the other half contains, in the form of an appendix, documents relating to the fixing of wages by conciliation boards, joint agreements, sliding scales, arbitration, etc. Of the lectures, the first is introductory; the last treats of the legal position of trade unions. Four of the remaining six treat of the adjustment of wages in coal mining in England, one of the anthracite problem in the United States, and another of the adjustment of wages in the iron and steel industry in Great Britain and America. The greater part of the text, as of the appendix, therefore, deals with coal mining. No attempt is made to generalize from a single experience or to establish any theory or doctrine on the subject of wages. The book is a good example of the historical method applied to contemporary events. Whether or not the method of fixing wages by means of boards of conciliation or joint agreements is likely to be the method of the future, is left to the reader to predict. The author contents himself with showing how far these methods have been successful in some of the industries in which the determination of wages is unusually difficult on account of technical peculiarities, and in which any machinery for their adjustment must be put to the severest test.

The coal measures of Great Britain are distributed over a number of fields, the principal of which are the Great Northern or Newcastle field, the Yorkshire field, the South Wales field, the Scotch fields, and the field of Lancashire and Cheshire. These fields differ considerably among themselves in their geological formation and in the relations of the employers to the employed. It is all the more remarkable, therefore, that in all of them the tendency has been towards the creation of boards of conciliation, made up in part of employers, in part of employed, in order to fix from time to time the compensation of the men. This is not determined by a per diem rate, but by a tonnage rate, fixed, however, in such a way as to secure certain average earnings to the men and, therefore, differing according to the character of the coal mined. As Professor Ashley says, these rates do not settle the exact rate per ton to be paid to the individual miner; they only "determine what he shall be able to earn, by normal exertion, in a normal day, at the rates actually current in the particular mine and seam" (p. 77). Another tendency notable in the history is the gradual rejection of the sliding scale, under which wages depend upon prices, and the adoption instead of what is sometimes called the living wage. But here again the term must not be misunderstood. The principle of the living wage does not mean that a minimum income is guaranteed to the miner;

it simply means that a minimum rate is fixed. There is no guarantee of steady employment at that rate.

Professor Ashley has gone into the details of the various questions raised at great length and has made very clear points of view which would otherwise seem anomalous or illogical. For instance, the miners as a whole desire the legal restriction of the working day to eight hours. This, however, has thus far been thwarted by the miners of Yorkshire, and they object to it, not because they desire to work long hours, for in point of fact their hours are considerably less than eight, but because they work in two shifts, while the labor of loading up the coal, which is performed by boys, is so timed that the same set of boys serve both shifts of hewers. To limit generally the hours to eight per day, would entirely upset this arrangement and make a new adjustment necessary, and no satisfactory solution of the problem has thus far been suggested. Particularly suggestive is also the discussion of the pros and cons of the sliding scale, and it is interesting to note that, though the miners of England are on the whole opposed to the sliding scale, as are those of the United States, because, among other things, it is so easy for the operators by offering coal at low prices to force down wages, the sliding scale works quite well in the iron trade, where the conditions of sale are different.

The book furnishes abundant evidence of the difficulty of expecting any single method of adjusting wages to apply to all trades and all places. But equally, does it prove the importance of the spirit of conciliation and fair-mindedness, if misunderstandings and stoppages are to be avoided. In the appendix, the constitutions and rules of procedure of a number of boards of conciliation are given which are not easy of access to the general reader, likewise a part of Col. Wright's report to the President, and the report of the Arbitration Committee in the coal strike of 1902-3.

Not the least interesting part of the book is the introduction, with its personal and professional retrospect. Professor Ashley occupies an almost unique position among economists. An Oxford man by training, he has taught in other universities in England, Canada, and the United States, and now returns after a long interval to deliver a course of lectures at his alma mater. He has, therefore, unusual opportunities for taking a broad-minded, non-insular view of British industry and British economics. He is quite frank in saying that the "industrial supremacy-as that term is commonly employed-of Great Britain has passed away, never to return," and

he thinks that Great Britain will in the future occupy "in relation to the United States, and ultimately to Russia also, something like the position which Holland has occupied during the nineteenth century in relation to the great powers of Europe" (p. 3). He also gives us a glimpse of economic study at Oxford in the amusing remark: "When I was a young tutor in Oxford and began to talk about Gustav Schmoller, I suspect some of my friends almost supposed that I had invented him" (p. 6). England has made progress since that time, but there is still a remarkable contrast between the excellent work turned out by individual economists, of which this book is an example, and the meagerness of systematic academic instruction in the subject.

Though the table of contents is fairly full, the conveniences of the book would be enhanced by an alphabetical index, and for the benefit of future editions an obvious misprint should be pointed out on page 121, where the date of the Reading leases is given as 1903 instead of 1892.

H. W. F.

The Fundamental Problem in Monetary Science. By Correa Moylan Walsh. New York: Macmillan, 1903.

