ABSTRACT
The fixing of the selling price by a wholesaler or retailer was not normally considered to be unwarranted dictation to the customer, or interference with his freedom. In framing the rules relating to working conditions the craft unions had three broad objects in mind: maintaining traditional rate of exchange of work effort for wages, maintaining control of a certain range of work operations for their members, and sharing this available work reasonably equitably. The unions’ earliest rules, then, fixed minimum rates and standard hours. The branch itself had authority to fix local standard time rates and hours of work. The usual procedure was for the employer to make the rules for his establishment, and for the chapel to advise him if any of these infringed the union rules. An obvious condition of the successful enforcement of any union rule was that the appropriate authority should have information regarding the matters which it wished to control.
