INTERNATIONAL IN AMERICA 353
The Committee, in despair over these conflicting Morrill re- opihions, presented the celebrated Morrill report of P°'*« **73 February 7, 1873, Senator Lot M. Morrill being the chairman, including a tabular comparison of the prices of American and English books. It said that "there was no unanimity of opinion among those in- terested in the measure," and concluded:
" In view of the whole case, your committee are sat- isfied that no form of international copyright can fairly be urged upon Congress upon reasons of general equity, or of constitutional law; that the adoption of any plan for the purpose which has been laid before us would be of very doubtful advantage to American authors as a class, and would be not only an unquestionable and permanent injury to the manufacturing inter- ests concerned in producing books, but a hindrance to the diffusion of knowledge among the people, and to the cause of universal education ; that no plan for the protection of foreign authors has yet been devised which can unite the support of all or nearly all who profess to be favorable to the general object in view; and that, in the opinion of your committee, any pro- ject for an international copyright will be found upon mature deliberation to be inexpedient."
This was decidedly a damper to the cause, and the Banning bill, movement lapsed for some years, a bill submitted to ^874 the House on February 9, 1874, by Henry B. Banning of Ohio, extending to authors the protection given to inventors, on a basis of international reciprocity, at- tracting meanwhile little attention.
The question rested until 1878, when, under date of The Harper November 25, Harper & Brothers addressed a letter proposal and to William M. Evarts, Secretary of State, suggesting '^*"' ^^'* that previous failures were due "to the fact that all such propositions have originated from one side only, and without prior joint consultation and intelligent
