New Britain herald., 1915-04-09

Francis Fl. Shaw, through his as- sistant, Miss Olive Shaw, notified the New Britain division of the South- ern New England Telephone com pany Tuesday morning that the town would not be responsible for the phones at his own house and the residence of the second selectman and that the contract for the Town Farm telephone was to be an eighteen dol- Jar one. No instruments were re- moved, however inasmuch as both MT. Shaw and MT. Baldwin renewed the contracts for their telephones on their own behalf. +-@
 The attention of MT. Shaw was called yesterday to the elasticity of the resolution and at present, he is in somt what of quandry as to what action he shall take.
 It has also been pointed out that instead Of providing for saving on the Town Farm telephones the reso- lution calls for the expenditure of an extra dollar on the contract. It is the policy Of the telephone com pany to extend special courtesies to municipalities, putting in telephones, in some instances. at half rates. With tho phone at the Town House goes an unlimited service, under . which persons using the instrument have the privilege of calling any number in the entire New Britain system, whether it be in Berlin, East Berlin, New Britain or Maple Hill. The ordinary charge for this service is thirty -four dollars, but in the past, the towns bill for this telephone has been for seventeen dollars only The new resolution, it will be seen, ra- quires the town clerk to negotiate for an eighteen dollar contract for this instrument.
 Evidently the parties who drew up the motion werc not thoroughly conversant with the matter in hand. It is said that their resolution can not he repealed by any other body than the town meeting.
 Why Flags Were Hung.
 People who had occasion to pass the post office in Berlin this morn ing, wondered what the occasion was that called for the postmaster's dis play of patriotism by hanging out his large American flag. Further down the street could be seen old Glory suspended from a pole on Edwin l. Clark's residence.
 It was in commem oration of the surrender of General Robert r.. Lee of the Confederate Army to General Ulysses Simpson Grant of the Union forces at AppomattoN. exactly fifty years ago today, that the patriotic veterans hung out the colors.
 To q few admiring young Ameri- cans Postmaster Porter told the story of the receipt of the glad tidings in Berlin on that memorable day. April 9, 1865 when the forces of the se- Ceding southern states. gave up the fierce, bloody strife which nearly rent the Union in parts and which guaran- tccd freedom for all Of the slaves in the country.
 Having been honorablv discharged because of injuries. Mr. Porter was at his homo in Berlin when it became known that the struggle was at an end. The telegraph operator at the Berlin passenger station, caught the joy-giving words as they were ticked over his wire to Hartford. There were no telephones in those days and news travelled quite slowly as a rule, but on this occasion, word was re- ceived in Berlin only very short time after it became known about what was then known as the Kensing- ton society
 Like the true American patriot that he was MT. Porter gathered together five other enthusiastic townsmen, Hiram Bushnell. Lloyd and William Durand, Henry Norton and William l.. Elton, and hied them to the Ber-