Knickerbocker Mills Co. v. United States

6 Cust. Ct. 262, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 66
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 28, 1941
DocketC. D. 478
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 6 Cust. Ct. 262 (Knickerbocker Mills Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Knickerbocker Mills Co. v. United States, 6 Cust. Ct. 262, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 66 (cusc 1941).

Opinion

Evans, Judge:

This is an action wherein the plaintiff seeks to recover certain sums of money claimed to have been illegally exacted on an importation of merchandise classed as dried berries at 2}{ cents per pound under paragraph 736 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by the collector of customs at the port of New York. The protest claims that the merchandise is entitled to free entry as a'crude drug under paragraph 1669, or as a crude vegetable substance under paragraph 1722, and by amendment it is claimed to be dutiable as a vegetable substance used for coloring under paragraph 1670 of the said act. Plaintiff's brief states that it relies upon the latter claim. In the absence of proof we overrule the claims asserted under paragraphs 1669 and 1722, -without giving further consideration to them.

The paragraphs of the tariff act involved read as follows: .

., Pab. 736. Berries, edible, in their natural condition or in -brine, 1)4 cents per pound; dried, desiccated, or ev-aporated, 2)4 cents per pound;- * * •*
] Pab. 1670. * * *. all articles of vegetable origin used for dyeing, coloring, staining, or tanning, all the foregoing, whether crude or advanced in value or condition b-y shredding, grinding, chipping, crushing, or any similar process; all the foregoing not containing alcohol and not specially provided for.

At the hearing a witness identified and there was received in evidence a sample of the merchandise. Two witnesses testified for the plaintiff. The testimony may be summarized as follows: Dr. Karl H. Landes stated that he was chief chemist and manager of the crude drug department of the Knickerbocker Mills, plaintiff herein., that it is part-of his duty to examine and analyze all merchandise imported by said concern. According to his testimony he is a doctor of pharmaceutical chemistry (University of Leipzig), and has been for more than 10 years, and is now engaged in the importation and sale of dried berries in the United States. He stated 'that he was engaged in the dried berry business in Hungary prior to his having migrated to the United States. The plaintiff concern imports dried huckleberries from Poland, Russia, and Czechoslovakia. The witness testified that he had visited these countries'and investigated the growing, picking, and preparation of dried huckleberries for shipment to the United States, and stated, ‘“After the huckleberries have been picked they are put on a large tray which is punctured, in other words a per[264]*264forated try, so tbe air should go through. They put it out in the sun and dry by the sun. After the exporter feels that the berries are dry enough, the huckleberries are dry, they put it in bags.” He said that the imported huckleberries do not contain alcohol but there is some extraneous matter, such as stems, dirt, stones, etc., in the packages as imported. He stated that he had sold dried huckleberries as imported by the plaintiff to Fries Bros, and the Salient Chemical Co., both of New York City, that he had counseled with these concerns as to the use which they sought to make and did make of the berries, and that he had seen them used in their respective plants; that such berries had been used solely for the extraction of color therefrom, which extraction is used as coloring matter. He asserted that the plaintiff had sold dried huckleberries to the Mohawk Liquor Co., Hiram Walker & Sons, and Schenley Distillers, Ltd., all of which concerns used the berries for coloring purposes. The witness further testified that he had made tests of the berries and in so doing he first washed them thoroughly, then examined them under a microscope, and then put them in a tray to determine the acid insoluble ash; that on an average he found the imported huckleberries to contain a content of from 5 to 6 per centum acid insoluble ash.

Dr. Joseph Merory, the second witness, testified that he was associated with Fries Bros, of New York City, and was in charge of the production of fruit extracts for that concern, in which work he has been engaged for the past 2 years. He testified that he had degrees in chemical engineering from universities in Vienna. He swore that his firm had bought dried huckleberries like exhibit 1 from the plaintiff herein and that they had been used for coloring purposes. He also said that prior to his engagement with his present employer he had worked with Schenley Distillers for a year as chemist in charge of the production of cordials, and while there he used dried huckleberries for coloring purposes. He stated that he had introduced the production of concentrated fruit extract with H. Barrett of Brooklyn, where he also used dried huckleberries for coloring purposes, and that in the course of his experience he had seen them so used at other places.

The defendant’s witness, Mr. Joseph Raphael, testified that he was employed by the Greenwich Preserve Co. of Brooklyn, which concern is engaged in the manufacture of jams, jellies, and pie filling; that he had been working there for 12 years, and that for 10 out of the 12 years he has been sales manager. During the time so employed he sold the products of his company, including merchandise like exhibit 1, imported from Russia and Poland, and that his concern used such dried berries in making huckleberry pie filling. He described the method of preparation of such filling as follows:

The dried huckleberries are brought into the house, and put into a 100 gallon kettle, a kettle containing about one-quarter huckleberries and three-quarters [265]*265water. They stand overnight. During the night, the leaves and stems come to the top, and the huckleberries become water-logged, and remain at the bottom of the kettle, as a rule. We skim the leaves and stems off, and allow the berries to soak for an additional 24 hours, and the result was that our yield was about 4 to 1, when the berries become water soaked. Then we used them just as we would use frozen or canned, blending them with sugar, water, tapioca, flour, pectin, and cooked them to approximately 212 degrees, and the result was huckleberry pie filling.

He stated that be bad personally sold sucb filler. Four or five other salesmen are employed by bis concern. They sell to big supply bouses and to wholesale manufacturing pie bakers. He said that be bad actually observed the purchasers using the huckleberry pie filler making pies and huckleberry cakes during the period 1928 to 1939 and that he had eaten pastries and pies which were made with dried huckleberry pie filler, such as he had described. He said his concern purchased the dried huckleberries from importers in the city and that such berries came from Russia and Poland. He stated that the leaves and stems float to the top of the water and are thrown away, that the berries are soaked in water for 3, 4, or 5 hours, sometimes 10 hours, and that the huckleberries as used in the pie filler are not used for the purpose of imparting color, but as a substitute for canned or cold-packed huckleberries.

It is claimed by the importer that the weight of the testimony supports plaintiff’s theory that the merchandise is dutiable under paragraph 1670 because, as asserted, the evidence shows that the merchandise is chiefly used for the purpose of extracting color. It is true that the two witnesses called by plaintiff testified to the use made under their observation and by them, and their testimony was to the effect that such was the only use they had seen made of such merchandise.

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Related

United States v. Emery
53 C.C.P.A. 1 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1966)
Knickerbocker Mills Co. v. United States
11 Cust. Ct. 33 (U.S. Customs Court, 1943)

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Bluebook (online)
6 Cust. Ct. 262, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 66, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/knickerbocker-mills-co-v-united-states-cusc-1941.