218 



CONGRESS. (INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.) 



" When we have a protective tariff on books, 

 which is an inducement and a compulsion to 

 that extent to have the plant of the publication 

 put up in this country, it is enough, without our 

 singling out books so essential for human ad- 

 vancement and making the protective feature, 

 upon those articles absolutely prohibitory, which 

 we do in the terms of this .bill. It is not wise 

 legislation, it is not just to the people of this 

 country, that we should protect that feature of 

 our commerce by absolute prohibition. 



" Of course we provide for books to be obtained 

 by some means ; but, so far as imports are con- 

 cerned, the publishers in this country can put 

 up the price upon the works of a foreign author 

 to any extent that they may please, if they can 

 accomplish a combination ; and of course the 

 price which they may demand must come out of 

 the buyer of the book before he can get access to 

 it. In scientific matters and in many lines of 

 study which enter into our industries, this is a 

 question of exceeding importance. 



" The gentleman from Illinois alludes to our 

 discrimination against the 'mother- tongue.' 

 We have a very large foreign element in this 

 country, and we know that it is necessary that it 

 should steadily assimilate with the mass of our 

 people. When we make it easy for our foreign- 

 born citizens to get books in' their native lan- 

 guage, we discourage that assimilation which we 

 recognize as necessary for our social and politi- 

 cal welfare. 



" I do not believe in seeking to nationalize a 

 community by banishing a particular tongue 

 from the schools, by forbidding parents from edu- 

 cating their children in any language that they 

 please. I do not believe in those arbitrary meth- 

 ods which obtain in the more despotic govern- 

 ments of Europe. But I believe it is equally 

 wrong to legislate against that nationalization 

 and assimilation of sentiment and of speech as 

 we are doing in this bill. 



" There is another feature of this matter to be 

 considered. When certain general conditions, 

 not here accurately defined, are fulfilled, then 

 the President can put this law into operation by 

 proclamation ; and when those conditions, being 

 very general in their character, are not, in his 

 judgment complied with, he can revoke the 

 operation of the law. It is a new and not a 

 good feature of our policy when we take a step 

 like this, which is virtually legislation by procla- 

 mation. 



" We are reposing practically legislative power 

 in the hands of the Chief Executive of this coun- 

 try. He is to judge of situations. We are not 

 accurately defining them. He is not simply to 

 proclaim a law we pass, but to judge of situations 

 and proclaim the recall, and is empowered to 

 promulgate as well as recall. It is an unwise 

 policy, a policy that I think, if there were noth- 

 ing else in the bill that I objected to, would in- 

 duce me to vote against it, coupled as it is with 

 other impolitic provisions." 



The conference report was adopted by the fol- 

 lowing vote : 



YEAS Adams, Allen of Michigan, Atkinson of 

 West Virginia, Banfts, Bartine, Belden, Bliss, Boatner. 

 Boutelle, Bowden, NBrosius, Browne of Virginia 

 Brunner, Burrows, Burton, Butterworth, Bynum, 

 Caldwell, Carter, Caruth, Caswell, Cheadle, Clark of 



Wyoming, Cogswell, Coleman, Comstock, Covert, 

 Craig, Culbertson of Pennsylvania, Cummings, Dal- 

 zell, De Lano, Dinglev, Dunnell, Dunphy, Evans, 

 Farquhar, Featherston, Fitch, Flower, Funst'on, Geary' 

 Geissenhainer, Gibson, Greenhalge, Grout, HalL 

 Hansbrough, Harmer,Hermann, Ker'r of Pennsylvania, 

 Ketcham. Kinsey,Knapp, La Follette,Laidlaw, Lans- 

 ing, Lawler, Lee, Lehlbach, Lodge, Maish, McComas, 

 McCormick, McDuffie, McKcnna, McKinley, Miles 

 Miller, Moffitt, Moore of New Hampshire, Morey, 

 Morrow, Mudd, Niedringhaus, O'Donnell, O'Neil of 

 Massachusetts, O'Neill of Pennsylvania, Parrett, 

 Payne, Penington, Pindar, Price, Quinn, Raines, 

 Randall, Reilly, Reyburn, Rife, Rowell, Russell, Saw- 

 yer, Scull, Sherman, Shively, Simonds, Smith of 

 West Virginia, Smyser, Snider, Spiuola, Spooner, 

 Stewart of Vermont, Stockbridge, Stone of Pennsyl- 

 vania, Stump, Sweet, Tarsney, Taylor of TenncssVr 

 Thompson, Tillman, Townsend of Colorado, Tucker 

 Turner of New York, Vandever, Vaux, Waddill, 

 Wade, Walker, Wallace of New York, Wickham 

 Willcox, Williams of Ohio, Wilson of Washington, 

 Wilson of West Virginia, Wright, Yardley, Yodcr 

 127. 



