Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-26
City Executive Answers QueS-
tions Propounded by District
Attorney at Long Beach

Mayor Alexander yesterday answered
ten questions propounded by District
Attorney Fredericks in q speech at
Long Beach October 81. The district
attorney, angered by the mayors state
ment that he would not appear on the
same platform with -redericks, sought
to make capital out of his questions,
which he seemed to think would re-
main unanswered
Each question is answered forceful-
ly in the statement given out by Mayor
Alexander, who states definitely the
date when he lost faith in Fredericks
and asserts that from that time until
now he has consistently refused to ap-
pear on the same platform with the
discredited district attorney. The
mayors letter follows:
LETTER OF THE MAYOR
October 25, 1910.
Capt. John D. Fredericks, Inter-
national Bank Building, City: Dear
Sir-I hereby take opportunity to
reply to the questions propounded
by you in a speech at Long Beach,
October q, and published in the
Times, and l am sending a copy
hereof to each of the Los Angeles
daily newspapers
q. After you and I had served the
public for four years, you as super
visor and I as district attorney, did
you tell me that you had gone into
the non-partisan movement in 1906
simply to assist me politically? An
swer as a Christian"
[ did go into the non-partisan
campaign in 1906 partly to assist
you, and did all I could to help
you secure the Endorsement of that
organization.
80 Did you know me them"
I thought l did, but found that
was mistaken. At that time Ben
E. Ward was a fellow candidate
with you on the non-partisan
ticket, running for county assessor.
He was the first assessor who had
had the courage to stand up and
fight consistently and persstently
for the adequate assessment of the
big corporations. The fight Of the
machine" naturally centered on
him: and Immediately after you
secured the Endorsement of the
non-partisans, although there was
no opposition to your reelection,
YOU Joined forces with the Southern
Pacific machine in a vicious fight
against Ben Ward. L campaigned
with Ben Ward straight through
that fight, and that was when you
and / first separated politically.
NOMINATION FOR SUPERVISOR
"S. After you and I had served to-
gether for six years, In 1908, in the
same relation, did you not come and
ask me to place you in nomination Tor
reelection as SUPERVISOR"
In 1904, running independently, l
was elected supervisor by good
big majority. In 1908 undoubtedly
nv best chance for reelection
was to run as an independent,
which nv friends were urging me
to do. At that time you and an
other machine politician came to
me and very strongly urged me not
to run Independently, stating that
at meeting of the Southern Pa
cif1c political machine you two
men had been delegated to see me
and insist that go before the Re
publican convention, and promis-
ing that I would have no opposi-
tion there.
told YOU I would consider the
matter and asked If you would
nominate me in case 1 decided TO
comply with your request, which
Won said YOU would do. Being in
yerv poor health at the time and
not in condition to undertake a
strenuous independent campaign,
decided to go before the conven-
ton. You then tried to get out OF
nominating me, and did so only
when you found that was the only
wav to get me before the conVen-
ton AMI to prevent me running as
an independent and the minute
you were through with the nomi-
mating speech you rushed down to
me with a written agreement for
me to sign that I would not run
as an independent.
SAYS SCHEME WAS PLANNED
realized then that it had been
a. scheme to trap me. The machine
Immediately began it's fight against
me, and when c. e. Patterson was
defeated and they saw the danger
of losing control of the board of
supervisors, their efforts were re-
doubled. l was defeated by four
and a half votes; and had the Il
promises made by you been kept
and hal lou actively supported me
after making the nomination
speech, there would have been prac-
tically no contest against my nom1-
nation. It was just a plain case
of the double cross"