Show CAFETERIA IDEA DEA UP OP TO TIE THE COURTS suit involving may hang on bits of old wooden rails by E C TAYLOR chicago rhe ideas tit of two women roll one in los angeles calif and the other in to ta make it easier for hungry rant potions to gather their own food on trays and hits fills of old w wooden rails are before the courts court a in two states in a baht over 13 A defense fund of has been raised by the restaurant men of the country to back those ideas arid and to tind find other pieces of old wooden rails to take into court they raised the fund the restaurant on owners ers national organization says because it the ideas of the two vi omen lose in tile the court battles abo thomp s hungry americans who prefer to carry their own trays and select their own food in self service eating places will have to pay tile the or at least as much of I 1 that hut sum suin as the courts may allow those who hope to get gel back in 1904 mrs note kate mosher was operating an eating place in los angeles which she called a cafeteria the idea was that customers should help bell themselves from food placed on counters they could see what hat they were getting and take as much or as little as they hoped to ent eat tried years be before fore the plan had been tried and successfully i 3 ears before the investigations of tile the national rant mens in the 13 suits have disclosed that a cafe lerla ably thet first in the united states or the world was opened in ili Chi cagos downtown district in 1891 and that thai shortly after that another was operated by a working girls club in the same city one of airs bl mashers moshers Mo early men patrons objected to holding his tray while lie he selected its his food so mrs mosher had a carpenter build wooden wor dpn rails in front from of the counters on which her customers could place their tras while they picked out their meal ineat vegetables and dessert slie she also had find raus rails built to keep tile the customers in line and to lead them past a n cashier who checked over what they hud had taken and collected for it before they went to tables to eat their tray fuls llie Nai lonal restaurant association aleo says that soon after that mrs lillian davidson Dav ldson who had opened a cafeteria in evanston got the same idea ond and find similar apparatus built to make it easier for tray balancing patrons those wooden rails ralls were scrapped long ago of course but sections of them have lave been found mrs davidson vi hose son still operates tier her cafeteria now the hie oldest in the world recently discovered a section of well worn wooden rail ml hidden bidden away in the attic of her home in evanston sections of other old rails have lave been found in id chicago and in los angeles and san fran cisco and others are being sought throughout the united states in an effort to prove that such tray rails existed and were used prior to 1007 find old photograph san francisco had cafeterias before that year the national restaurant association contends they have found a twenty six year olo old photograph with which they hope to prove that self service restaurants bilth tray rails were operating in san francisco in 1905 the suits in which these pieces of old rails and the will be offered as e evidence are pt finding riding in Ala alabama tinina and colorado they charge infringement of pa patents t and if tile present holders of 0 the patent rights win say restaurant men the cafeteria patrons stand to have added to their meal checks in lyou 1009 albert A I 1 ben lt II weston ot of coston boston applied for a patent cojei covering ring tile the truy ralls and tile the whole cafeteria idea it was granted in 1916 and a ill expire 1033 1933 the patent Is now held by and stratton patent and trade mark attorneys of denver colo rights nights for the state of alabama were sold to tile cafeteria company and the first lawsuit that of the britting cafeteria company against the Ilea dilly cafetera cafeteria company was brought before tile the united states district court northern district of alabama judge grubb of that court held in favor ot of the owners of the patent rights the BrIt beitling ling case Is now on appeal meanwhile there is another case awaiting trial in the same s ime court brought bythe by the Brit braitling ling com puny pany against the morrison cafeteria company in tills this case the organized restaurant owners of the coun tary are taking a hand they will offer their evidence of prior use of tile the tray rail device the holders of the patent rights Rolland ct and ana stratton have brought suit also against a cafeteria in denver which refused to pay for a license |