Part 54 (1/2)

SIR: At the meeting of the Joint committee held to-day, counsel representing one of the talking machine companies made a statement to the effect that Hon. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress, in the preparation of the copyright bill had called into conference only such interests as he wanted, and with whom he was in league, and intimated that the Librarian has acted in an unfair manner.

When recess was taken and the gentleman was leaving the building, I called him aside and emphatically took exception to the remarks referred to. As one attending but not partic.i.p.ating in the last two conferences held, I think it no more than fair and just and my duty to express to the joint committee the fact that Mr. Putnam's course throughout the conferences was fair, just, and equitable to all interests represented, and that every interest concerned was invited to present its views.

The interests were varied and frequently antagonistic, and Mr.

Putnam was decided in his expressions that every representative should be heard to the fullest and freest extent, and that after the wishes of those interested was ascertained he was confident an equitable bill would be the outcome; that while it might not be satisfactory in every respect to each, yet he felt positive that with the a.s.sistance of the Department of Justice, the Treasury Department, and the cooperation and counsel of the American Bar a.s.sociation, and the Bar a.s.sociation of the City of New York, no interest or line of industry, whether represented or not, would be unjustly or unfairly treated. His att.i.tude in all of the conferences was in the highest degree dignified and impartial.

To my positive knowledge the trade journals, as well as the newspapers, contained full information concerning the copyright conferences and the proposed copyright bill as long ago as February, 1906; yet the gentleman referred to claims that the conferences were star chamber proceedings for the benefit of selected private interests. No interested concern could have failed to become acquainted with the fact that the conferences were being held, and no one seeking admission was denied opportunity to present his views.

This statement is made solely for the reason that the unjust, unfair, and undeserved criticism of Mr. Putnam, known to me to be absolutely true, has stirred my deepest indignation, and I present this protest to the committee and ask that the reflections upon Mr. Putnam be stricken from the record.

Sincerely, yours,

LEO FEIST.

STATEMENT OF FREDERICK W. HEDGELAND, ESQ.

The CHAIRMAN. Whom do you represent?

Mr. HEDGELAND. I represent the Kimball Company.

I wish to state, gentlemen, that three or four days ago I first learned of the introduction of this measure. I have heard what the advocates of this bill have said with reference to there being one side to this question. There are really four sides to this question--the public, the composer, the manufacturers of the automatic musical instruments, and the inventors that have made that industry possible.

The bill as drawn practically gives the monopoly of all this capital that has been invested, the genius that has been displayed and made this field possible to the composer, to the publisher and composer, in its entirety. Now, the brains and effort that have made this market open to the publisher should be recognized in this bill. The bill should not be a retroactive one, to punish the inventor and the capitalist for what they have done in the past to provide a field for the composer.

Mr. CURRIER. It will not be retroactive.

Mr. HEDGELAND. It must be equitable; and as to any rights that are conveyed in that bill to the publisher or the composer, it must put these industries on an equal footing. Otherwise it is creating one of the worst features of trusts that one can conceive of.

In a recent suit it has been claimed that these instruments discourage education in music. Such is not the case. In a recent test case it was proven and never contradicted that learning, both vocal and instrumental, has increased year after year, and that the sale of these staff notation copies has been increased rather than diminished by the automatic musical instruments. Now, those things all being taken into consideration, I think this industry deserves very careful equitable consideration on your part.

I have had no time to prepare the different phases of this matter, and would like, if the committee will give me permission, to file a short brief from the manufacturers' and inventors' standpoint.

The CHAIRMAN. You may have that privilege.

Mr. HEDGELAND. With that, gentlemen, I will not take any more of your time.

_To the joint committee of the Senate and House_:

In obedience to the privilege extended me on my short address June 9 by your honorable committee I now file the following brief:

There are, without question, four vital interests involved in the copyright legislation now before your committee, as applying to mechanical reproductions of musical compositions, as set forth specifically in section 1, paragraph (g), and section 38; this bill, H.R. 19853, also bristles in many sections with conditions that might easily be construed as applying to mechanical industry, and calls for careful a.n.a.lytical legal investigation.

The interests of equity involved are: The inventor; the composer; the manufacturer of automatic instruments and their controllers; the public. I shall take up the equities in the order named.

_The inventor._--Being an inventor, and the majority of my inventions being on automatic musical instruments and devices for making the controllers (which patents largely outnumber any contributed by any other individual to this art), I am well fitted to state the part these devices have taken in the advancement of music. Automatic musical instruments date back six decades or over. The barrel organ, with its cylinder and pins, was used to accompany divine wors.h.i.+p in English churches before pianos adorned the homes of the congregation, and they have been constantly manufactured up to the present time, and are known now as orchestrions. Twenty-three years ago, at the inventions exhibition held in London, England, automatic reed organs (aeolians) were exhibited by the Mechanical Organette Company, of New York, and, mechanically, I had charge of the instruments on exhibition. There were also exhibited piano players of French and German manufacture and the Miranda pianista, an English pneumatic player. Both aeolians and piano players have constantly been manufactured up to the present time, inventive genius constantly laboring for perfection in operation, ease of operation, and reduction of cost to place them in reach of the ma.s.ses. It is a fact beyond dispute that barrel organs are as old as or older than pianos or reed organs.

I have labored twenty-three years in this industry and contributed between thirty and forty patents to the automatic-instrument industry, and have invented and patented machines that would record on controllers for automatic musical instruments the conceptions of pianists and authors, when played on an instrument by them, and I have yet to acquire a competency for my labors. The inventor's labors are always discounted by the following conditions:

First. Capital and machinery to market and manufacture the invention.