Commonwealth v. Bay State Milling Co.

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Schaefeb,

May 22, 1933:

Is a milling company which sells flour to bakers in quantities ranging from twenty-five barrels to carload lots of two hundred and forty barrels a wholesaler or a retailer, when it comes to the assessment of mercantile license taxes against it? The answer which springs spontaneously to mind upon hearing the proposition is that it is a wholesaler, because that term undeniably connotes what the company is doing, selling in large quantities, — as a wholesaler. The Commonwealth in effect argues that the universally accepted and understood meaning of the…