This valuable contribution to the vexed question of the standard of value, by the author of "The Measurement of General Exchange Value," will be welcomed by all who have become acquainted with his earlier work. It will also appeal to a wider circle of readers, as, unlike the previous book, it is devoid of mathematical formulae. By "the fundamental problem of monetary science" the author has reference to the problem of making money stable in value. He is concerned, however, not with the practical means by which this result is to be achieved, but with the question: What sort of value is it which should be rendered stable; is it exchange value, esteem value, or cost value? In a stationary state the three would coincide, but in a progressive society they begin to diverge. The verdict of the author is in favor of exchange value. This is to be indicated by the average price-level of commodities, the exact method of measurement of which has already been presented in the author's previous work. The present book is thus the natural sequel to and complement of the former.

In discussing esteem and cost value, the author is not as clear in his explanations as in his presentation of exchange value. In fact, as might be expected of an author who retains the old phrase "esteem value," little reference is made to utility and its special

it simply means that a minimum rate is fixed. There is no guarantee of steady employment at that rate.

Professor Ashley has gone into the details of the various questions raised at great length and has made very clear points of view which would otherwise seem anomalous or illogical. For instance, the miners as a whole desire the legal restriction of the working day to eight hours. This, however, has thus far been thwarted by the miners of Yorkshire, and they object to it, not because they desire to work long hours, for in point of fact their hours are considerably less than eight, but because they work in two shifts, while the labor of loading up the coal, which is performed by boys, is so timed. that the same set of boys serve both shifts of hewers. To limit generally the hours to eight per day, would entirely upset this arrangement and make a new adjustment necessary, and no satisfactory solution of the problem has thus far been suggested. Particularly suggestive is also the discussion of the pros and cons of the sliding scale, and it is interesting to note that, though the miners of England are on the whole opposed to the sliding scale, as are those of the United States, because, among other things, it is so easy for the operators by offering coal at low prices to force down wages, the sliding scale works quite well in the iron trade, where the conditions of sale are different.

The book furnishes abundant evidence of the difficulty of expecting any single method of adjusting wages to apply to all trades and all places. But equally, does it prove the importance of the spirit of conciliation and fair-mindedness, if misunderstandings and stoppages are to be avoided. In the appendix, the constitutions and rules of procedure of a number of boards of conciliation are given which are not easy of access to the general reader, likewise a part of Col. Wright's report to the President, and the report of the Arbitration Committee in the coal strike of 1902-3.

Not the least interesting part of the book is the introduction, with its personal and professional retrospect. Professor Ashley occupies an almost unique position among economists. An Oxford man by training, he has taught in other universities in England, Canada, and the United States, and now returns after a long interval to deliver a course of lectures at his alma mater. He has, therefore, unusual opportunities for taking a broad-minded, non-insular view of British industry and British economics. He is quite frank in saying that the "industrial supremacy-as that term is commonly employed-of Great Britain has passed away, never to return," and

he thinks that Great Britain will in the future occupy "in relation to the United States, and ultimately to Russia also, something like the position which Holland has occupied during the nineteenth century in relation to the great powers of Europe" (p. 3). He also gives us a glimpse of economic study at Oxford in the amusing remark: "When I was a young tutor in Oxford and began to talk about Gustav Schmoller, I suspect some of my friends almost supposed that I had invented him" (p. 6). England has made progress since that time, but there is still a remarkable contrast between the excellent work turned out by individual economists, of which this book is an example, and the meagerness of systematic academic instruction in the subject.

Though the table of contents is fairly full, the conveniences of the book would be enhanced by an alphabetical index, and for the benefit of future editions an obvious misprint should be pointed out on page 121, where the date of the Reading leases is given as 1903 instead of 1892.

H. W. F.

The Fundamental Problem in Monetary Science. By Correa Moylan Walsh. New York: Macmillan, 1903.

This valuable contribution to the vexed question of the standard of value, by the author of "The Measurement of General Exchange Value," will be welcomed by all who have become acquainted with his earlier work. It will also appeal to a wider circle of readers, as, unlike the previous book, it is devoid of mathematical formulae. By "the fundamental problem of monetary science" the author has reference to the problem of making money stable in value. He is concerned, however, not with the practical means by which this result is to be achieved, but with the question: What sort of value is it which should be rendered stable; is it exchange value, esteem value, or cost value? In a stationary state the three would coincide, but in a progressive society they begin to diverge. The verdict of the author is in favor of exchange value. This is to be indicated by the average price-level of commodities, the exact method of measurement of which has already been presented in the author's previous work. The present book is thus the natural sequel to and complement of the former.

In discussing esteem and cost value, the author is not as clear in his explanations as in his presentation of exchange value. In fact, as might be expected of an author who retains the old phrase "esteem value," little reference is made to utility and its special