_ NAYS Abbott. Alderson, Atkinson of Pennsylva- 

 nia, Bankhead, Barnes, Barwicr, Bergen, Blancnard. 

 Breckenridge of Arkansas, Brickner, Brookshire, 

 J. B. Brown, Buchanan of Virginia, Buckalew, Bunn, 

 Catchings, Clements, Cooper of Indiana, CVi\\!rs, 

 Crain, Crisp, Dibble, Dickerson, Dockery, Dolliver, 

 Edmunds, Ellis, Forney, Fowler, Gest, Grimes, 

 Grosvenor, Hatch, Haugen, Havnes, Heard, Herbert, 

 Holman, Hooker, Kennedy, K*err of Iowa, Lacey, 

 Lane. Lester of Virginia, Lewis, Lind, Mansur, Mar- 

 tin of Indiana, Martin of Texas, JVIcClammy, Mc- 

 Creary, McMillin, McRae, Montgomery, O'Ferrall, 

 O'Neall of Indiana, Owens of Ohio, Paynter, Peel, 

 Perkins, Ray, Rogers, Scney, Skinner, Smith of Illi- 

 nois, Springer, Stephenson, Stockdalc, Stone of Mis- 

 souri, Swcney, J. I). Taylor, Thomas, Washington, 

 Whitclaw, Williams of Illinois, Wilson of Kentucky, 

 Wilson of Missouri 77. 



NOT VOTING Allen of Mississippi, Anderson of 

 Kansas, Anderson of Mississippi, Andrew, Arnold, 

 Baker, Bayne, Bcckwith, Belknap, Biggs, Bingham, 

 Bland, Blount, Boothman, Brcckinridtfe of Kentucky, 

 Brewer, Brower, T. M. Browne, Buchanan of New 

 Jersey, Bullock, Campbell, Candler of Georgia, 

 Candler of Massachusetts, Cannon, Carlton, Cheat- 

 ham, Chipman, Clancy, Clarke of Alabama, Clark of 

 Wisconsin, Clunie, Cobb, Connell, Cooper of Ohio, 

 Cothran, Culberson of Texas, Cutcheon, Darjyan, 

 Darlington, Davidson, Dorsey, Enloe, Ewart, Finley, 

 Fithian, Flick, Flood, Forman, Frank, Gear, Gilford, 

 Goodnight, Hare, W. I. Hayes, E. R. Hays, Hemphill, 

 Henderson of Illinois, Henderson of Iowa, Hender- 

 son of North Carolina, Hill, Hitt, Hopkins, Houk, Kel- 

 ley, Kilgore, Langston, Lanham, Laws, Lester of Geor- 

 gia, Manner, Mason, McAdoo, McClellan, McCord, Mil- 

 liken, Mills, Moore of Texas, Morgan, Morrill, Morse, 

 Mutchler, Norton, Nute, Gates, Osborne, Outhwaite, 

 Owen of Indiana, Payson, Perry, Peters, Pickler, 

 Pierce, Post, Pugsley, Quackenbush, Reed of Iowa, 

 Richardson,Robertson, Rockwell,Rowland, Rusk, San- 

 ford,Sayers, Scranton, Stahlnecker, Stewart of Geoixn a, 

 Stewart of Texas, Stivers, Stone of Kentucky, Stru- 

 ble, Taylor of Illinois, E. B. Taylor, Townsend of 

 Pennsylvania, Tracey, Turner of Georgia, Turner of 

 Kansas, Van Schaick, Wallace of Massachusetts, 

 Wheeler of Alabama, Wheeler of Michigan, Whiting, 

 Whitthorne, Wike, Wiley, Wilkinson 125. 



In the Senate, March 3, Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, 

 said : 



" Now, the question is whether the Senate of 

 the United States are willing to enter upon 

 this new field of legislation, to abandon a 

 practice, whether good or bad, which has existed 

 for over a hundred years, by which anybody can 

 print any book published in a foreign country 



