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 analytical 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.