Putnam patriot., 1924-03-28

AAtNfAsAtHN aH A KsAA - ANAAAA AAAA AAtE success in leadership. he is not clever l enough or resourcefal enough to play I the role of autocrat. IL would not be I becoming to him. He is frankly in favor of the nomination of Colonel Hiram Bingham for the goyernorship, i but fl Is not believed that he will use his influential position in the party Co land his candidate. He will insist that the race will be free for all and that the prize win be for the choice of an unbossed convention. Mr. Rorahaek has been state chairman for about twelve years and. during that time, his personal preference has not always prevailed at the state convention. When Marcus Fl. Holcomh was before the convention for a renomination. af- ter he had served his first term, Mr. Roraback favored the candidacy of Dennis 4. Blakeslee, of New Haven. ] lt was well known al the convention that Mir. Blakeslee was his candidate. | but the vote of the delegates did not support his preference. If Mir. King had thrown his delegates from Fair field to Frank E. Healy, as 1t was ex- pected he would. Mir Healy would have been nominated for governor and he would have been elected at the polls. The friends of Mir. Heaiy felt keeniy disappointed at the result of the con vention. perhaps more so than MT.
 Healy himself, who did not hesitate to say that with the nomination of Gov ernor Holeomb and his certainty of election. the state was assured of a good governor for the following bien- nial period. Some of the most effect i've speeches made for the Holcomb ticket included those delivered by Mr Healy. But. as the Scotch proverh has t. "it is an i'll wind that blaws nae guid" If Mir. Healy had been elected guvernor he would not have had the opportunity to serve the state as attor ney general. and Connecticut would have been deprived Of the benefit Of his conspicuous ability as it's law ad- visor Mir Roraback knows well that unanimity at a convention is not a good thing for the Republican party. | smaeks of mental suhserviency that is apt to be resented at the polls. l state convention Is supposed to be ab= solutelV free in its choice of nominees and. when it is not that, the ticket which t presents to the electors of the state is greatly handicapped and nc party can afford to have it's ticket | tAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAA tA AAtAAAAsAAs=AA= itN sort Of q convention is that at which there are d number of candidates. The friends of the Republican party hope that that will be the case this year, and that the critics of the party will not be able to say that the state ticket was hand picked. "Tha more the mer- rier, was the reply made by Mir. Ror ahaek when he was asked on one occa= sion what he thought Of q multiplicity of candidates. And he meant it.
 Work on Highways
 Highway Commissioner John A. Mae
 donald has decided on plan for the [ improvement of the highways in the eastern part of the state which will [ involve an expenditure of si ,500. .0oo ! The plans call for thirteen contracts. ! The execution of the contracts mean that thirty=hye miles of concrete high | ways will be built this year in the Second Congressional district and that E new bridge will be built in Vest I brook The mere mention of this plan shows the magnitude of the work al Commissioner Maedoualds $ depart l. ment and che importance of it's activi- l ties to the state. Though Commission l CT Macdonald has had charge of the
 
 eight months. he has thoroughly famil= 1 iarized himself with it's details and to= day he has a remarkably intimate knowledge of the highway require ments of the state. His technical training has given him an adaptability for the work. and he does not spare himself in giving the state the benefit of his skill in planning, and industry in performing.
 The work of the highway depart ment has had a notable growth during the twenty-five years of it's existence. Nor is there anything in sight to indl- cate that it's development will be ar- rested. or it's work lessened. Road im provement, on a scale beyond the wis ion or the dreams of those who, at the session of lSg5, secured the passage of the law creating the department, will be seen in the future. The need of highway improvement today makes the work of the department more impera tive than the necessities of a quarter of century ago demanded. The in= telligent zeal which Commissioner Macdonald is showing in making his department of the greatest possible benefit to the state is an adequate guarantee that the millions which the state is spending on highways, and which 1t will continue to spend, will bring commensurate return in com fort and convenience to the people of Connecticut, and to others outside the state who use its highways.
 Gov. Templeton and His Party
 In his early, and frequently repeat l ed. determination not to be candidate for re election, Governor Templeton has forestalled the unfriendly com ments of those who have not viewed his administration with approval. These would be likely to say that the rejection of his candidacy for another term by the convention of the Repub- lican party-the party to which he professes allegiance and whose policies he frequently extoll would be it's ex- precision of disapproval of his admin istration. IL is not passing judgment on Gov. Templeton's administration, nor expressing an opinion on the atti= tude of the Republicans of the state towards it. to say that Governor Tenn nleton would not likely be renominated at the Republican state convention even if he were candidate for anoth- CT term. He has not been in friendly accord with the organization Of ms party. II will suffice to note that fact without going into the reasons Tor it.