Setting the Dates

In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Jubal A. ("Old Jubilee") Early sprayed tobacco juice on the ground within six miles of Washington and threw the North into such a tizzy that the Democrats decided to wait until things quieted down before holding their convention. They finally met on Aug. 29 and nominated General George B. McClellan, who set about failing in politics as he had in war. Since that unhappy lesson, the Democrats have held their conventions earlier. Last week, however, new National Chairman Paul Butler announced that the 1956 convention will start Monday, Aug. 27, so as to pack the sharpest television punch into a two-month campaign.

Even before the Butler announcement, Republicans had quietly planned for a September convention. The G.O.P. figures it does not need a long campaign. It hopes to have a candidate -Dwight Eisenhower -who will need no introduction to the voters.

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