734 UNITED STATES HISTORY 



The Evangelical Association and the United Evangelical Church have 184,866 members, 

 the Friends (4 bodies) 124,216, the German Evangelical Synod 258,911, the United Brethren 

 in Christ (2 bodies) 320,960, the Reformed (4 bodies) 459,106. 



The Protestant Episcopal Church, which, as a new feature for large city dioceses, has 

 suffragan bishops, grows steadily. At the end of 1912 it had 970,451 communicants. 



The Presbyterian bodies show a steady growth in numbers and in finances. The North- 

 ern Church has 1,368,150 communicants, the Southern 292,845, the United 139,617, and the 

 Cumberland 120,000. The twelve bodies returned in 1912, 1,982,000 communicants. 



Jewish immigration adds about 70,000 to 75,000 annually to the Jewish population in the 

 United States, now about 2,000,000. Great activity in the organisation of societies and in 

 the prosecution of various lines of work characterises the denomination. 



The Lutheran Communion has an encouraging annual growth. Independently of the 

 kindred Swedish Evangelical bodies (68,500) it has an aggregate of 2,353,702 communicants. 

 It is developing steadily its missionary and other interests. Of the general bodies the 

 Synodical Conference has 807,693 communicants, the General Council 473,295, the General 

 Synod 309,702, and the United Synod, South, 50,669. 



The grand total for all denominations in the United States, chiefly on the basis of the 

 returns for 1912, rises above 36,675,000 members, including Christians, non-Christians and 

 Jews. (HENRY K. CARROLL.) 



POLITICAL HISTORY 1909-12. 



During the administration of President Taft, which began in the spring of 1909, 

 the tariff assumed a place of first importance in the work of Congress and in public 



discussion. Called into special session for the purpose of revising the 



tariff, Congress passed in August the Payne-Aldrich act. It was by no 

 Tariff 1909' means a radical measure. There were some reductions in duties, as in 



the case of iron and steel, wood pulp and printing paper, and manufactures 

 of leather; hides were placed on the free list. But there were also increases, notably in 

 the finer grades of cotton and silk goods; and the woollen and sugar schedules, which 

 bad been the subjects of general criticism, remained virtually unchanged. Aside from 

 such readjustments of the duties, the act had several notable features. It provided 

 for free trade between the United States and the Philippines (q.v.), with the exception 

 that certain imports from the islands were to be limited in quantity; it erected a customs 

 court of appeals to review the findings of the Board of General Appraisers; it established 

 a minimum and maximum system under which the President was empowered to impose 

 an additional 25% ad valorem upon imports from countries which should discriminate 

 against American imports; and it levied an excise tax of one per cent upon the net 

 income of corporations. The constitutionality of this tax was upheld by the Supreme 

 Court in 1911. Its imposition marks an advance in Federal control of corporations, 

 entailing as it does supervision over annual accounts and business transactions. Con- 

 gress also initiated an amendment to the Constitution which would permit the govern- 

 ment to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states according to 

 population. Thirty-seven states had ratified the amendment 1 up to February 1913. 

 It was officially proclaimed on February 25th. 



The tariff act also empowered the President to " employ such persons as may be 

 required " in securing the information necessary to the execution of the maximum and 



minimum provisions. Under this vague authority he appointed a tariff 

 Boar</? r board for the purpose, among other things, of investigating the difference 



in the cost of production in the United States and abroad, since the Re- 

 publican platform of 1908 had promised tariff revision on the basis of equalising this 

 cost (see E. B. xxvii, 735a). He urged Congress to make the board permanent and to 

 adopt the policy of revising the tariff schedule by schedule in accordance with the find- 

 ings of the board. He did manage to secure annual appropriations for the board until 

 1912; but though the board made exhaustive reports upon the paper, wool, and 

 cotton schedules, Congress gave little heed to them in framing its tariff measures. 



1 The amendment becomes Article XVI of the Amendments to the Constitution and 

 reads: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever 

 source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to 

 any census or enumeration. 



