Sonn v. Magone

Citations

• 159 U.S. 417
• 16 S. Ct. 67
• 40 L. Ed. 203
• 1895 U.S. LEXIS 2309

Syllabus

<p>Lentils and white medium beans in a dry state, both mature and ordinarily used for food, though sometimes sold for seed, imported into New York in the years 1887 and 1888, were properly classified by the collector as vegetables under paragraph 286 of Schedule G of the act of March 3, 1883, c. 121, and as such were subject to a duty of ten per cent ad' valorem.</p> <p>Maddock v. Magone, 152 U. S. 368, affirmed to the point that “in construing a tariff act, when it is claimed that the commercial use of a word or phrase in it differs from the ordinary signification of such word or phrase, in order that the former prevail over the latter it must appear that the commercial designation is the result of established usage in commerce and trade, and that at the time of the passage of the act that usage was definite, uniform, and general, and not partial, local, or personal.”</p> <p>Whether the lentils and beans were properly classified by the collector was a matter for the court to decide.</p>