The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-04-10
UPSET HOPE
IN RE SAKE
Decision that Treasury
Department has
Rejected.

Sunday Advertiser, the Treasury De-
partment does not submit to the de-
cision of the Z. s. Circuit Court of
Appeals for the New York District,
from which about a half million dol
lars refund of Japanese sake duties
was expected TO come to Honolulu. The
department has found law for rating
the liquor as still wines, as Collector
Stackable here and the New York col
lector ruled.
The story of the controversy has
been told in this paper already more
than once, but the chief points of the
recent decision may desirably here be
restated. Its preamble says: ''This is
an appeal from a decision of the Cir
cult Court for the Southern District of
New York, which reversed the decision
of the Board of General Appraisers
which had affirmed the decision of the
collector in the classification and as
sessment of duty on a certain ferment
ed liquor known as sake imported from
Japan Circuit Judges Wallace, La
come and Coke heard the appeal.
Judge Coke, rendering the opinion
of the appellate court, remarked that
sake was not specifically enumerated
in the tariff act of 1897, and that the
collector assessed it by similitude to
still wines under certain paragraph,
which made the duty 40 cents a gallon
if the liquor contained IA per cent or
less of absolute alcohol, and so cents
if containing more than IA per cent of
absolute alcohol. The importer fled an
alternative protest insisting that the
merchandise should be assessed by
similitude to ''beer'' or ''malt eX-
tract fiuid'' under other paragraphs,
or, if not so dutiable, then as an une-
numerated manufactured article under
another paragraph. The duty on ale,
porter and beer in bottles or jugs is
40 cents a gallon, with no separate
duty on the bottles or jugs, and, 9TH
erwise than in bottles or jugs, 20 cents
a gallon
The court goes into some particulars
and finds sake to be similar to beer
in material and the use to which it is
applied and similar to still wines in
quality and use. Also: FSake re-
sembles beer in it's process of manufac-
ture and in the presence of maltese, in
the extract which is characteristic
of beer, but is never found in still
wines. 1t resembles still wines in the
large percentage of alcohol and it has
many points of similarity to both wine
and BEER
An analysis of sample of the
Importation in question showed it
cOhol, 1874 per cent of solids and
80 per cent being water. In affirm
ing the decision of the Circuit Court,
Judge Coke saws:
''Taking everything into considera-
ton, there are certainly as many points
of resemblance between sake and beer
as between sake and still wines. If
there were no alternative but select
one or the other of these similitudes, it
is probable that the decision would be
in favor OF the appellee under the rule
that resolves a doubtful question of
tariff Interpretation in favor of the
importer. But sake has so many char
acteristics which are not found in
either beer or wine, its ingredients are
so unusual and the process of its man
ufacture so unique that it may fairly
be held that it is nowhere described
except by the general language of Sec
tion o.
This decision threw the merchandise
into the unenumerated class of manu-
features, bearing lower rate of duty
even than beer. Thus half million
dollars, less attorneys fees and costs,
doomed up before the grateful eyes of
Hawaiian importers of the nondescript
Japanese eXhilarant.