388 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 
of the United States, and that such foreign country pays no export 
bounty or imposes no export duty or prohibition upon the export of any 
article to the United States, which unduly discriminates against the 
United States or the products thereof, and that such foreign coun- 
try accords to the products of the United States reciprocal and equiv- 
alent treatment, thereupon and thereafter, upon proclamation to 
this effect by the president, all articles from such country shall be ad- 
mitted under the terms of the minimum tariff; that is, without the 
addition of the 25 per cent. ad valorem. The proclamation may 
extend to the whole of any foreign country or may be confined to, or ex- 
clude from its effect, any dependency, colony or other political sub- 
division, having authority to adopt and enforce legislation, or to 
impose restrictions or regulations, or to grant concessions, upon the 
exportation or importation of articles which are, or may be, imported 
into the United States. 
It is further provided that whenever the president shall be satisfied 
that the conditions which led to the issuance of the proclamation no 
longer exist, he shall issue a proclamation to this effect, and ninety days 
thereafter the provisions of the maximum tariff shall be applicable to all 
productions of such country, whether imported directly or otherwise 
into the United States. 
Then the amendment in the senate closed with this important clause: 
To secure information to assist the president in the discharge of his duties 
imposed upon him by this section, and information which shall be useful to 
congress in tariff legislation, and to the officers of the government in the admin- 
istration of the customs laws, the president is hereby authorized to employ such 
persons as may be required to make thorough investigations and examinations 
into the production, commerce and trade of the United States and foreign 
countries and all conditions affecting the same. 
This amendment passed the senate and went with the rest of the 
senate bill to the committee of conference of the senate and house. 
The provision in regard to the maximum and minimum tariff board 
clause was cut down and made to read as follows: 
To secure information to assist the president in the discharge of the duties 
imposed upon him by this section, and the officers of the government in the 
administration of the customs laws, the president is hereby authorized to employ 
such persons as may be required. 
In this form it was finally passed by both houses of congress, signed 
by the president and is now the law. 
What are the powers of this board under this act and what further 
authority, if any, ought to be given to it in order to make its usefulness 
as effective as possible? 
The purposes of the board are twofold: (1) To secure information 
to assist the president in the discharge of the duties imposed upon him 
in the maximum and minimum section. (2) To secure information 
