Kenyon Co. v. United States

4 Ct. Cust. 344, 1913 WL 19732, 1913 CCPA LEXIS 113
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedMay 31, 1913
DocketNo. 963
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 4 Ct. Cust. 344 (Kenyon Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kenyon Co. v. United States, 4 Ct. Cust. 344, 1913 WL 19732, 1913 CCPA LEXIS 113 (ccpa 1913).

Opinion

De Vries, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

The subject of this appeal is waterproof cloth. The decision of the Board of General Appraisers sustaining the collector, after reciting certain facts, reads:

These protests * * * relate to merchandise classified as waterproof cloth and assessed with duty at the rate of 10 cents per square yard and 20 per cent ad valorem under paragraph 347, tariff act of 1909, providing for “waterproof cloth composed of cotton or other vegetable fiber, whether composed in part of india rubber or otherwise.” It is claimed that the applicable rate is 35 per cent ad valorem under paragraph 463 as manufactures of india rubber.
From the evidence upon which the cases were submitted, including an analysis of samples made under the direction of the board, we find that the merchandise is composed in chief value of india rubber.
The eo nomine provision for waterproof cloth above quoted is more specific than the general provision for manufactures of rubber and controls the classification of these goods. United States v. Zinn (2 Ct. Cust. Appls., 419; T. D. 32171.)

We are of tlie opinion that the case is not determined by the abstract proposition of the relative specificity of the competing provisions of the tariff law, as held by the board. They are, indeed, the applicable ones, but we are of the view that the decisive question is whether or not this importation upon the facts found falls within the language of paragraph 347.

There is some confusion of authorities upon the exact import of that paragraph and kindred tariff provisions, which, however, seems more apparent than real on a close analysis of the language of the statute, which reads:

347. * * * Waterproof cloth, composed of cotton or other vegetable fiber, whether composed in part of india rubber or otherwise, * * *.

Analytically the paragraph is composed of three elemental'parts:

1. “Waterproof cloth.”

Theré is no question that this importation is such.

2. “Composed of cotton or other vegetable fiber.”

[345]*345Judicially construed, the words “composed of,” “made of,” “manufactured of,” “manufactures of,” and “in chief value of,” standing-alone have generally been accorded the same moaning, which is expressed more definitely by the latter expression “in chief value.” To come within those terms it is in all cases held the goods must be composed at least in chief-value of the designated material. Schiff v. United States (99 Fed., 555); Arthur v. Butterfield (125 U. S., 70); In re Wise (93 Fed., 443); United States v. Churchill (106 Fed., 672); Herrman v. Robertson (152 U. S., 521-524).

This principle of decision was express^ approved by this court in Vantine & Co. v. United States (3 Ct. Cust. Appls., 488; T. D. 33124), wherein Judge Barber, speaking for the court, said:

The general rule appears to be well settled that when a tariff statute provides for duty upon an article of specified material, without declaring to what extent it must be composed of that material, it is at least confined to merchandise of which the specified material is that of chief value or is the predominant one therein. Arthur v. Butterfield (125 U. S., 70); In re Wise (93 Fed., 443); Drew v. Grinnell (115 U. S., 477); Schiff v. United States (99 Fed., 555); Robertson v. Edelhoff (91 Fed., 642).

If there is any variation of the dobtrino it is in the direction that “manufactures of” and “composed of” require that the article be substantially entirely of that material. Such seems to have been the decision in Fisk v. Arthur (103 U. S., 431). And in Schiff v. United States, supra, it was held that to constitute “braids * * * composed of straw,” etc., “it is necessary that the predominant and characteristic component shall be one of those specially enumerated.”

“Composed of” and all these kindred expressions relate to, affect, and control the component materials of the article. In order to give them any effect whatever the component material designated must constitute or compose at least the chief value in the article.

Additional light is thrown upon the meaning of this phrase as hero used when contrasted with the third element of the statute.

3. “Whether composed-in part of india rubber or other-wise,” reading obviously, in effect, “whether or not composed in part of india-rubber.”

It will be noted that the last phrase is separated by a comma from what precedes, while the first two phrases are not so or otherwise separated, indicating the first two a compound antecedent, modified as one expression by what follows. The word “composed” is repeated but modified by the words “in part.” Contrasting this with “composed,” preceding, without such limitation, would seem to expressly indicate that the previous use was as to the whole or at least a greater composition than “in part.”

What is meant by “in part” as used in the tariff laws is indicated by its constant and frequent contrast'with the phrases “wholly” and “in chief .value of.” The corollary induction attaches to the phrase the signification of a minor “part” in the composition of the [346]*346articles covered by the paragraph. This modified use assigns to the previous unmodified use of the word composed” in the paragraph the meaning before ascribed. Both phrases thus construed exclude from the paragraph goods in chief value of rubber.

It is urged, however, that under the rule that the words “composed of” must mean the dominant or component material of chief value, this waterproof cloth would be dutiable under paragraph 463 •unless by the words “whether in part of india rubber or otherwise” in paragraph 347 Congress has declared a contrary intent.

This court in United States v. Vandegrift (4 Ct. Cust. Appls., 226; T. D. 33438), recently decided, approving Gartner Sons & Co. v. United States (154 Fed., 957), construed this phrase to mean “whether composed in part of india rubber or not.” So reading paragraph 347, we find it as here related composed of two statutory declarations, first, the goods must be “composed of” cotton, and, second, they may or may not be composed in part of india rubber. If, therefore, we hold the latter phrase, which is expressly declared by Congress not to be a mandatory requirement, is held to control the former mandatory one, we hold that an essential requirement to the application of the paragraph is controlled and negatived by an expressly declared nonessential requirement to its application.

It is also urged that the construction put upon the first essential, that it requires that all goods dutiable under this paragraph be at least in.chief value of cotton, leaves no application for the latter phrase. Admitting this for the purpose nf argument, it is equally true that if we adopt the construction contended for, the converse follows, and we give no affect to the statutory words “composed of cotton.” If either of the two expressions must so yield to the other the nonessential should yield to the mandatory requirement to the .application of the statute.

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Bluebook (online)
4 Ct. Cust. 344, 1913 WL 19732, 1913 CCPA LEXIS 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kenyon-co-v-united-states-ccpa-1913.