The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-10
Ruling by the Internal Revenue COM
missioner That Legalizes Action
of the Telegraph Companies.
DUTY OF EXPRESS COMPANIES
BILLS OF LADING AND MANIFESTS
MUST BE STAMPED,
Therefore the Issuer of the Papers,
and Not the Shipper, should Pay
the Tax-PrOprietary Articles.

WASHINGTON, July 9. - The commis-
sioner of internal revenue is receiving hum
dreds of kilograms and letters from mer-
chants, manufacturers and boards of trade
as we'll as from senator's and representa-
tives, asking his construction of the war
revenue law of 1898 on the point as to who
should pay for and affix stamp on tele-
graphic messages and on express receipts
or bills of lading given by express, railroad
and steamboat companies and other COM
mon carriers for goods transported by them
He has made general answer to all such
inquiries to this effect: LAS to the stamp
on Geographic message, the law does not
specify who shall furnish it, 1t simply i'm
poses the tax of L cent on each message
and prescribes in Section IS that no tele-
graph company or its agent or employee
shall transmit to any person any dispatch
or message without an adhesive stamp de-
noting the tax imposed by this act being
affixed to copy thereof or having the same
stamped thereupon, and in default thereof
shall incur a penalty of $10. :" The COM
missioner holds therefore that the sender of
the message should stamp it.
In the case of the stamp required to be
affixed to an express receipt or bill of lading
given by an express or railroad company
fcally states that ut shall be the duty of
every railroad or steamboat company, car
rier, express company or corporation. or
person whose occupation it is to act as
such, to issue to such shipper or consignor
or his agent or person from whom any
goods are accepted for transportation a bill
of lading, manifest or other evidence of re-
cept and forwarding for each shipment re-
ceived for carriage and transportation
whether III bulk or in boxes bales pack
ages, bundles or not so inclOsed or included,
and there shall be duly attached and can
ceied, as in this act provided, to each of
said bills of lading, manifeSts or other
memorandum and to each duplicate thereof
stamp of the value of l cent
1t is held therefore, to be clearly evident
that If an express company or other car
rier accepts goods for transportation it
or receipt duly stamped and the stamp can
celed II such carrier refuses to accept
goods oHered for transportation, except on
condltlon that the ConSignors shall pay the
price or the stamp in addition to the regular
charge for the service performed or pro-
posed to be performed, the internal revenue
laws AFFORD no remedy AS to whether the
laws imposing obligations upon common
carriers, If appealed to, would supply a
remedy, the commissioner holds that the
courts must decide.
The commissioner also has issued a cir
cular regarding the liability of medical
preparations to the stamp tax IT is held
that the following named articles are sub
ject to the tax:
All medicinal proprietary articles all
medicinal patent articles, all medicinal
trademark articles, all medicinal articles
compounded by any formula, published or
unpublished which are put up in a style or
manner similar to that of patent, trade
mark or proprietary medicines in general,
all medicinal articles, though not put up in
a style or manner similar to patent nedi-
cines, etc, if advertised on the packing or
otherwise as remedies or specifics for an
ailment, or as having any special claim to
merit or to any particular advantage in
mode of preparation, quality, use or effect
1t is also held that all imported medicinal
articles and perfumeries and cosmetics are
subject to the stamp tax 2s similar arti-
cles of domestic manufacture in addition
to the import duty the same. No ex-
ception is made for articles sold in original
and unbroken packages in which the bottle
or other Enclosures were packed by the
manufacturer before the importation All
such must be unpacked for the purpose of
stamping the primary package.
The pOStoffice department is flooded with
letters from postmasters and others inquir-
ing when the new internal revenue stamps
may be obtained. First Assistant Postmas-
ter General Heath says that all orders for
these stamps should be sent to the treas
ury department