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Sen. Humphrey (D-Minn) hit the jackpot of all crowds in his West Virginia campaign here last night.

The attraction was free rides at Camden Park. Robert Burley, park manager, estimated the gathering at nearly 10,000.

Sen. Kennedy (D-Mass) contesting with Humphrey in a Democratic presidential popularity match in the May 10 primary, had his largest crowd an estimated 4,000 in Parkersburg Sunday.

The attraction there was an ox roast.

While Humphrey scrounged for votes with indifferent results in Huntington industrial plants during the day, Kennedy visited the southern coal fields, winding up at Welch.

At the amusement park here, Humphrey mingled in the crowd, took a ride on a miniature train seated beside Jill Corey, a pretty high school majorette, then spoke from the roof of an ice cream stand.

Speaking above the confusion of the crowd he recognized that most were children.

He also urged in his eight minute speech changes of administrations in Charleston and Washington to "stop the erosion of power and prestige of this nation." Nationally, he said, "we have an administration that has neglected people."

Both Kennedy and Humphrey have brought national attention to the state's economic and social problems.

William A. Beckett, Huntington attorney, said he arranged the free rides at the park "for a client," whom he declined to identify.

Humphrey has emphasized that his is a "shoestring" campaign against the wealth of the Kennedy forces.

Pressed to estimate the cost of arranging for the park, Beckett said only, "We got the tickets wholesale. The cost wasn't as much as you think."

The two men come face to face for a televised political debate tonight in Charleston. The hour-long debate will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised over a state-wide hookup, originating at WCHS-TV. It also will be televised by two out-of-state stations and will be broadcast by MBS radio.