The position taken by our
government in securing for an American author the benefit of the sale
of his works at home, while practically estopping him from obtaining
any advantage from their sales abroad, is somewhat analogous to its
treatment of American ship-owners, who are allowed to pick up all the
freights that offer inland and along the coast, but are forbidden to
earn a single penny on the high seas.

It is not easy to understand the cause of this continued indifference
to the claims of our literary workmen; they do not come into
competition with the Delaware River or with any manufacturing
interests for _subsidies_; they ask simply for _markets_.

It is true that there have been in the history of our country
governments which seemed impatient of the claims of any "literary
fellers;" but the majority of our administrations have shown a fair
respect for such "fellers," and even a readiness to make use of their
services.

The difficulty has really been, however, not with the administrations,
but with the people at large, who have failed to fairly educate
themselves on the subject, or to recognize that an international
copyright was called for not merely on principles of general equity,
but as a matter of simple justice to American authors.

These have suffered, and are suffering from the present state of
things in two ways. In the first place, they lose the royalty on the
sales of their books in Europe, Canada, Australia, etc., that ought to
be secured to them by treaties of copyright reciprocity. These sales
have become, with the growth of American literature, very
considerable, and are each year increasing in importance. Even a
quarter of a century ago there were enough American books whose fame
was world-wide to have rendered a very moderate royalty on their sales
a matter of great importance to their authors and to the community.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," Irving's "Sketch-Book" and other volumes,
Thompson's "Land and the Book," Warner's "Wide, Wide World," Webster's
Dictionary, James' "Two Years before the Mast," and Peter Parley's
histories are a few random specimens from the earlier list, which is a
great deal longer than might at first be thought.

In an official report of the 25th Congress it was stated that up to
1838 not less than 600 American works had been reprinted in England.
According to the "American Facts" of G.P. Putnam, 382 American books,
acknowledged to be such, were reprinted in Great Britain