"There is a note in the front of the volume saying that no public reading may be given without first getting the author's permission. It ought to be made much more difficult to do than that"

This quote by Robert Benchley is a discourse on the absence of protection for authors and their jobs. He is recommending that it should be more difficult to offer public readings of a writer's work without their authorization. This implies that writers need to have much more control over exactly how their jobs are made use of as well as dispersed. Benchley is likely describing the truth that authors usually have little control over how their jobs are made use of and also distributed, which it is also simple for someone to provide a public reading of their work without their authorization. He is suggesting that writers should have more control over just how their works are made use of as well as distributed, which it should be harder to provide public analyses of their work without their permission. This quote highlights the value of shielding writers as well as their works, and the need for stronger copyright laws to make sure that writers are effectively made up for their job.