134 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VII., No. 158 



religious observances. The far larger number of 

 institutions, however, occupy a position inter- 

 mediate between this positive, thorough-going 

 denominationalism and unsectarianism ; and the 

 objection brought against such is that their posi- 

 tion is doubtful and uncertain, and their ambi- 

 guity a positive evil. The advantage of the un- 

 sectarian school, such as Harvard, is that its 

 position is unmistakable, and a voluntary activity 

 in religious matters is stimulated, while no attack 

 is made on the student's faith. The officers and 

 teachers are appointed without reference to de- 

 nomination, and students are free to go to church 

 or not. It has the disadvantage of not possessing 

 the entire support of any denomination, and hence 

 suffers a loss of power. It appears to be in- 

 different to religion, though in reality it is not. 

 On the other hand, Dr. McCosh argued that 

 morality could not be taught effectively in an 

 institution without the aid of religion ; that when 

 religion is not honored in a college, agnosticism 

 will prevail among the students ; that religion 

 gives higher aims and nobler ambitions, while its 

 absence destroys zeal and activity. He also held 

 that the period of college life was that in which 

 moral and religious guidance was most needed. 

 He knew that it was possible to retain a lively 

 interest in religion without sacrifice of tolerance 

 and religious freedom. 



THE EXTENSION OF COPYRIGHT. 



The eighth clause of the eighth section of the 

 constitution of the United States grants to con- 

 gress the power "to promote the progress of 

 science and useful arts, by securing for limited 

 times to authors and inventors the exclusive 

 right to their respective writings and discoveries." 

 The effort now making to revise the cop.yright 

 law looks to an enlargement of the operation of 

 this clause. Heretofore, by ' authors ' the law has 

 meant only ' citizens of the United States, or 

 residents therein.' It is now proposed in effect to 

 strike out this limitation, and give ' exclusive 

 right ' ' for limited times' to all authors who may 

 comply with the conditions of the statute per- 

 taining to copyright. 



At a recent hearing before the senate committee 

 on patents, I offered what seemed to me the sim- 

 plest, most direct, and most reasonable practical 

 solution of the problems involved in international 

 copyright, and ;i careful consideration of all the 

 plans proposed has only confirmed my confidence 

 in the method which I outlined. This method sup- 

 poses the present law, now applicable to citizens 



of the United States only, to be extended to any 

 alien who will accept the conditions under which 

 an American author lives. The American author 

 must enter the title of his book in the office of 

 the librarian of congress ; he must publish his 

 book in this country, recording upon every copy 

 the fact that he has taken out copyright : and 

 within ten days of publication he must deposit 

 two copies of his book in the library of congress. 

 Then only is his title in his literary property com- 

 plete. 



I would ask nothing more and nothing less of 

 the foreigner. I would require him to record 

 his title, to publish his book here, and to deposit 

 his two copies in the library of congress within ten 

 days of publication,, and then I would give him 

 all the protection which the law gives to the 

 American author. No one should be allowed to 

 print his book except his own agent, and no 

 copies from other countries should be allowed to 

 come in to interfere with the edition copyrighted 

 and published here. 



Probably none of the advocates of international 

 copyright would seriously object to this method 

 as regards the entry of the title and the deposit of 

 the two copies. There are some, however, who 

 claim that the foreigner shall not have im- 

 posed upon him the condition which rests upon 

 the native author, of publication in this country. 

 Why not? It is said that we have been unjust 

 to the foreign author, and that now this injustice 

 is working the greater injury to the American 

 author. It is to repair the wrong that we now 

 propose an amendment of the statute. The only 

 rational reparation is one which will put the two 

 authors on an equality. We ask that the English 

 author shall accept the conditions of the American 

 author in America. We are perfectly willing to 

 concede that the American author shall submit to 

 the conditions of the English author in England. 



This solution of the copyright problem is not 

 more based upon theoretical fitness than it is upon 

 practical experience. In the absence of any in- 

 ternational legal arrangement, there has grown 

 up of late years, between England and America, 

 an international business arrangement. An 

 American author to-day may secure protection 

 for his book in England by publishing there 

 twenty-four hours earlier than he publishes in 

 tli is country. An English author may secure a 

 quasi protection for his book on this side by pub- 

 lishing here at the same time as he publishes in 

 his own country. The distinction in the two 

 cases must be noticed. By English custom, forti- 

 fied, I think, by a decision of a minor court, an 

 American author's book which has appeared in 

 England a day earlier than in the author's coun- 



