foreign goods, particularly those of Japan, because of the high cost of labor and materials in the United States, and that these foreign products were then being offered on the American market at prices the domestic industry could not meet. It was pointed out that the prevailing ad valorem duty did not afford sufficient protection to the United States industry, and the commission made a study of conditions and presented its findings to Congress.

Reclassification of Commodities. Changes in industrial technique and the progress of invention make necessary continuous reclassification of commodities subject to tariff. The commission found, for example, that in the glass industry

Although the rates of duty have been changed under all tariff acts, there has been but little change in the classification for upwards of 40 years. Great branches of the industry, such as that of illuminating glassware, have been created and developed during that period, and of these the tariff acts and classification have taken no cognizance. . . . The glass tariff classifications of some foreign countries are much more detailed than those in the tariff law of the United States. A suggested classification approved by the American Association of Flint and Lime Glass Manufacturers contains 55 paragraphs, whereas the tariff act of 1913 has but 29 paragraphs.

Similarly the commission pointed out that surgical instruments, as such, have never been provided for in tariff legislation but had been treated "as manufactures of steel not otherwise provided for," and that the manufacturers desired that a separate classification be made.

Defects in Existing Tariff Laws. In its investigations of the various aspects of the tariff question, the commission has noted that the statutory classification of commodities is not always logical, that duties on finished products are not in proportion to the duties on the raw materials, and that the same articles sometimes appear in different paragraphs, thus causing doubt as to the rate of duty to be applied.

In so far as available funds permit, it attempts to prepare for "an eventual simplification and smoothing of the language of the statute." Thus the studies made on dyes and coal-tar chemicals have made it clear that there are "many loopholes which permit the evasion of the intent of the law, and there are also serious difficulties in the interpretation and administration of the law as it stands." A report was submitted to Congress pointing out in detail the features of the act requiring modification, accompanied by a draft of a bill which embodied these modifications.

Effects of Preferential Transportation Rates. Before the period of war-time governmental operation of the railroads, special rates for transportation were in effect on various imported and exported articles to foster the tonnage arising from foreign trade and to neutralize in some measure the effects of customs duties on similar commodities derived from domestic sources. Upon the resumption of private operation of the railroads these lower rates were reëstablished in various sections of the country. In order to determine the significance of this situation in relation to the tariff the commission is investigating the extent and effect of the practice both here and abroad.

Effects of War Disturbances. It has become a truism that the World War with its blockades, embargoes, and other restrictions on commercial activity, has profoundly changed the industrial and commercial map of the world. The commission is constantly investigating the changes which have occurred and are occurring in industry and trade in order to provide Congress with the necessary information. An illustration of this type of study is to be found in the inquiry made in the summer of 1918 of the import trade in cotton goods. It was found that

The venetian trade presents a typical after-war tariff problem. This fabric was originally finished in the Bradford district of England, and up to 1915 was almost entirely imported. The expanding uses for venetians in this country

during the past few years, however, combined with the inability of the English mills, restricted in output and hampered by wartime difficulties, to supply all needs, stimulated American manufacturers to renewed experimentation and opened a market for their increased production, with the result that during the past year (1917-18) domestic manufacturers were supplying probably half of the American market for venetians. In June, 1918, a large part of the supply, both imported and domestic, was taken over by the War Department, as an emergency measure, for the lining of service coats.

The continued maintenance of the American venetian industry after the war is dependent partly upon the measure of tariff protection accorded this class of goods, and partly upon factors of trade conditions and comparative costs here and abroad which can not be fairly gauged until industry returns to normal.3

Investigations Conducted to Aid the President in Administration. It will be recalled that the Tariff Board of 1909-12 was created originally to aid the President in the administration of the so-called "maximum and minimum" clause of the Revenue Act of 1909, and that the Democratic Congress of 1912 refused to grant an appropriation for the board, primarily because it was not responsible to Congress. In the act creating the Tariff Commission provision was made for joint use by the President and Congress. Heretofore, the commission's contact has been mainly with Congress, primarily because during the War period the tariff problem was of subordinate interest. With the tariff question resuming something of its old prominence, this situation may change. There were, however, two directions in which the President has utilized the commission, first to aid in carrying out certain provisions of the Tariff Act by making censuses of dye-stuffs and, secondly, to perform various war services.

Censuses of Dye-stuffs and Other Coal-Tar Chemicals. The provisions of the Revenue Act of 1916, which led the 3 Tariff Commission, Annual Report, 1918, p. 12.

President to designate the Tariff Commission as the agent for the collection of certain statistical data from the dyestuffs industry have already been described. Three such censuses have been made, but in the third one, made in 1919, in order to avoid duplication of work and to save annoyance to the industry consequent from two government bodies making investigations simultaneously the work was performed in coöperation with the Bureau of the Census which was undertaking a general census of manufactures in that year.

Special War Services. Since the commission was organized only six days before the declaration of war most of its work thus far has been prosecuted under war and reconstruction conditions. Consequently, both the members of the commission and the staff were utilized in various war activities.

The President directed the Chairman of the Commission to serve upon the price fixing committee of the War Industries Board and upon various Food Administration Committees. He also was appointed a director of the Sugar Equalization Board. In February, 1919, the President directed him to serve in Paris as an economic advisor to the American delegation to the peace conference. He also acted as chairman of the international sub-commission which drafted the customs legislation clauses of the peace treaty.

Not only was the personnel utilized but the information made available by the investigation and research of the commission and both published and unpublished data relating to tariff and commercial treaty matters were placed at the disposal of the House Commission in 1918 when it was gathering material for use at the peace conference. The records and data available in the commission's files were used by the War Trade Board, the Shipping Board, and the War Industries Board. In view of these special activities it is apparent that there are many ways in which the President may utilize the commission for administrative purposes, whenever the occasion arises.

Investigations as the Basis in International Tariff Relations. Section 704 of the act creating the commission gives it the power to

investigate the tariff relations between the United States and foreign countries, commercial treaties, preferential provisions, economic alliances, the effect of export bounties and preferential transportation rates, the volume of importations compared with domestic production and consumption, and conditions, causes, and effects relating to competition of foreign industries with those of the United States, including dumping and cost of production.

Investigations have been made of various industries abroad; such as the British wool manufacturing industry, the silk production and manufacture in France, Italy, and Switzerland, and the British metal and chemical industries. An attempt was made to ascertain, as far as possible, differences in costs of production, wages, and prices in those countries as compared with the United States; changes brought about by the World War; general conditions of production and marketing; the nature of probable competition in the American market, etc. Investigations have also been made of the industrial development and tariff policy in Japan. A report has been prepared which describes the position of Japan as an industrial power with regard to labor, fuel and power, raw materials, and transportation; sketches briefly the general industrial and financial structure of the country and the effects of the war upon Japanese industrial development in the principal branches of manufacture; and presents certain comments upon the outlook for the future of Japanese industry, particularly in relation to trade with the United States and the character of the competition that may be expected in the American market.

This report includes detailed study of the cotton and silk manufacturing industries of Japan with a comparison of relative conditions of production and cost in the Japanese