62 SEVENTEENTH REPORT. 



may perfonn in a unit of time. The carpenters have no rules thus 

 limiting the output, but the custom of ostracizing men who hang 

 more than twenty doors in a day, or lay more than the customary 

 amount of flooring, or put on more than the customary amount of 

 "trim" in a day, limits the output more effectively than any number 

 of rules could. The limitation of output is closely allied with the 

 carpenters' policy of work sharing, which is the last of their four 

 policies brought out in this investigation. 



The eight hour day, holidays and prohibition of rushers limit the 

 output and to the journeymen this is a defense for these rules as 

 several journeymen said "another reason for the eight hour day 

 and half holidays is to share work with others."' i*^-) That is, 

 they meant that the effect of the eight hour day and the half holiday 

 was to limit the daily output of the men, which limitation of out- 

 put gave others more to do. Another explained the rule discourag- 

 ing overtime employment as a means of ''dividing up work." (*35.) 

 The desire for approbation has its influence Avith the carpenters as 

 with the rest of humanity. The men like to be popular with their 

 fellows if for no other reason than for the oflSces which await the 

 leaders. There is nothing that would bring greater disapproval or 

 disapprobation than rushing or scabbing. This force is sufficient 

 to limit the output because the men will not undertake to compete 

 with the idea of outdoing their fellows. To the extent that the 

 journeymen are so guided, the output is limited and work is shared. 



Chapter V. 



An attempt will be made to give in this- chapter such evidence 

 as the investigation offers upon the extent to which the rules are 

 the outgrowth of conditions of the trade; the extent to which they 

 are the expression of the men and of the leaders ; the extent to 

 which they are forced upon the union ; the extent to which they are 

 enforced ; and the extent to which the rank and file understand the 

 rules, and upon the spirit of the men; and the claimed advantages 

 of the union. 



Some of the rules are the outgrowth of trade conditions. The 

 eight hour day falls in this category. The place of employment in 

 carpentering, unlike most other trades, is distributed over the en- 

 tire city. For this reason men can not live close to tlieir work. 

 At one time a journeyman may be working on a building opposite 

 his own home, but when that job is completed he may be obliged to 

 go many miles from home to the next job. The minute subdivisions 

 of the jobs within the craft hasten changes of jobs and necessitates 

 more travel over long distances. The work Avithin tlie trade is 



