The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-16
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

At the Pershing banquet before the doors opened. was sitting at table near the side door which leads to the outer hall, talking to charming g matron who was awaiting her husband who was busy arranging for the dinner. under Capt. John Yeatman and his staff, one of whom was Henry Dean. He came over to where we were sit- ] ting and laughingly said, 'I was tempt ed to take an olive. but on counting them. I found that there were just 25 on the table and that if I ate one. someone would have te go without his relish"
 had read that one of the requisites of a steward in a modern hostelry was his ability to figure on just how many cups of coffee could be made from a pound of the berries. just how many patters of butter thinly cut could be shaved out of a pound of oleomarga- rine, just how many dabs of ice cream could be squeezed out of a gallon of cream, and so on down the list. I read the special article with some what of doubt in my mind, for it seemed to me to be about on a par with the 1 dope" given out in magazine sport stories anent inside baseball" and not expected to be taken seriously,
 
 l But one's mind functions most curl onsly and no one can tell what will ig- mite even his own brain, and therefore. it's silly to try and fathom the acts of even one's best friends. But it Is pass | ing strange that the day after Henry l counted the olives I arrived at The I Age-Herald office in the afternoon, ! tired out with no gleam whatever to follow in the matter of digging out a story. It seemed that I was stuck. | sat on the edge of desk we'll to- wards the front rail and talked with whoever came in range and showed | the slightest wish to engage in des- ultory conversation in the hope that some chance remark might give me a lead. I recall talking with one of the men who had seen overseas service about the American Legion, but it was without avail I remember going over | the incidents of General Pershings visit with another member of the staff. A long-distance call came from Mont | gomery and I thought of it, and high water, but so far as it's helping me with start. my mind was still as dry as desert.
 | I got up to go back to my own lit- of the managing editor, I saw a CODY of The Times, and the fool saying I | used to hear when 1t first came in style l to wear pants with a collar around the bottom of the legs, "Oh, he has his l trousers turned up because 1t is rain- ing in London" fitted through my memory. It was an inspiration, for I took up the paper and tore off the wrapper and soon was deep in what was going on in old London town. !
 | But you say, What has all this got to do with Henry Deans remark about olives?' We'll I'll now connect 1t up. Every lawyer knows that judge will allow him a certain latitude in exam ming witness with the promise that he will later connect the evidence and l if he fails, the whole thing is thrown out. My eyes lit on a case in the kings bench division, charges of prof iteering in a restaurant. But the | strange part of it was the fact that 1t was case of Rex vs. Birmingham profiteering committee.
 l It looked like it was hitting mighty near home. and so began to wade in and was paid for my trouble, for it l proved to be a. mighty interesting trial. I'll not attempt to set out here the intricate or legal facts raised and passed upon. but say that itwas a suit brought on complaints made by two estimable English gentlemen in respect to 1S chocolate biscuit and two cups | of coffee and six of..~ such biscuits served to them by Birmingham nov ing picture company.
 1
 1 Talk about lawsuits over boundary lines. trespassing chickens and other small but irritating matters, but why hire lawyers and put the kings bench 1 to the trouble of discovering whether 1 there was an overcharge of a small 1 amount on biscuits and coffee served in rooms adjacent to the movies? The | answer is simple; the Britishers were doing what we are advised to do if we consider that we are being over charged and that some one is profi- | teering. but few of us have the time, | the means or the patience to go into court for remedy and so we pay and pocket our complaints.
 
 One of these gentlemen went into l the Wedgewood Lounge and the oth- | CT into the Oak Room, both being part of the defendant company's property. I MT. Harrison asked for two cups of coffee and six chocolate biscuits for which he was charged three and one l half pence for each cup of coffee ct has rig to ten cents in Birmingham and will stay there unless some Bir- minghamer in the new world gets the courage of the Birminghamers in the old world and rushes into court to get a refund or return to the long es- tablished price). The biscuits were not served on the side, but appeared on the check at three pence a piece. Mir. Rowles, the other complainant, got 13 I biscuits.
 Now, there are some people who smile that there is jinx about the number IS. but it crops up so frefuent1y as a l sign of trouble that some folks, in spite of living in the twentiefh cantrv will