lace (in a monetary regime) unless the monetary price is
lower in the exporting than it is in the importing country. This
virtually means that the product cannot be profitably exported unless
the monetary costs of production ("together with a fair profit") of
the article exported are for each party less than those of the other
party in the other country.[9] The so-called "true principle" would
lead thus to absolute prohibition of every article to which it was
applied.

Sec. 12. #The Payne-Aldrich tariff, 1909-1913#. In the campaign of 1908
the Republicans admitted that the protective tariff needed to be
revised, but they declared that it should be revised by its friends.
It was doubtless the general understanding that "revision" in this
promise meant revision downward, tho this was left somewhat unclear in
a campaign wherein the tariff played a somewhat minor part. The tariff
act of 1909 (the Payne-Aldrich act) was the attempt of the successful
party to redeem its promise in this regard. Many changes of rates were
made, both downwards and upwards. It was estimated that rates were
reduced in 584 instances, affecting 20 per cent of imports. These
changes included placing hides upon the free list (before taxed 15 per
cent), and cutting down the rate on leather, shoes, coal, lumber,
iron ore, pig iron, and steel-rails. But on the other hand rates
were increased in 300 instances (including many items in the cotton
schedule). The general belief that little reduction was effected, on
the whole, was confirmed by the experience under the act. As compared
with the last two years (1908-1909) of the Dingley tariff the first
two years of the Payne-Aldrich tariff showed a decline of 1.5 per
cent, and on free and dutiable a decline of less than 3 per cent.
These reductions in the statistical results are no greater than
occurred within like periods while the Dingley act continued in
operation without change.[10]

No other tariff since "the act of abominations" in 1828 has called
forth such widespread criticism as this one, and the tariff became
a leading issue in the campaign of 1912. After 1910, the House being
Democratic, many bills to reduce duties were presented, and some were
passed by both houses, but all were vetoed by President Taft mainly
on the ground that it would be best to await the report of the tariff
board which had been authorized and appointed for the purpose of
ascertaining the cost of production referred to in the