United Kingdom would still flourish without their assistance. The experiences of very many years have justified my remarks. I have been on the staff of three weeklies at once; I have had commissions to furnish articles, and the doubtful luxury of free lancing has also been mine. I have had the pleasure of interviewing editors, and have been in correspondence with many, and, of course, with a very few excep- tions, taking them all in all, I have always met with civility, politeness, urbanity, and ' THE AUTHOR. often kindness, and I am glad to be allowed to testify this fact in The Author. Yours, etc., IstporE G. AscHER. —- 1 —_ Review Copies. Dear Str,—Mr. Ascher’s suggestion, in the February Author, that publishers and authors should enclose stamps for the return of unreviewed books, seems at first sight a good one, but supposing that 100 (one hundred) copies go out, postage say 6d. (six pence) a copy, there’s £5 (five pounds) right away for the publisher or author to add to his initial expenses! No, I think some other solution could be found. How would it be for the procedure to be reversed, and for newspaper editors to solicit copies of advertised forth- coming books, on a halfpenny postcard if they like? An editor could tell a publisher exactly what he is prepared to review, and decide what is in his line and what he has space for, just as well from the printed description of a book as he can from its flaring red cover. Why should 60% (sixty per cent.) of an author’s venture be wasted? It is almost impossible for a writer to be certain that such-and-such a paper has not reviewed his book, the press cutters are human (very much so, we are told), and it is not thanks to mine that I saw the most important (from a business point that I should see) review of my book. Still, about two-thirds of the copies sent out for review were, as far as I can ascertain, unnoticed. My book had twenty-eight notices, counting its birthday notice, on All Fools’ Day, in the Morning Post! I have a complete list of the eighty-five papers to which the book was sent, and it amounts to this: that 57 (fifty- seven) copies have been, as the saying is— thrown away. So I think my experience was more disastrous than Mr. Storey’s, related in the April Author. But all this, to my mind, comes, to a large extent, from writers not knowing the rules of the game. My book was advertised for just one fortnight (I knew no more about the cost of an advertisement than I know about Marconis !), and sixteen of the reviews and notices are dated April. My deduction, therefore, is that just as long as a book is advertised from the start will it live in the newspaper columns; and there is reason in this, considering the advertisements are a paper’s vital source of income. I think this is the crux of the whole thing, for we live in a commercial world, where business is business and should be such. Yours faithfully, F. R. M. Furspon. April 5th, 1918. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 23 Issue 08 (May 1913) Subject The topic of the resource <em>The Author</em>, Vol. 23 Issue 08 (May 1913) Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1913-05-01-The-Author-23-8 publications The Author