Stanley Matthews

“ The right construction of the internal revenue acts, upon the point of the allowance of commissions to dealers in proprietary articles, purchasing stamps made from their own dies, and for their own use, is too clear to bring the case within the first alternative. ”

“ So that, while in the sale of adhesive stamps of the former description, in the exercise of his discretion as to the rate, he might lawfully provide that the commissions should be paid only in stamps at their face value, yet, in the sale of stamps to proprietors of friction-matches, he was not authorized to diminish the commission by any such regulation, but was required to allow and pay in money ten per cent calculated on the amount of stamps purchased on all sales exceeding $500 in amount. ”

“ And it would be incumbent on the government, in order to deprive him of his statutory right, not only to show facts, from which an agreement to do so might be inferred, but an actual settlement based upon such an understanding. The allegations in the petition, in our opinion, do not constitute such a bar to the recovery sought, and the demurrer interposed should not, therefore, have been sustained. ”