The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-08-10

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 necticut, already facing a hard election, will have its chances Of victory in November greatly de- creased if the state convention two weeks from today ends in the air of bitterness that marked the close of the Eastern Point con- clave two years ago. The Repuh- licans will naturally be only too willing to take every advantage of . split within the Democratic party, and there are the further threats offered by Jasper McLevy and perhaps by candidates placed in the field in some sections by Labor's Non-Partisan league.
 This weeks announcements by Public Works Commissioner Rob ert A. Hurley and ex-GOv. Will bur l.. Cross that they are avail able for the nomination for gOv- ernor were not at all unexpected. A third candidate in the field is ex-Congressman Alfred N. Phil- lips, of Stamford, but his delegate strength appears to be slight, and the race will be between Hurley and Cross. At the moment Com missioner Hurley has comfort able lead but "Uncle Tobys" pres tige and his acknowledged appeal to voters to all parties will bring considerable strength his way be- fore the convention opens at New Haven two weeks from yesterday.
 This year, more than ever, the Democrats need harmonious convention. How this Is to be achieved is something of a prob- lem, since & floor contest between Hurley and Cross seems almost unavoidable, but 1t is 8 problem whose solution would give the party a running start for the cam- paign ahead. One solution might be to have showdown of dele gate strength before the balloting for candidates begins and, if one candidate is seen to have a win ming margin, have the other with draw and pledge his support. This plan has been under considera- tion. Its principal difficulty is ob- vious; there's no way to tell &C., tually how many votes 8 man will receive until ballot has been taken; one side just won't accept the others claims. The best ex- pedient may be the familiar one of seeking to have all factions sup port the nominee, whoever he is, and trying to end the convention on . note of unanimity. This could be buttressed by having the winning group give as much rec ognition as possible to other groups in the makeup of the rest of the ticket.
 Not long ago the then State Chairman J. Francis Smith ex- pressed to the writer the opinion that political reporters were too proae to create factions and wings within parties. His argument was that factional labels are often in- correctly applied, and that the public is given an impression of compact, organized groups with definite programs, when such is. not the case. We disputed MT. Smiths claim on general grounds, though, conceding that 1t is prob ably true in some individual cases.
 This point is brought up because we think that the battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomina- tion will be fought between two factions distinctively and clearly labelled. The Old Guard is be- hind MT. Hurley, the New Guard behind MT. Cross. MT. Smith might even dispute the correct ness of these labels, but they are already taken for granted about the state as identifying the op- posing camp.
 The old Guard of 1940 is not the Old Guard of other cam paigns, but it is still easily identi- liable. In its ranks are found Ma tional Committeeman Davey Fitz- Gerald of New Haven, Mayor Tom Spellacy of Hartford, and Paul Connery, of Fairfield county, among others. Commissioner Hurley, appearing as a likely can- didate, was taken over by the Old Guard before he had a word to say about it. He could hardly be blam- cd for not refusing the support ef strong leaders, but he himself is probably bit bewildered in whi ,h much of his campaign is k>ing taken over by the Old Guarderx
 The New Guard leadership con- Eists of MT. Gross, MT. Smith and Q. s. Senator Francis T. Maloney. It finds itself facing heavy odds, with the Old Guard controlling delegate strength in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, and in many smaller towns. The New Guard counts on Waterbury, formerly an Old Guard strong hold. on Dr. Cross personal ap- peal, and on an appeal to inde- pendent-zninded delegates.
 Either Dr. Cross or MT. Hurley would be . strong candidate un- der ordinary circumstances. But, after . bitter convention fight, the victce would be an underdog in the race against his Republican opponent unless he had the com- plete support of the loser and the loser's supporters. Assurances of support such as are commonly given, might turn out to be as- 0urances in name only.
 The Republican state conven- ton is not scheduled till mid- September but the campaign is underway for ticket places. The name of William J. Pape as a candidate for some office is still E4aa19e kAard hie sf,s,sln,-k ,os,ae,,o