TOWNSEND MEN SPLIT
OVER COAST PRIMARY
Letter From 'Insiders' of the
National Group Sponsoring
McGroarty is Assailed.
special to THE NEW YORK TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO, March 21.Warfare has broken out within the
ranks of the Townsend old-age pension movement in Calfornia [sic] over
Representative McGroarty's candidacy as leader of a
Townsend delegation to the Democratic National Convention in
the May 5 California Presidential primary.
Attempts to repudite [sic] his moves to capture the California
delegation to the Democratic National Convention have been started. A
delegation pledged to Mr. McGroraty [sic] as the
nominal candidate for president, is now in the field.
Townsend clubs throughout California have received from him a letter soliciting support in his move to control the delegation to the Philadelphia convention. The letters appear to have been sent out with the aid of insiders in the national Townsen
d organization at Washington.
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Strife between Dr. Francis E. Townsend and Robert E. Clements, co-founders of the pension plan, appears to be at the bottom of the local row.
Clements has encouraged the McGroarty
candidacy. McGroarty said
his "independent Democratic delegation" had been named for the May 5 primary election because he and his advisers felt it was a "proper action in the interest of the Townsend plan."
Mr. McGroarty states that he is in no way an
actual candidate
against President Roosevelt, nor is there any third party movement in view.
Edward J. Margett, State area manager for the Townsendites,
notified the various clubs in his organization that the McGroarty letter was "absoluetly [sic] unofficial" and
that the Townsend delegation on the May ballot was "not sponsored by the
nat ional headquarters."
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