, a conference committee, under the
direction of which the campaign for copyright was continued until the
passage of the act of March 1891. Of the Authors' Copyright League James
Russell Lowell was the first president, being succeeded by Edmund
Clarence Stedman. The secretary during the active work of the league was
Robert U. Johnson. Under the initiative of the conference committee
copyright leagues were organized in Boston, Chicago, St Louis,
Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Denver, Colorado City and other places. The
Chace Bill was introduced in the House in March 1888. In May 1890 this
bill, with certain modifications, came before the House, and was there
defeated. In March 1891 the same measure, with certain further
modifications, secured a favourable vote in the House during the last
hour of the last day of the session, was passed by the Senate, and was
promptly signed by President Harrison. Thus, after a struggle extending
over fifty-three years, the United States accepted the principle at all
events of international copyright.

Provisions of Act of 1909.

18. The act of 1891 was criticized in several respects: (1) A condition
was that books or works of art must be "manufactured" in America;
consideration not being given to books originally produced in some
language other than English. (2) It required publication in the United
States simultaneously with that in the country of origin. (3) The term
of copyright (28 years, with an extension of 14 years to the author if
alive, or to widow or children) was shorter than that accorded under the
law of any other literature-producing country, excepting Greece. Minor
amending acts were passed in 1893, 1895 and 1897, that of Feb. 19, 1897,
establishing as the copyright department of the library of Congress a
Bureau of Copyrights, the head of which bears the title of Register of
Copyrights. Eventually, after hard work by the American Authors'
Copyright League and the Publishers' Copyright League, and after
sittings extending to a period of three years, a new bill submitted to
Congress by the two Committees on Patents of the House of
Representatives and the Senate was successfully passed. It came into
force on the 1st of July 1909. Its provisions may be briefly summarized
as follows:--

Term of copyright.

Definition of copyright.

"Manufacture" clause.

Exemption of text of foreign book.

Copyright is granted to authors for twenty-eight years from th