(20494.) Tonnage tax. Tonnage tax to be levied on vessels from Arroyo, Porto Rico. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, Washington, D. C., January 5, 1899. SIR: This office is in receipt of your letter dated the 31st ultimo, submitting a protest by A. E. Wingfield, master of the brig M. C. Haskell, against your action in assessing tonnage tax on the entry of his vessel at your port from Arroyo, December 13, 1898. Section 11 of the act of June 19, 1886, imposed tonnage tax on vessels arriving from the port mentioned, and this office is not advised of any law or treaty made since which exempts them from the tax. Your decision is affirmed. Respectfully, yours, E. T. CHAMBERLAIN, Commissioner. COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, Wilmington, N. C. (20495.) Drawback bond. Requirement of bond under article 762 of the Customs Regulations of 1892 on entries for drawback. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 5, 1899. SIR: The Department duly received your letter of the 22d ultimo, submitting the question whether bond should be required under article 762 of the Customs Regulations of 1892 in a case where the drawback on final entry exceeds $100, but the drawback on each preliminary entry included in the final entry is less than $100. In reply, you are informed that, if the preliminary entries cover shipments by different vessels, or to different consignees designated in bills of lading, no bond should be required; but that in a case like the one cited by you, where several preliminary entries for drawback, amounting in the aggregate to more than $100, cover goods shipped by the same person, on the same vessel and date, and to the same place, and each of the shipments is consigned "to order," the several shipments must be considered as one exportation for the purpose of determining the amount of drawback contemplated by said article 762, and a bond exacted accordingly. Respectfully, yours, COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, New Orleans, La. W. B. HOWELL, Assistant Secretary. (20496.) Drawback on bags. Drawback on bags shipped with grain.-Bags of manufacturers must be segregated before filing of preliminary entry and notice of intent to export. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 5, 1899. SIR: The Department duly received your letters of the 1st and 23d of November last, relative to the difficulty encountered in the examination of bags on the exportation of which, with grain shipped by various shippers, drawback is claimed by the manufacturers thereof, Messrs. Ames & Harris, of San Francisco, Cal. From a report of Special Agent W. E. Pulliam, who investigated the matter, it appears that the bags upon which drawback is claimed are so mixed with other similar goods, not subject to drawback, at the place of lading, as to require a long time and great effort on the part of the inspecting officers for the segregation and identification of the bags subject to drawback. Under the circumstances, the Department is of opinion that there is no warrant for incurring the great expense involved in providing a special force of inspectors for the performance of said service, and you are hereby authorized to advise the claimants that, unless the bags of their manufacture are properly segregated from others before the filing of the preliminary entry and notice of intent to export, the drawback thereon will be considered as not ascertained in accordance with the regulations prescribed under the provisions of section 30 of the act of July 24, 1897, and their claims therefor will be disallowed. Respectfully, yours, W. B. HOWELL, COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, Port Townsend, Wash. (20497.) Natural flowers. * * 66 Sun-bleached wheat sheaves dutiable by assimilation as natural flowers of all kinds, preserved, suitable for decorative purposes," under paragraph 251, act of 1897, at 25 per cent ad valorem.-Appeal from unpublished decision of Board of General Appraisers. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 9, 1899. SIR: The Department is in receipt of your letter of the 21st ultimo, together with a report of the appraiser at your port, dated the 16th ultimo, calling attention to a recent unpublished decision of the Board of General Appraisers, dated the 12th ultimo, on protests 39661 ƒ-11836 and 40285ƒ-11870 of Knauth, Nachod & Kühne, and C. B. Richard & Co., wherein it is held that certain so-called sun-bleached wheat sheaves imported under the tariff act of July 24, 1897, are entitled to free entry under paragraph 566 of that act, under the enumeration for "textile grasses or fibrous vegetable substances, not dressed or manufactured in any manner." You report that the merchandise in question consisted of natural wheat sheaves, specially manipulated and preserved for decorative purposes by treatment with sulphur or other chemicals, and cut into regular lengths and tied in bunches, and