The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-23

A controversy threatening almost to
rival the historic dispute as to whether
foreign frogs should be classed as fish,
flesh or good red herring under the
Dingley Tariff act now seethes and
Kisses over that apparently harmless
commodity known as bean cake"
Bean cake is pastry, consisting of beans
which have first been cooked and after
! ward sugared.
The Collector of Customs at Port Town
send, Wash, was startled from his sum-
mer coma by a Japanese invasion of
this delectable dainty. Fearing the
yellow peril, he at once decided that
the stuff was "sweetmeat" under
paragraph 283 of the act of 1897, and
straightway slapped thereon a duty
of one cent pound and IS per cent. ad
valorem.
By this time our vigilant representa-
tive was aroused to proper apprecia-
ton of the gravity of the situation.
Opinions were sought from the authori-
ties at the ports of San Francisco and
New York. Bean cake has since proved
right royal text for these scholarly
academicians to discuss. The Collector
of Customs at the Golden Gate, after
deep culinary research, concludes that
similar merchandise would be returned
by him as confectionery, valued at less
than Is cents pound, and suggests that
the duty thereon be four cents q pound
and IS per cent. ad valorem under para
graph 2l2 of the same act of 1897. The
investigations at the port Of New York
have been even more searching, if posi-
BILE Here the United States Appraiser
declares that if such a problem should
confront him in real life he would classify
the import, under paragraph 24l of the
same act, as a vegetable, prepared and
preserved, and not packed in jars. tins,
bottles or similar packages. A shipper
coming into the clutches of this last
named official might be tempted to hold
that protection is robbery, since 40
per cent. ad valorem duty is levied under
the paragraph in question.
The difficulty is, however, happily
solved by the Hon. ROBERT B. ARM
STRONG, Acting Secretary OF the Treas
ury, in this communication to the be-
wildered Collector at Port Townsend,
dated Sept. 9, 1904. He says:
The Department is OF the opinion that the srtl.
Gle In question having assumed q form different
from that OF the beans OF which II "a In part COM
posed. the same cannot be considered vegetable
IT. d. 2a645 of April 8, 1902 and the same should
not be CLASSIFIED under said paragraph 2I."
at. D." stands for Treasury Decision,
and not for Tremens Delirium. The
learned Acting Secretary continues:
INT. D. 2isa2 of Feb. s. 1904 the Board of United
States General Appraisers held an article invoiccd
as miict seed cake consisting OF small cakes
made from milet seed. seSamum seed. and sugar.
to be dutiabie confectionery under paragraph
2i2 OF the act OF 1897; and In T. d. 23l5 Of June H.
1901, said Board held marzipan or marchpane.'
an article consisting OF a composition OF -four,
sugar, almonds and possibly other substances, to
be duiiable as confectionery under paragraph ?i2,
and not as syee'mea' or commit under paragraph
2es."
Following these decisions, therefore,
the Department holds that bean cake
is confectionery, and the Collector at
Puget Sound is instructed to reliquidate
the entry covering said merchandise
accordingly.
Whether the authorities would classify
a Welsh rabbit as an animal or mineral