Write-In Votes for Ambassador Lodge Send 'Non-Candidate' to N.H. Victory

NEW YORK CITY, March 10--Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller hailed the outcome of the New Hampshire primary as "a victory of moderation" at an 11 p.m. news conference here this evening.

The Governor dismissed Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge's victory as a Granite State tribute to a "favorite son." The "victory-for-moderation" formula was a phrase which Rockefeller supporters had been using all evening. It was adopted when the early returns began to indicate a heavy Lodge victory.

"The ghost at this political banquet has gobbled up all the hors d'oeuvres," one commentar quipped when Lodge's upset became apparent.

"It's just the first inning of the ball game," deputy campaign director William Pfeiffer said at Rockefeller headquarters here early in the evening. "The primary won't have any effect at all."

When Gov. Rockefeller arrived at headquarters after snow delayed his trip from Albany his contagious good humour was in sharp contrast to his workers' general uneasiness.

The 300 people gathered at the Governor's headquarters showed no sign of the cheerful jesting which had enlivened his office the day before. They watched television and drank coffee, quietly waiting for the candidate to appear.

After the Rockefeller press conference, the mood changed. "Whatever happens," said one young female volunteer brightly, "when you work for Rockefeller you never have to worry about a job."