that duty was assessed thereon at the rate of 25 per cent ad valorem under the provision for natural flowers of all kinds, preserved, suitable, for decorative purposes," as appearing in paragraph 251 of the act of July 24, 1897, by virtue of the similitude clause as contained in section 7 of the same act. 66 In reply, I have to inform you that, upon the facts stated, this Department does not concur in the conclusions reached by the Board of General Appraisers, to the effect that the merchandise is a textile grass or fibrous vegetable substance, not dressed or manufactured in any manner, within the meaning of paragraph 566. You are, therefore, hereby directed to file an application for review of the said decision, in accordance with the provisions of section 15 of the act of June 10, 1890. W. B. HOWELL, Respectfully, yours, COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, New York, N. Y. Assistant Secretary. INTERNAL REVENUE. (20498.) Special tax-Ingwer liqueur. Ingwer liqueur, composed of alcoholic liquor and sugar, with a flavoring of ginger, is not a medicine under whatever label it may be sold, but belongs in the general class of liqueurs or cordials, for the manufacture of which for sale the special tax of a rectifier must be paid, and for sale of which the special tax of a liquor dealer. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., January 4, 1899. SIR: Schroeder Brothers, 766 Milwaukee avenue, Chicago, recently sent to this office a package containing 1 bottle of ingwer liqueur, which has been analyzed by the chemist here, who reports, under date of the 27th ultimo, that "it is not of a medicinal character, but a beverage of the general class of liqueurs or cordials containing large amounts of alcohol and sugar," and that "the ginger (ingwer) is simply a flavor, just as the anise is the flavor in the liqueurs called anisette," and "is not present in sufficient quantities to exhibit it as a medicine, and there is nothing about the sample to recommend it as a medicine." You will, therefore, please inform Schroeder Brothers (who have to-day been referred to you) that they can not manufacture this ingwer liqueur for sale without subjecting themselves to special tax as rectifiers, nor sell it without paying special tax as liquor dealers, and that all persons engaged in selling it must be required to pay special tax as liquor dealers under the internal revenue laws of the United States. N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner. Mr. F. E. COYNE, Collector First District, Chicago, Ill. Respectfully, yours, 51 (20499.) Special tax-Exhibition-Skating rinks. Where the admission fee charged for a skating rink is merely to entitle the persons paying it to the privilege of skating, special tax is not required to be paid therefor; but where it entitles them to witness the exhibition of skating, it is a public exhibition or show for money for which special tax is required to be paid.-Special tax is required to be paid for "indoor baseball" exhibitions and "crystal maze" exhibitions to which an entrance fee is charged. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., January 4, 1899. SIR: In reply to your letter of the 28th ultimo, you are hereby advised that "indoor skating rinks" or "ice skating rinks," if the admission fee charged therefor is to entitle persons paying it to the privilege of skating and not to witness an exhibition of skating, are held not to be public exhibitions or shows within the meaning of paragraph 8 of section 2 of the act of June 13, 1898; but an 'indoor baseball" exhibition or a "crystal maze" exhibition to which an entrance fee is charged is such a public exhibition or show, and special tax is required to be paid therefor under that paragraph. Respectfully, yours, Mr. V. FLECKENSTEIN, 66 N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner. Collector Twenty-eighth District, Rochester, N. Y. (20500.) Special tax-Opera house. The proprietor of an opera house in a town whose population is less than 25,000, who himself gives no exhibitions therein, is not required to pay any special tax therefor under section 2 of the war-revenue act. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., January 5, 1899. SIR: In reply to a letter addressed to this office on the 22d ultimo by Mr. R. A. Williams, of Wadesboro, N. C. (who has to-day been referred to you), you will please inform him that a manager of an opera house in a place whose population, he says, "is less than 1,500," and who does not himself give exhibitions in his opera house, but merely rents it to theatrical or concert companies for exhibitions given by them, is not required to pay any special tax under the second section of the act of June 13, 1898. Giving no exhibitions himself, he clearly does not come under the eighth paragraph of that section, and, therefore, is not required to pay the ten-dollar special tax thereunder; and being the manager of an |