New Britain herald., 1917-11-03
Plainvtlle News
LAST RITES FOR
 JOHN BARLEYCORN Will Be Said Tonight at the
 Stroke of Twelve ? TO HOLD CELEBRATION

TO HOLD CELEBRATION Mrs. E. A. Freeman Dangerously Ill
 With Pneumonia at Her Home
 Crisis Expected Today-Pledge
 Card CampaieQ to Be Brought to
 Close Tonight
 Funeral services for John Barley corn, for the past 23 years a resident of this town, will be held tonight at the stroke of 12. John died ofa- cially at the last election which was held in the town hall October l. Death was due to wounds sustained in a battle with the prohibition party of the town in which John's party failed to appear in force. Conse- quently he and the faithful few" were swept off their feet in an over whelming victory for the "drys" 1n- terment will be Somewhere in America" outside of Plainville.
 It is expected that tonight will be a big night in Plainville. Such songs as You're gone but not forgotten" You may be gone for a long, long time," You don't know how we will miss you," will be sung by the differ ent groups which gather in the local emporfums.
 goes dry and because of this fact the fo 114 orable occasion. It is expected that some of the hotels will keep open un- til the very last minute. Copious tears will be shed-but not until after the wine clerks and the patrons per- form that old trick of letting some of the joy oil go ting a-ling-a-ling via the throat route.
 The center has seen many demon- strations but probably none will com pare with tonight's. From what can be learned groups ranging from 10. to IS persons will travel together on this eventful night and see if they cannot get away with some sort of souvenir. It is not giving away secret to say that the bars in some of the hotels will be mussed up while 1t is expected that in the vicinity of the center there will be need of extra police.
 Closed" That is the sign which has been placed across the door which leads to the inner recesses of J. J. Murphy's dispensary. Therefore there will be no celebration at MT. Murphy's this evening. Just why MT. Murphy closed his saloon in the early hours of the day is not known but anyhow there will be one place less
 
 It Is expected that several of the cells at the town hall will be occupied as the result of tonight's program.
 Ample provision has been made for any serious trouble and strict sur veillance will be kept for those who, under the influence of liquor, become disorderly.
 Most of the hotels have sold out their stock or carted it to other towns which are in the wet" belt but there will be enough on hand tonight to pro- vide for the evenings entertainment. One of the hotel men plans to keep his stimulants in the cellar but it will have to be sealed by the commission CTS.
 One or two of the hotels are ex- pected to close up until next election when efforts will be made to have old John Barleycorn's spirit rise again The other hotels will probably re- main open, cater to transient trade, and dish out near beer", Bevo and other stimulants which resemble the real article in name. Those who have a hankering for the cup which cheers as we'll as confuses will travel to Bristol or New Britain via trolley where they may continue their flirta- tions with the spirits to their hearts desire.
 With John Barleycorn no longer in evidence in the town these who are still loyal to the "wets" say that the town will suffer from the prohibition administration. The old arguments are brought up and they say that al- though Plainville will be dry for the next year that there will be just as many "drunks'' as ever. Further they state that the stores and the manu- facturers will be the losers. They re- call that in years ago, when Plain vile was forced to get on the wa gon', the late cars from Bristol or the Plainvi1le-Bristol tramway car