The Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909, which was so irregular and unscientific that President Taft had hesitated to sign it, although he afterward held it to be °the best tariff that the country had ever known,* was also as sailed by President Wilson. Four other bills for tariff reform passed by Democrats and Progressives had been vetoed by President Taft. These now paved the way for the Underwood Tariff Act which became law 3 Oct. 1913, and fixed a high rate on luxuries and a low revenue rate on the necessities of life. The results were unfortunate; duties were so lowered that the customs receipts fell off $26,000,000 in the following year. Further depression was caused by the outbreak of the European War in 1914 which upset all cal culations. On the revival of business in 1915 16, while the Republican party stood firm for a protective tariff, less was heard about a general revision, and more about certain changes of detail. A Tariff Commission was created by the General Revenue Act of 1916, to consist of six members. It is the duty of the Commission to investigate the administra tive, fiscal and industrial effects of the tariff laws. The free-sugar clause of the Under wood Tariff Act was repealed in 1916.
In conjunction with President Taft's tariff policy, an attempt was made in 1911 to crown previous reciprocity arrangements with differ ent countries by a Canadian Reciprocity Agree ment. This was designed to secure admission into the United States of Canadian agricultural products in return for the repeal of Canadian duties, such as wheat and other grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fish, eggs, poultry, cattle, sheep and other live animals, on American cotton-seed, fruit, etc., with re
duced rates on agricultural implements and other manufactured articles. This bill was passed by Congress but rejected by the Cana dians in a special election.
The previous reciprocity agreements re ferred to were: First, one with Canada in 1854, which lasted for 12 years. Its provisions as regards Canada were almost identical with those of 1911, except that manufactured arti cles were not included — only raw materials which both countries produced. It is curious that the objections to it in England and Can ada were almost exactly identical to those heard later, viz.: The fear that the United States was attempting to weaken the bonds between England and Canada with a view to annexation of the latter to her neighbor on the south. In 1875 a reciprocity treaty was made with Hawaii, admitting Hawaiian sugar, duty free, in return for a long list of manu factured articles. This treaty remained in force until the annexation of Hawaii in 1898. Under the terms of the McKinley Bill in 1890 reciprocity treaties were made with Germany, Austria and several South American countries, but these were repealed by the Wilson Bill in 1894. See UNITED STATES - RECIPROCITY;