blished in this
country.

We have shown how such a condition would, in the majority of cases, be
contrary to the interests of the American consumer, while the British
author is naturally opposed to it because, in increasing materially
the outlay to be incurred by the American publisher in the production
of his edition, it proportionately diminishes the profits or prospects
of profits from which is calculated the remuneration that can be paid
to the author.

The measure of permitting the foreign book to be reprinted by all
dealers who would contract to pay the author a specified royalty has
at first sight something specious and plausible about it. It seems to
be in harmony with the principles of freedom of trade, in which we are
believers. It is, however, directly opposed to those principles;
first, it impairs the freedom of contract, preventing the producer
from making such arrangements for supplying the public as seem best to
him; and secondly, it undertakes, by paternal legislation, to fix the
remuneration that shall be given to the producer for his work, and to
limit the prices at which this work shall be furnished to the
consumer. There is no more equity in the government's undertaking this
limitation of the producer and protection of the consumer in the case
of _books_ than there would be in that of bread or of beef.

Further, such an arrangement would be of benefit to neither the
author, the public, nor the publishers, and would, we believe, make of
international copyright, and of any copyright, a confusing and futile
absurdity.

A British author could hardly obtain much satisfaction from an
arrangement which, while preventing him from having his American
business in the hands of a publishing house selected by himself, and
of whose responsibility he could assure himself, threw open the use of
his property to any dealers who might choose to scramble for it. He
could exercise no control over the style, the shape, or the accuracy
of his American editions; could have no trustworthy information as to
the number of copies the various editions contained; and if he were
tenacious as to the collection of the royalties to which he was
entitled, he would be able in many cases to enforce his claims only
through innumerable lawsuits, and he would find the expenses of the
collection exceed the receipts.

The benefit to the public would be no more apparent. Any gain in the
cheapness of the editions produced would be more