66 SEVENTEENTH REPORT. 



thought the eight hour da}- was for work sharing without connect- 

 ing work-sharing or the eight hour day with their relatively fixed 

 demand tlieory, which stands out so prominently in the evidence of 

 the leaders. Journeymen are disinclined to j)robe into the aims or 

 purposes of rules or theorize about them. One journeyman speak- 

 ing of the source of the rules, said, 'There is no theory about trade 

 unionism or trade unionists. It is all and only realistic. A 

 theorist is never listened to by the unionists." (*165.) Thus the 

 hypothesis that. trade unionists do not comprehend, to a yerj great 

 degree, their rules and much less the underlying principles and 

 theories as given by the leaders is strongly supported. 



Whatever the dominant force in union legislation may be, it is 

 now our purpose to inquire into the extent to which such legislation 

 or rules are enforced. The carpenters' joint agreement contains few 

 obsolete rules. A small number of unenforced rules are likely to be 

 found in every body of rules or laws. It should also be expected 

 that some rules are enforced under one circumstance and not under 

 another. In speaking of the rule compelling union carpenters to 

 work with non-union men of other trades, one leader said, "This 

 rule must be applied with judgment. There is a lot of give and take 

 in it." (*69.) If the rules are the result of conditions as explained 

 by the unionists, it could hardly be supposed that they would be 

 repealed as soon as they become obsolete. There is generally no 

 incentive to repeal a dead-letter law, by a legislative body. Such 

 rules as the investigation of the pay envelope, and the report of the 

 exact location of the job, are admittedly obsolete. (*63-66; *113- 

 114.) In the first instance, the evil of undercutting is accomplished 

 in a much more subtle manner than the rule comprehends, and in 

 the second instance, the information collected was not used. This 

 led the stewards to discontinue sending many facts and perhaps 

 the district council did not encourage their collection because they 

 were unable to handle the material. The information, about the 

 jobs was desired to enable the oflScers of the district council to 

 direct more intelligently those seeking work. Some think the ideas 

 contained in these rules excellent and that they should have been 

 continued. The district council could thus help men get work and 

 at the same time collect data on the building trades and unem- 

 ployment. 



There are some rules that cannot be enforced; for example, rules 

 prohibiting rushing, and imderbidding in some of its more subtle 

 forms. (*13G-141; *59-r)2.) In spite of the careful supervision over 

 rushing, there are rushers on every job in Chicago, according to the 

 best information I could get. The carpenters admit that rushing 



