Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-11
FILING THEIR PROTESTS.
IMPORTERS APPEAL FROM A
TREASURY DECISION.

Middle About the Construction of an
Act of ConGress-What Constitutes a
Covering on an Import.
For several months importers into this
port have been filing protests with the
collector against the imposition of duties
on boxes and other coverings in which ar
ticles are brought in. Although there is
an act of Congress permitting coverings
to pass in free, it has been practically null
lifted by ruling OF the Treasury Depart
ment. In consequence, almost every i'm
porter has been required to pay duty on
coverings, and in almost every case he
has at once hled a protest. Ordinarily
protests are at once forwarded to Wash
ingtOn. but the department was so deluged
with them that the Secretary issued an
order to collectors to retain the protests
at their offices. A large number of pro-
tests are now in the collectors charge here
while at larger ports the number is vastly
greater.
The act of Congress which it is asserted
has been set at naught by the Treasury
officials is section : Of the tariff bin APP
proved March 3, 1888. Although a see
ton Of the bill, it was decided to be prac-
tically separate, because of the presence
OF the words land hereafter in the first
July /, 1888, but section : became Of force
from the date Of its approval because Of
that provision. The section is as follows:
That sections 1907 and zoos OF
the revised statutes of the
the United States, and section II Of the act
entitled IAN act to amend the customs rev
enue laws and to repeal unities," approved
June 2, 1874, be and the same are hereby re-
pealed, and hereafter none of the charges
imposed by said section or any
S 95afr b PrOvis ai9,toS Of existing law
ing the value of goods to be imported, nor
shall the value Of the usual and necessary
sacks, crates, boxes or covering Of any kind
be estimated as part Of their value in deter
mining the amount of duties for which they
are liable; Pr0Dided, That If any packages.
sacks, crates, boxes or coverings OF aby KIND
shall be of any material or form designed to
otherwise than in the bona fide traDsporta-
ton of goods TO the United States. the same
shall be subject to duty Of 100 per centum
ad yalorem upon the actual value Of the
same.
Notwithstanding this apparently plain
language, which an outsider could readily
comprehend, the Treasury Department
has discovered that Congress didn't mean
what it said at all. What Congress meant,
the officials said, was that the outer cover
ing should go free, but where the cover
ing is held for sale with the goods the
Thus when hosiery, among articles OF
wearing apparel or dry goods, is I'M
ported in paper boxes, and the paper
boxes are packed in a wooden box, the
wooden box pays no duty, but the paper
ones do. In the same way toys imported
in the paper boxes, in which they are put
up at the factory, must pay duty for the
covering as well. Boxes containing
cigars are also taxed at the rate of p per
cent, and it is against the payment of
this tax on cigar boxes that most Of the
protests at this port have been filed. Even
barrels in which cement is brought are
taxed, and protests have also been made
against the payment ofthis duty.
Efforts have been made to have the
question disposed OF, and one appeal was
tried last tall in New York. The Judge,
however, it is stated, took the case out of
the jury's hands and decided that the
coverings in question were dutiable at 50
per cent. This decision did not satisfy
either the importer or the government,
and the case will be tried again in the
spring. Whichever side is beaten an ap-
peal will probably be taken and the ques-
ton not be decided for several years. The
protests in the meanwhile are increasing
at many ports, though at Savannah none
have been filed for several weeks owing
to the fact that they were not recognized
by the department.