Joseph McKenna, Rothschild v. United States — Opinion of the Court
“ The mixing of the tobacco which may accidentally or necessarily attend the manner of picking and packing is provided for, and the indulgence of the statute so clearly expressed and defined should not be extended to exempt any portion of either tobacco from its full duty by assuming or accepting the arbitrary idea that the statute addressed itself to bales of tobacco, and not to the tobacco in the bales. ”
Joseph McKenna, Rothschild v. United States — Opinion of the Court
“ The act which expressed in clear and definite words that the effect of mixing 'any portion' of wrapper tobacco with filler tobacco in an importation was to make 'the entire quantity' dutiable as wrapper, was interpreted to admit at filler duty 15 per cent of wrapper, a fraction less than was necessary to make a working bale, a bale with enough wrapper to use up the filler. ”
Joseph McKenna, Rothschild v. United States — Opinion of the Court
“ And all filler tobacco is dutiable, but not all at the same rate. There is a condition which affects the rate. That condition is to be mixed with wrapper tobacco. The statute deals with each kind of tobacco separately. It does not qualify wrapper; it does qualify filler-mix wrapper with filler to the extent of more than 15 per cent and the wrapper does not become dutiable as filler-but filler becomes dutiable as wrapper-the mixture becomes in legal effect wrapper, and is dutiable at the same rate. ”
