Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-10-09
Series Cry:
Down With
Demitasse
Full Cup Of Coffee Seen
Improving Commerce
BY DAMON RUNYON

DN DAuON MN OA'
TOMMY RICE, the old time
Brooklyn sports writer, was
around the Yankee World Series
headquarters in the Commodore
Hotel recently fomenting
movement which may be
summed up in Tommy's cry:
Down with demmy-tassys"
Tommy is a veteran coffee
drinker and it is his belief that
much of the discomfort in the
world at this time is due in some
degree TO the practice Of serving
after-dinner coffee in miniature
cups holding only a couple of
teaspoons of the precious liquid.
A vessel of this type is called
a demitaSSe from the French
demi, meaning half. and tasse,
meaning cup. Thus half cup.
HOWEVER, the half a cup can
- be most deceiving. If you
are talking about a good old
fashioned American polished
cup then half a cup would be no
mean quantity. But some cups
are no bigger than walnut shells
to start with and it is off this
measure that we fear the
demmy-tassy was designed.
We are aware that our pro-
nunciation of the term may lack
the true French accent, but we
have never heard Americans pro-
nounce il otherwise and we like
it our way.
Tommy Rice's movement is
not founded entirely upon that
feeling of impotence that is en-
gendered in all solid coffee
drinkers when they are given a
mere taste of their favorite bev-
erage in the demmy-tassy.
1t is backed by sound eco
nomic theory. Tommy points
out that if a law were enacted
requiring the serving of coffee
only in man-size cups, il would
materially increase the con-
sumption of coffee, an idea with
which we are inclined TO agree.
WE BELIEVE, however. that
w a clause should be incor-
porated in the law providing
some penalty for restaurant
walters who. when asked for a
large cup. fail to fill same with
coffee up 10 the cup capacity
They leave about half an inch
Of space between the lip of the
cup and the surface of the
nectar. instead OF loading it to
the gunrs, a custom which we
suspect stems from the iniqui-
tiouS influence Of the DENNY
taSSy.
Why does a waiter think a
man asks for a large cup of cof-
fee unless he wants it large?
Does the restaurant owner in-
struct his help 10 short-change
the coffee consumer in this man.
ner in the interest of the house?
We feel that this is a matter
that should be thoroughly in
veStigated by the authorities. 1t
would cut down our own blood
pressure no little if walters
would always give us the amount
of coffee that the cup calls for
and not hold out that extra half
inch until we are forced to COM
plain.
WE AGREE that on moving
w trains the walters may AL
low for the backwash of the
coffee on curves and leave a
little leeway, but we see no ex-
cuse for ii under stationary con-
ditionS.
If you ordered and paid for
quart of milk and the man
handed YOU three-quarterS of
quart you would probably let
out a terrific squawk. and in
principle there is no difference
between this and the Shorting of
a coffee drinker on his cup Of
coffee.
We are not familiar with the
history of tho demmy-taSSy in
the United States We presume
this midget Container came 10
this country from France. The
first time We saw one we
thought il was an cyc-cup.
A lady back in our old home
town of Pueblo who was in
clined 10 put on the swell. once
produced demmy-taSSys at a
Christmas dinner without in
forming her somewhat crude
husband of the innovation and
he startled her guests by hold
ing up one OF the cups and re-
marking loudly.
Nav. that new hired girl
has got little Mary's doll dishes
mixed up on us.
WHEN informed by his wife
w that the dcmmy-taSSy was