Under par. 313, as construed in connection with pars. 306, 307
of the Tariff Act of July 24, 1897, figured cotton cloth is subject
not only to the specific duties imposed by par. 313, but also to
the
ad valorem duty imposed by pars. 306, 307.
The evident purpose of these paragraphs precludes the
application of the rule that any doubt as to the construction of a
tariff statute should be resolved in favor of the importer.
13 F. 583 reversed.
The facts are stated in the opinion.
Page 203 U. S. 138
MR. JUSTICE HOLMES delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case comes here on a certiorari granted to bring up a
decision of the circuit court of appeals affirming the decision of
the circuit court and reversing that of a Board of United States
General Appraisers. The respondents imported "cotton cloth in which
other than the ordinary warp and filling threads have been
introduced in the process of weaving to form a figure," to quote
the words of paragraph 313 of the Tariff Act of July 24, 1897, c.
11, 30 Stat. 175, 178. The Collector and Board of General
Appraisers decided that this cloth was liable to a duty of two
cents per square yard under that paragraph, and also, the different
items being valued at over eleven, twelve, and twelve and a half
cents per square yard, to the
ad valorem tax imposed by
paragraphs 306 and 307 upon similar plain cloth above those values.
The circuit court of appeals, while admitting its belief that
Congress intended to place an extra duty on figured cloth, felt
bound to decide, upon the language of paragraph 313, that the tax
placed by it upon figured cloth was to be added only to specific
taxes imposed on less valuable cloths by paragraphs 306 and
307.
To explain: by paragraph 306, cotton cloth not bleached, etc.,
exceeding one hundred and not exceeding one hundred fifty threads
to the square inch, etc., and not exceeding four square yards to
the pound, pays one and one-half cents per square yard, with an
increasing rate as the number of yards to the pound increases. But
a proviso substitutes for the foregoing a different set of duties
on all cotton cloth with the same count of threads, not bleached,
etc., if valued above a certain sum; for instance, if over nine
cents per square yard, 30 percentum
ad valorem; if over
eleven, thirty-five, etc. Paragraph 307 is similar in form for
cloths with between one hundred fifty and two hundred threads.
By paragraph 313, figured cloth
"shall pay, in addition to the duty herein provided for other
cotton cloth of the same
Page 203 U. S. 139
description, or condition, weight, and count of threads to the
square inch, one cent per square yard if valued at not more than
seven cents per square yard, and two cents per square yard if
valued at more than seven cents per square yard."
In the judgment appealed from, it is assumed that the cloth in
question, as figured cloth, is liable to this duty, and that, in
deciding what such cloth shall pay, the Collector must start from
this paragraph. This paragraph must decide to what other duty the
one here levied shall be added. If it stopped with the words "other
cotton cloth of the same description, or condition," no doubt the
tax might be added to an
ad valorem tax when that would be
required by paragraph 306 or 307. Those words might be taken to
indicate cloth of similar value in cases within the provisos as
well as goods of similar weight taxed under the first part of
paragraphs 306 and 307. But, as general words, they would include
weight as readily as value, and the mention of weight and count
shows that they are used in a narrower sense -- for instance, to
indicate quality, as bleached or otherwise. Hence, the criteria for
the duty to which that under 313 is to be added all point to a
specific duty alone, and these criteria therefore must determine
for figured cloths the duty to which they are liable under
paragraphs 306 and 307. You must not alter words in the interest of
the imagined intent, and the importers are entitled to the benefit
of even a doubt.
In spite of this reasoning, no one, we take it, has any serious
doubt that paragraph 313 was not intended to affect or cut down
duties already imposed in clear though general terms. The provisos
of the earlier paragraphs are made applicable to "all cotton
cloths" of the sorts described, in so many words. The qualified
reading is due to scruples that hardly would occur except to the
professional mind. As against those scruples, it is to be observed,
in the first place, that the clauses to which we have referred and
their neighbors, to go no further into the general scheme of the
tariff act, consistently raise the amount of the tax on cotton
cloth
Page 203 U. S. 140
as the cloth becomes more expensive, and that it would reverse
the tendency and go counter to the intent expressed everywhere else
if, in this instance, the more valuable goods were withdrawn from
the general tax imposed upon their class. It is said that, in some
cases, the construction contended for even would make the duty on
figured cotton of a high price less than that on cheap cloth.
In the next place, if the language of paragraph 313 is not broad
enough to apply to both classes of duty previously imposed, the
easier contention would seem to be that the additional duty created
by it was put only upon the first class, that of the cheaper goods
taxed by weight, rather than that it cut down what already had been
made clear. Such a notion would be disposed of by the fact that
paragraph 313 applies to all cotton cloth and to all values, higher
as well as lower than seven cents, and by other considerations not
necessary to state. But if anything had to yield, it would be
paragraph 313.
The artificial doubt is raised by assuming that the Collector
must start with the first part of paragraph 313 and find out what
his assessment are to be from that alone. That is a mistake. He has
before him the whole act. He has been told in the earlier
paragraphs in unmistakable language that all cotton cloth with this
number of threads and above a certain value must pay thirty or
thirty-five cents
ad valorem. Then comes this paragraph,
which on its face purports to make an addition to some tax which it
assumes to have been imposed by the earlier ones. It is intended to
hit all cotton cloths and all values, and it is intended to be
added to a tax already imposed. But this would not be the case if
the presence of a figure in the cloth changed the rate established
by the preceding scheme.
The truth is, as pointed out in the argument for the government,
that the element of value is woven through the whole tissue of the
act. The Collector does not know what duty to assess, even under
313, without a valuation. It cannot
Page 203 U. S. 141
be found out what "the duty herein provided" is, or whether it
is specific or
ad valorem, without making a valuation
under the previous paragraphs, just as if 313 did not exist.
Paragraphs 306 and 307 tell the Collector to make it on all cotton
and to assess a duty on all cotton above a certain value after the
valuation is made. Paragraph 313 assumes the duty imposed by 306
and 307 to have been assessed. As against these plain directions,
coupled with the manifest intent of the act, the failure to mention
value along with weight raises no serious doubt in our minds.
Decree reversed.