United States v. Davis

54 F. 147, 4 C.C.A. 251, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 1428
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 27, 1893
DocketNo. 160
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 54 F. 147 (United States v. Davis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Davis, 54 F. 147, 4 C.C.A. 251, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 1428 (8th Cir. 1893).

Opinion

SHIRAS, District Judge,

(after stating the facts.) The act of congress approved October 1, 1890, (26 St. at Large, pp. 567-573,) assesses duties on marble under three heads, to wit: Paragraph 123: “Marble of all kinds, in blocks, rough or squared, sixty-five cents per cubic foot.” Paragraph 124: “Veined marble, sawed, dressed, or otherwise, including marble slabs and marble paving tiles, one dollar and ten cents per cubic foot, (but in measurement no slab shall be computed at less than 1 inch in thickness.)” Paragraph 125: “Manufactures of marble, not specially provided for in this act, fifty per cent, ad valorem.”

[149]*149On belialf of the United States it is contended (1) that the importations in question are shown not to come under the specific designation of “marble paving tiles;” (2) that they come under the designation of “manufactures of marble,” and therefore the classification made by the surveyor of customs was correct.

In construing the various provisions of the acts of congress imposing duties upon importations, in cases of doubt the construction most favorable to the importer must be adopted, U. S. v. Isham, 17 Wall. 496; Hartranft v. Wiegmann, 121 U. S. 609, 7 Sup. Ct. Rep. 1240.

When a duty is imposed upon an article by a specific name, snch designation will determine its classification, although there may be in the same act of congress other words of general description which would include the article in question. Homer v. The Collector, 1 Wall. 486; Arthur v. Lahey, 96 U. S. 112; Twine Co. v. Worthington, 141 U. S. 468, 12 Sup. Ct. Rep. 55.

Under these rules of construction, as well as under the express language of the paragraph itself, nothing can be included under the terms of paragraph 125, to wit, “Manufactures of marble, not specially provided for in this act,” which come fairly within any one of the several classifications contained in paragraphs 12.2 and 124. In the latter are found the words “marble paving tiles,” which are clearly intended to create or define a class which includes tiles of marble to be used for paving purposes; and therefore all articles, whether manufactured or not, which come within this particular description by reason of the material of which they are composed and the use for which they are designed, must be so classed, regardless of the minor differences which may serve to distinguish one kind of marble paving tile from another.

In the testimony of some of the witnesses on behalf of the government the meaning of the word “tile” is sought to be restricted to the one kind of tile that is made from burned earth or clay, but such limited use of the word is not admissible in the present case. Derivatively, the word means a covering, and hence is applied to such articles as are used for covering roofs, pavements, walls, and the like. The original meaning of the word refers, therefore, to the use made of the article, and not to the material of which it may he composed. In the Encyclopedia Britannica, under the article “Roofing Tiles,” it is said, ‘In the most important temples of ancient Greece the roof was covered with tiles cf white marble, fitted together in the most perfect way, so as to exclude rain;” and in a note to this article it is further stated that “marble tiles are said to have been first made by Byzes, of Haxos, about 620 B. 0.” In Jules Adeline’s Art Dictionary, a work of recognized merit, it is stated that “Roman temples were sometimes covered with bronze tiles, laid side by side, while the roofs of Chinese temples generally consist of tiles of crane porcelain, painted green or yellow. The term Rile’ is also applied to plaques of marble, stone, or earthenware, sometimes decorated, sometimes with a uniform surface, which are used to cover walls or pavements. As a rule, they are either square or rectangular. Sometimes, however, [150]*150they are triangular, or in shape of a lozenge, hexagon, or octagon. They are then capable of very varied combinations.” Among the definitions of the word “tile” in the Century Dictionary is the following: “Also a slab of stone or marble, used with others like it in a pavement or revetment. In the middle ages such tiles of stone were frequently incised with elaborate designs, the incisions being filled with lead or a colored composition, or occasionally incrusted in mosaic.”

In Rossman v. Hedden, 145 U. S. 561,-568, 12 Sup. Ct. Rep. 925, it is said by the supreme court that “the covering of roofs, floors, and walls with tiles made of many different materials is of very ancient origin, and there is much interesting information in respect of their manufacture and that of pottery to be found in works on those subjects.” It thus appears that the word “tile,” etymologically considered, is not limited to an article of one material only. On the other hand, we well know that by the usages of trade and commerce words may come to have a signification or meaning much less comprehensive than that originally pertaining to them and it is entirely possible that the word “tile,” unaccompanied with qualifying words, might be . limited to articles made of baked earth or clay. Thus in Rossman v. Hedden, supra, it is said: “So far as this case is concerned, we see no reason to question the sufficiency of the ordinary definition of tiles as plates or pieces of baked clay, used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, and for ornamental work of various kinds, as well as for drains,” etc.

In the case just cited the supreme court was called upon to construe the provisions of the tariff act of March 3, 1883, (22 St. at Large, p. 488,) it being therein held that plain glazed and plain enameled tiles were properly classified under the fourth paragraph of Schedule B as earthenware not otherwise specially enumerated, for the reason that it appeared from the evidence that when the act of March 3, 1883, was enacted, in commercial usage paving tiles did not include glazed or enameled ware, but only hard, unglazed tiles, fitted to endure the wear to which a pavement is ordinarily subjected. It was doubtless in view of this limited meaning that had become attached in commercial usage to these words that congress in the act of October 1, 1890, in framing Schedule B, included therein paragraph 94, which reads as follows: “Tiles and brick, other than firebrick, not glazed, ornamented, painted, enameled, vitrified, or decorated, twenty-five per centum ad valorem; ornamented, glazed, painted, enameled, vitrified, or decorated, and all encaustic, forty-five per centum ad valorem.”

Many articles which, under the act of 1883, would have been classed as earthenware, would, under the act of 1890, be classed as tiles; the rate of duty being determined by the question whether they were glazed, enameled, painted, decorated, or not. To guard against the limitation of the word “tile” when applied to an article intended to be used for paving purposes to that kind of tile made from burnt earth or clay, the words “marble paving tile” were inserted in paragraph 124. Tiles intended for paving purposes, made from burnt earth or clay, are covered by the provisions of paragraph [151]*151SI, and tiles intended for paving purposes, made out of marble, are included within the provisions of paragraph 124.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
54 F. 147, 4 C.C.A. 251, 1893 U.S. App. LEXIS 1428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-davis-ca8-1893.