The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-05-15
NOW
TuIeOfBun With
Pebble Filling
STIRS NATION
BY HELEN EssARY

The inertia of q torrid Ma.
morning has been lightened by
letter from William Stanley, no
long ago an assistant attorne!
general with Homer Cummings
Mr.. Stanley is now practicing Law
in q big way. He also retains nj
sense of humor. He says:
"There has been so much In
terest in the decisions Of the
courts recently that / thought
you might be amused at the
opinion Of Harold M. stephens,
Associate Justice Of the United
States Court Of Appeals, IN
that recent damage suit based
on the bite in the bun that
broke the tooth. Justice
Stephens, you remember, was
formerly Assistant Attorney
General.
"The plaintiff, william J:
Cushing, who it appears filed
the suit for damages, ordered at
q drug store, operated by the
defendant, o breakfast coffee
and roll.
According to the facts, as
learned by the court, the roll
was handed by a waiter to the
plaintiff-in the usual manner
HereupOn the tragedy began.
''The roll had q pebble In it,
upon which the plaintiff broke q
tooth and thereby suffered pain,
Disagreement and dental ex-
penses. The defendant had pur-
chased the roll with others from
a confectionery in the District
of Columbia" says Justice Ste
phens, (which we assume to be
reputable, delivery having been
made in a paper box, deposited
in the receptacle above men,
toned.
"There were no pebbles in the
defendants place of business,
and the pebble could not have
gotten into the roll there. The
roll was like any other in sp-
pearance.
"The pebble was not visible
from the outside and could not
have been seen on the inside in
the customary course of serving.
In short, there was no evidence
of negligence by the defendant;
indeed, none was charged. The
cause of action was based solely
upon breach of contract Of i'm
piled warranty of fitnes for hu-
man consumption and breach Of
implied warranty Of merchanta-
bic quality" (MercyD
The court decided that, even
though the lunchroom proprietor
did not make the bun, having
bought it from a carefree confec
toner, he was responsible for the
damage to the tooth of his pa
iron.
This decision inspired Miss
Helen r. Reid, of the Depart
ment of Justice, to dash of
some thoughts of her own. to
wit:
''This is confusing era Of
violent opinions on this and
that, such as G. b. SIS opinion
that the president is good and
the Constitution is bad, Her
bert HoOver's opinion that the
President is bad and the Con-
stitutiOn is good, Senator
BOrah's decision to save both
the people and the COnstitu-
ton, Governor LandOn's Opin-
ion that the country is fast
going in the wrong direction
because he is not at the helm,
and Franklin DelanO ROOse-
velt's belief that we are bet
] ter off than we were on
March 4. 1888.
'But now comes Justice
Harold M. Stephens with the
happy opinion that the break
fast bun, or any old bun for
that matter, should be kept
free from harmful ingredients
tie. stones, pins, curls, mice
and cigar lighters). and that
any citizen had q right to
expect when he ordered this
necessity that it would be
served i'm q condition free
from hard and unsatisfactory
matter.
Consequential damages are
the two words Of the ten-page