Case Name: Asia Co. et al. v. United States
Court: United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1923-05-24
Citations: 11 Ct. Cust. 514
Docket Number: No. 2233
Parties: Asia Co. et al. v. United States
Judges: Before Martin, Presiding Judge, apd Smith, Barber, Bland, and Hatfield, Associate Judges. •' ■ " •
Reporter: Court of Customs Appeals reports
Volume: 11
Pages: 514–515

Head Matter:
Asia Co. et al. v. United States
(No. 2233).
Umezuke — Plums in Sake Dregs — Benishoga—Pickles.
Umezuke, Japanese plums, paekéd with salt and shiso leaves; pluma packed in sake dregs; and benishoga, ginger packed in the umezuke*juice,.wé.re.classified as prepared vegetables or pickles under paragraphs 200 or 201, tariff act of 1913. They are shown to he eaten as pickles. The protest claimed classification aa plums under paragraph 217 or 218; as “ginger root, unground, and not preserved or candied;” and “fruits in brine” under free list, paragraph 488. The decision of the Board of United States General Appraisers overruling the protests is affirmed.
United States Court of Customs Appeals,
May 24, 1923.
Appeal from Board of United States General Appraisers, Abstract 45440.
[Affirmed.]
Frank L. Lawrence (Martin T. Baldwin of counsel)' foff appellants.
William W. Hop-pin, Assistant Attorney General (Oscar Ig'slaedtev and John A. Kemp, special attorneys, of coun'sel), for the United' States.
[Oral argument May 10, 1923, by Mr. Igstaedter.]
Before Martin, Presiding Judge, apd Smith, Barber, Bland, and Hatfield, Associate Judges. •' ■ " •
T. D. 39662.

Opinion:
Smith, Judge,
delivered the opinion of the court:
Merchandise imported at San Francisco, Calif., was classified by the collector as either prepared vegetables or pickles and assessed with duty at the rate of 25 per cent ad valorem either under paragraph 200 or under paragraph 201 of the tariff act of 1913, which paragraph's, in só far-as pertinent,'read as follows': .
Par. 200. Vegetables if pickled, or packed in salt, brine, oil, or prepared in any way •' '25 per centum ad'valorem.
Par. 201. Pickles;' 25 per centum. ' '
The importers protested that some of the merchandise was dutiable, at 1 cent per, pound finder paragraph 235 and that the rest of the importation'was either dutiable under paragraph 217 or 218, or free of duty under paragraph 488 of the free. list. The parts of the paragraphs on which the importers rely are as follows:
Par. 217. Apples plums green or ripe, 10 cents per bushel off 50 pounds; all edible fruits, when dried, desiccated, evaporated, or prepared in any manner, not specially provided for in this section, 1 cent per pound.
Par. 218. plums 1 cent per pound.
Par. 235. Spices, unground; ginger root, uneround and not preserved or candied, 1 cent per pound.
FREE LIST.
That on and after the day following the passage of this act the articles mentioned in the following paragraphs, shall, when imported, ' " * ' be exempt from duty.
Par. 488 (free list). Fruits green, ripe, or diied, and fruits in brine, not specially provided for in this section.
The Board of General Appraisers overruled the protest and the importers appealed.
The merchandise covered by the protests is umezuke, plums in sake dregs, and benishoga. Umezuke is made by packing the ume or Japanese plum, in salt with the leaves of a plant known as shiso. The salt withdraws some of the juice from the ume or plum and thereby produces a liquor colored red by the shiso leaves in which liquor the ume or plums are allowed to remain from 20 to 30 days. The plums are then taken out of the liquor and after being dried in the sun are returned to the juice containing the shiso leaves.
The plums in sake dregs, as the name indicates, are plums which have been packed in the residue resulting from the fermentation of rice into rice wine. See "Sake," Standard Dictionary; Komada & Co. v. United States (215 U. S. 392).
The dregs produced by the fermentation of rice contain, of' course, a percentage of alcohol, but if they are exposed to the air an oxidation ensues, which produces vinegar. See " Vinegar," Standard Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica.
Benishoga is uncooked ginger root which has been immersed in the juice produced by packing the ume or plum with salt and shiso leaves. The testimony shows that all three products are in their use ' ' something like pickles. "
There was evidence tending to show that they are eaten with rice fish, and meat, and that they are used as are pickles on the American table.
On the report of the appraiser, the finding of the collector, and the lecord in the case, we can not say that the board erred in overruling, the protest.
The decision appealed from is therefore affirmed.