A temporary depression in the iron trade makes it necessary for him to give notice of a reduction of ten per cent in the wages of his employees. The latter are dissatisfied, and, after calling a meeting of their union, demand from him an inspection of the books of concern by a committee on their behalf, so that they may have the assurance that the reduction is necessary. As the disclosure would injure the business, the manager refuses to comply with this demand, and the workmen go out on strike. Thereupon the manager, in order to fill his contracts, employs laborers from a distance, and hires a band of fifty guards from a detective agency to protect them and his works. A dreadful riot ensues, with bloodshed and loss of life, and the works are closed. After a time the manager proposes a new arrangement with his former workmen, whereby, under the system of profit-sharing, they shall receive a share of the profits in addition to their wages. The plan works admirably. In a comparatively brief period the workmen become well-to-do and contented, many owning their own homes, and Beldendale becomes the model of a prosperous and happy manufacturing town. The story has evidently been suggested by the terrible strikes and riots in the coke fields of Pennsylvania, and the later ones at Homestead and Buffalo, and the author's object is to show the uselessness and the evil results of strikes, and to propose "a better way for the solution of the perennial conflict between capital and labor." His admirable story does this most effectively. It is written in that unassuming, straightforward style which is so impressive when dealing with "the short and simple annals of the poor," and it should be read and pondered over and taken to heart by every capitalist and employer of labor in the country, on the one hand, and by every workingman, on the other. Cloth, 75 Cents; Paper, 25 Cents. The Arena Publishing Company, COPLEY SQUARE, BOSTON, MASS. * * * * * * Transcriber's note: Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.