Evening star., 1950-10-08

D. Byrnes
tions have shown he can get many
Democrats to vote for him.
Both Benton and Bush are new
comers on the Connecticut polit-
lcal scene. Mr.. Bush has been &C
tive as a Republican campaign
fund raiser, but this is his first
appearance as a candidate. He
probably has a little personal
strength as prominent Yale man,
sometimes important in Connecti-
cut. He Is member of the Yale
Corp, was first baseman on
the varsity when an undergrad
uate and has a son on the foot
ball team this year. Senator Ben
tons appointment by Gov. Bowles
to the Senate vacancy left consid-
cradle soreness among professional
Democrats, scores of whom felt
the reward should have gone to
some one who had done some
thing for the party. Senator Ben
ton, at the time he was appointed,
was not even registered as a
Democrat. Since his nomination
Tor the two-year term research has
revealed that less than 10 years
ago he was a substantial contrib
utor to the campaign fund of Glare
Boothe Luce when she ran for
Congress as Republican. Sena-
tor Benton is using a helicopter to
make campaign tours. an aircraft
made in New York. though there
are two helicopter manufacturers
IN Connecticut. He has received
considerable publicity by descend
ing on non-political gatherings
where ne was not expected. hav-
ing got lost in the air..
Bowles' Promises
Mr.. Lodge is a comparative
newcomer to the State and the
Democrats have been hammering
at him for his failure to discuss
State issues. The Republican at
tack on Gov. Bowles thus far has
been largely centered on the prom
ises he made during his l948 cam
paign to reduce prices If elected
Governor. Democratic leaders ad-
NIT the quotations from the
Bowles speeches of two years ago,
now that prices are rising again
despite the presence of Bowles in
the Capitol. are not helpful. Re-
publicans are counting on Lodge
making inroads in the voters of
Italian, French and Polish extrac-
tion in the State. COP leaders
say an important influence in his
nomination was the support he
received from voters in these
groups. as well as from women's
and young voters groups.
Gov. Bowles has surrounded
himself with his own group, many
OF them from outside the State
and few from the State party
rank and file. His close tie-up
with the Americans for Demo-
cratic Action has also alienated
some old-line Democrats in the
State. Gov. Bowles sponsored q
Little Hoover Commission which
reported a State reorganization
plan unsatisfactory to virtually
every organized public opinion
group in the State except organ
lied labor. Gov. Bowles accepted
the report completely, including q
proposed revision Of the religious
freedom clause in the State con-
stitution which some critics
claimed would have enabled the
Communist Party to have qualified
for protection as a religious sect.
No Korea Reaction
The amount of cutting for or
against individual candidates this
year probably will be less than
forecast. as has been the case in
the past. This is ascribed to the
fact that voting machines in Con-
necticut are equipped with party
levers. and the first mechanical
act Of voting by machine is to
pull a party lever. Until this is
done, the buttons for individual
candidates cannot be manipulated.
Most organization politicians do
not dare take sufficient time to
cut. as this would reveal to other
politicians they are not completely
regular" It has been observed
in past elections that some ordi-
nary citizens who intend to cut
become confused when confront
ed by the machine and scores of
candidates, and vote a straight
; party ticket to be safe.
There is no definite reaction to
the fighting in Korea, but leaders
in both parties agree that VIC
tory there is less damaging to the
Democrats. There have been more
than 100 Connecticut casualties
so far. scattered through more
than one-fourth of the 1859 towns
of the State. One aspect of the
international situation which
seems to be hurting the Democrats
is the federalizing of the National
Guard division. which includes
most of the Connecticut units.
: They have been sent to training
camp where there is almost no
housing for families who want to
be near their men. Worse than
that. family allotments have not
come through. and the latest word
is that the checks will not be forth
coming in regular fashion for an
other month. Some of the fam
lilies of members of the Guard have
gone on relief as a result.
Republicans and Democrats now
divide the six House seats from
the State with three each. II the
Republicans carry their State
ticket, they should hold the at