DARRAH, Appraiser to Alexander Beard, September 11, 1879

Mr. Darrah to Mr. Beard.

Sir: Respectfully referring to Department’s letter of 15th ultimo, which requests the views of experts at this port upon the construction of parts of the reciprocity treaty between Hawaii and the United States, which relate to the free introduction at Hawaii of cotton and manufactures of cotton, whether bleached, unbleached, colored, stained, painted, or printed, which are of the manufacture of the United States; also textile manufactures made of combination of wool, cotton, silk, and linen; or of any two of more of them other than when ready-made clothing; the question being whether ready-made clothing wholly of cotton is to be accorded the right of free entry, I have the honor to report: That the argument against their admission is, I think, an unsound one. Certainly the terms bleached or unbleached, stained, painted, or printed, are as commonly applied to the various kinds of clothing made of manufactured cotton as they are applied to goods in the piece. These terms are not merely commercial terms, but are necessarily descriptive of the goods, according to the fact. Skirts may be made of bleached, unbleached, or of colored cottons and would be so designated as a natural description of the articles—so of an infinite number of articles of clothing made of cotton. This certainly is a novel question, but the distinction between the names applying to manufactures of cotton in the piece and ready-made clothing made of the same, is made without any warrant of usage in trade.

I can affirm of my own knowledge that in trade the various articles of ready-made clothing of cotton are always named bleached or unbleached, or colored, as much so and as frequently as the goods in the piece from which they are made.

Very truly, &c.,