If the treaty does provide for publication here, it probably allows some
time therefor, say one, two, or three months. It is, however, well-known
that of very many books the first few weeks' sales constitute so important
a part of the whole that were the publisher here deprived of them, the
book would never be republished. No one could venture to print until the
time had elapsed, and by that time the English publisher would so well
have occupied the ground with the foreign edition that publication here
would be effectually stopped. Even under the present _ad valorem_ system
of duties this is being done to a great extent. One, two, or three hundred
copies of large works are cheaply furnished, and the market is thus just
so far occupied as to forbid the printing of an edition of one or more
thousands--to the material injury of paper-makers, printers, and
book-binders, and without any corresponding benefit to the foreign author.
Under the proposed system this would be done to a great extent.

Admit, however, that the spirit of the law be fully complied with, and let
us see its effects. Mr. Dickens sells his book in England for 21_s_.
($5.00); and he will, of course, desire to have for it here as large a
price as it will bear. Looking at our prices for those books which are
copyright and of which the sale is large, he finds that "Bleak House"
contains four times as much as the "Reveries of a Bachelor," which sells
for $1.25, and he will be most naturally led to suppose that $3 is a
reasonable price. The number of copies of his book that has been supplied
to American readers, through newspapers and magazines, is certainly not
less than 250,000, and the average cost has not been' more than fifty
cents, giving for the whole the sum of

$125,000

To supply the same number at his price would cost.