The Washington times., 1905-02-12
|. FREEMAN RASIN
TALKS POLITICS
Declares Democratic Party
Has Gone to Smash.
DOES NOT LIKE GOVERNOR
Pays His Respects to Reformers and
Longs for Golden Days of
Latrobe.
DOES NOT LIKE GOVERNOR

ana expressed himself as unequ1VOcaily
in favor Of municipal improvements.
Mr., Rasin was told that it had been
intfmated by alleged followers of his
that he WIS opposed to the public inn
provement plan Of Baltimore.
That's not so.'' he said L have not
discussed this question with anyone un-
| I'll now, and nobody was authorized to
speak for me-
Says He Is Misjudged.
| But what's The use of my declaring
myself? The people who read it viii
| misjudge me. and I know and you know
what they will say"
| What VIII they say?"
| Why, they will say Rasin is after
| the appropriations
That's the way it is. If I keep quiet
howl goes up that I am fighting the
improvements. and If / come out in
favor of them the charge will be made
that am after a rake-off' and want
to graft Whate-er ! do, some improper
motive will be attributed to me-
''Timanus and the Republicans have
everything. and I couldn't do anything
Il 1 wanted to. The city administration
is worse than Republican so far as the
regular party is concerned.
why, the Democratic party has
gore all to Jericho. But it is no funeral
of mine We have practically been out
sj.ice 1895 I have had forty years in
politics and I have had enough Let
somebody else attend to all the little
details.
Party Gone to Smash.
4'Wnat is the future of the Democratic
party in this city and State, Mr. Rasfn?''
The chieftain drew a cigar from his
pocket. clipped off the end method:cally.
and then lighting the weed he took sew
eral reflective puffs before answering
The party he said. has gone all to
smash It must be reorganized or get
at - business.
uU s-tzn it2''
There are.
Senate and quit. -.
4 have seen him but once IN an
year. and that was at the Fifth Avenue
Hotel in New York d few weeks before
Christmas. He was there on private
matters and / was there with two Of
my daughters We met accidentally. and
did not discuss politics. but of course
some of the papers made to-do about
it and had a lot of tommy rot about
conferences etc. Mr.. German will be
nearly seventy years old when his term
expires IN the Senate, and l guess he'll
want TO retire
Opinion of Reformers.
What do you think of the Municipal
Voters league, Mr.. Rasfn?"
Il don't know anything about it, and
haven't heard it discussed a grea t
deal. The governor is mixed up in city
affairs. and ] guess a lot of the reform
ers will be for the league. Why don't
they go ahead and put up a ticket and
elect it instead of waiting for some
body else to do the work while they sit
down and write letters to the papers
telling how 1t should all be done?
My experience with reformers is that
they all want something and are hot
ter after tn" jobs than the people they
abuse. have never known reformer
that didn't end up by making a strong
play for lat job. Some of them want
10 go 10 Congress. others want to be
judges, and still others would light on
anything in sight,
Parties Should Name EIen.
Il think the Democratic and the Re |
publican parties should name the candi-
dates. 1t is the plain people who take |
interest in elections Why. these fel- |
lows up here Implying residents In the |
fashionable ncighborhood) never go to |
the polls. unless it is for the purpose !
of licking somebody. |
Elections cost money. and that IS |
why ] was in favor of having the State |
and municipal contests held jointly in |
the fall. We have elections too often, |
and 1T would be better If they We're held |
further apart
Now. here il IS February 10 and no |
candidate for the city council is out in |
any ward, when the primaries are to be |
held early in April Nobody seems in |
clin@d to come out because ne does not |
want broadside fired at MIN by the fei- |
lows who write letters to the papers.
Tribute to Latrobe |
THE political parties are anxious to /
have good men on the ticket. l have |
never in my life put up a sec0nd-rate |
man for mayor OF this city
Some people consider that General |
Latrobe was the best mayor the town |
ever had" was suggested to Mr.. Rasn. |!
What do you Think"
Il don't think anything about it.
know he was, and he is the man we
ought to have in the city hall at this
minute There is always the old cry of |
good men, good men Do the people
who kick realize that a candidate from
one OF the lower wards would not sui;
the voters of the Eleventh ward, for in
stance. and that the man in the EleV-
cnth ward would not be acceptable 10
the voters Of the East Side wards.
where twenty seven different kinds of |
languages are spoken? We might search
like looking for a needle in a haystack
and then fad it hard to secure Il man
from some of the wards to meet with
general approval
the critics should realize that the
candidates must come from the wards
II which they live, and that the party
organizations could not get Il good man
from northern ward to serve the con- l.