260
DDERAL REPORTER,
vol. 44. Collector. July 31, 1800.)
DAVIS fl. SEEBERGER, (Circuit Court, N. D.
CUSTOMS DUTIES-CLASSIFICATION-MARBLE PAVING TILE.
Small pieces of marble, from three-quarters of an inch to half an inch square, used in making marble mosaic floors, which are worked into figures in the floor, and, after being imbedded in cement, are polished, are dutiable under the tariff act of March 3, 1883, (Heyl, cl. 467b,) as "marble paving tile," there being no specification in the law as to the size of the latter, and not as a "manufacture of marble, " under clause 468, though they are often arranged in patterns, and held 80 by gummed paper, before importation.
At Law. ,shuman Defrees, for plaintiff. W. G. Ewing, U. S. Dist. Atty., for defendant. BLODGETT, J. Plaintiff imported a quantity of small marble cubes or blocks for use in making marble mosaic floors, upon which the collector assessed a duty of 50 per cent. ad valorem, under clause 468 of Heyl's arrangement of the tariff of March 3, 1883, as a manufacture of marble not specially enumerated or provided for. Plaintiff' insisted that the article was dutiable under clause 467b of Heyl, by reason of the assimilating clause in the tariff act, "as a marble paving tile, at one dollar and ten cents per cubic foot," paid the duties imposed by the collector under protest, appealed to the :;ecretary of the treasury, by whom the action of the collector was affirmed, and brought this suit in apt time to recover the excess of duties so paid. The article in question consists of small pieces of marble in a cubical, or nearly cubical, form, which are used to work into figures in the class of floors lately introduced in this country known as "marble mosaic." These pieces or small blocks, from three-quarters of an, inch to half an inch square, made up of different colored marbles, are worked, in the laying, into figures, and, after being imbedded in the cement, are polished by the application of polishing stones and rubbing, so as to bring out the colors and fignres in contrast. It seems quite clear to me that, as imported, these little cubes are not a "manufacture of marble," for, by themselves, they make nothing but a bag of little stones. The words "manufacture of marble," under clause 468, seem to me to mean some article manufactured,-sorne completed, or approximately completed, article,-such as a statue, or a table 'top, or a marble column or pillar, or any other article which is imported complete for use; but the commodity in question has to be laid into the floor, and then laboriously rolled and solidified into the cement bedding, and after that polished by rubbing. It is true the proof shows that a part, and perhaps the larger pat:t, of these small cubes are arranged in patterns before importation, and held there by gummed paper; but this does not make a manufacture of marble, as the bulk of the work is yet to be done upon them after they are laid into the cement. Marble paving tiles, the duty on which is provided for in clause 467 (Heyl) are usually understood to mean the small squares of marble intended to be
MILLER V. SEEBERGER.
261
laid into floors in corridors, halls, etc., of public and private houses; but there is no language used in the which determines the size of a marble paving. tile, or whether it shall be polished before importation, and several of the witnesses who were examined in the case on behalf of defendant say they understand by the term "marble paving tile" small slabs of marble, adapted to be laid into such floors as I have named, . the smaller ones being from one and a half to two and a halfinches square, or in octangles or triangles. There being no specification in the law as to the size of marble paving tile, it seems to me that the article in question assimilates more nearly in its use, as well as in the material of which it is composed, to "marble paving tile" than to any other description used in the law. I am therefore of opinion that the collector erred in assessing these bits of marble as a manufacture of marble, and that they should have been assessed as marble paving tiles, to which they are certainly more analogous than anythiug else described. .
MILLER
v.
SEEBERGER,
Collector.
(Oircudt Court, N. D. nUnoiB. JUly 81, 1890.) CUSTOMS DUTIES-CLASSIFICATION-BROWN GREASE.
The fatty matter known as "de gras, .. or brown grease, obtained from wool in the process of cleansing, and principally used by tanners for stuffing leather, which remains of about the solidity of lard at the Ol'dinary temperature, is not dutiable as an "expressed" or "rendered" oil, under the tariff act of March 8, 1883, cl. 92, (Heyl,) but as grease "not specially enumerated," under clause 437.
At Law. Shuman
<to Defree8, for complainant. W. G. Ewing, U. S. Dist. Atty., for defendant.
BLODGETT, J. Plaintiff imported an article known as "de gras/, or brown grease, upon which the collector assessed a duty at .the rate a! 25 per cent. ad valorem, as "expressed oil" or "rendered oil," under clause 92 of HeyJ's Arrangement of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883. PlaiMiff insisted that the article in question was dutiable under clause 437 of Heyl, which reads: "Grease, all not specially enumerated or provided for in this act, ten per centum ad valorem,"-:-paid the duties under protest, appealed to the secretary of the treasury, by whom the actior). of the collector was affirmed, and now brings this suit in apt time to recover the excess of duties so paid. The proof shows that the commodity in question is the fatty matter which is obtained from wool in the process of cleansing Jar manufacture, it being perhaps well known that all wools contain more or less of this peculiar fatty substance,and of late years it has become the usage, among manufacturers of woolen goods, especially in France, Germany, and Belgium, to save thisfatt)T, or grea:sy' 'lUbstance, and it has gone into use, mainly by tanners, for stuffing