Colonel Harris rose to go, but the Mayor seized his arm and said, "No! you and your friends must stay here and meet a committee of your employees who have an appointment with me at three o'clock. "Already I have said to the same committee, who called at ten o'clock this morning, that I should expect them to influence your employees to keep the peace, to aid in protecting your property, to disperse quietly and remain in their homes. Colonel Harris, please be seated, you and your friends must remain." "Well, Mr. Mayor, since you insist, we will remain, but our company demands the protection of all our property, and the preservation of peace and lives in our midst. You are the city's executive officer. The payment annually by our corporation of thousands in taxes, calls for an equivalent, therefore we ask that you maintain the dignity of the city and her laws." The mayor stepped to the telephone and called Major Strong, the chief of police. "Send at once a captain and twenty-five policemen in patrol wagons to the city hall. Hold fifty more men in readiness." A great throng of people occupied the sidewalks and the windows of adjoining buildings. Thousands of workmen crowded the pavement from curb to curb. The vast crowd below, though impressive was not new to Colonel Harris nor did it alarm him. Four years before, his employees were out on a strike for several months. Then the issue was, "Will the company recognize the demands of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers of America?" The reply of the company was, "No!" The struggle then was severe, but the strike failed. The present issue was, "Will the company pay an increase of wages?" The committee of five of the employees soon entered the mayor's office. They were much surprised to find that Colonel Harris had returned to the city; it was believed that he had actually set sail for Europe. The committee unfortunately was a radical one, and did not represent the average thoughtful and conservative type of workingmen. Evidently the committee had been selected for the purpose of intimidating capital, as their manner did not indicate a conciliatory policy. Mr. Burns, acting as spokesman, said, "Mr. Mayor, it is 3 o'clock, and we are back again promptly, as you requested, and you see that our committee is increased by several thousand workingmen on the street below who have come to demand bread of a soulless corporation. Mayor Duty, what do you advise us to do?" The Mayor was nervous as he replied, "Mr. Burns and members of the committee, I confess that so many thousands of honest and upturned faces of workingmen move my heart. If I were able it would give me pleasure first to ask you all to partake of a good meal, for more satisfactory business is usually accomplished after people are well fed. You ask my advice. Here, gentlemen of the committee, is Colonel Harris, your employer, let him speak to you."