New-York tribune., 1912-03-10
London. February T.

,ociallv as well as politically. Mir.
..,.olt -. was supposed TO represent the
ro.+ and the tone Of the White House
80 time was not unlike the tone of
york Now. the Middle West has
,,a IN. and the code is no longer that
=, Nav York but of Cincinnati / was
IN washington long enough, nor al
,ha right time, to be able to study these
- nbenomena, if there are any. The
.,ooe was almost empty, by which 1
rooar that few Of the leaders Of society
"a rAturned. and few houses were open.
r.ua+ors and Representatives were ab-
.,nt also a political vacancy. therefore
r.eu as social. But if it is to be as
.,,nsd that the account l heard was a
.,ra account. does u greatly matter, or
=. che significance Of it great? Is there
raonv a great social gulf between New
vo,k and Cincinnati? Is it greater than
,he space that divides New York from
London?
long since it became the conviction
- the West that power had departed
from the East, and that the centre Of
nol;tical gravity was to be sought else
ubsre than on the Atlantic seaboard.
II that be so, can there be a permanent
divorce between political and social au-
tbority? on the other hand while New
York remains, as it must remain, the
financial centre of the United States, is
II 50 certain that between financial and
nolitical power there can be a permanent
divorce? Ultimately, we may have TO
answer both questions in similar terms
However that may be, 1 heard the
news Of this social change without dis
may. The tenant of the White House
for the time being is master. Why
should he be supposed TO inherit, or TO
accent. the views Of social relations
which earlier tenants have held? There
is in Mr.. Taft a note of vigorous origi-
ralitv; and a force Of that kind is likely
70 express itself not in one direction
only but in many directions. II the
White House gives laws to Washington
society. as people seem 10 take for
granted. they must reckon with this
actual lawgiver; and he is we'll within
his rights when he chooses to be him
self and not somebody else-the repre-
sentative Of his own world and not of
anothers.
Nor do quite understand from whom
this complaint, if it be complaint, pro-
ceeds. Washington is the capital not OF
the East or West but of half a conti-
nent. It is. or ought to be, a national
headquarters. 1t is, moreover. city
with a population representative Of all
sections of the Union, not Of one or two.
Why should the social standard of sin
gle city prevail? Mr.. Roosevelt was OF
New York State Mr.. Taft is from
Ohio. l had always supposed Ohio to
be an important commonwealth, with a
great population and a great history.
She has given Presidents before now 70
in all. She gave Mr.. Hay, as Ambassa-
dor and Secretary Of State, to the ad-
miration of the world. She gave Mr..
Hay a successor in London. Is there
any state which boasts itself superior
to Ohio in patriotism. past or present;
in culture. in all manly and admirable
qualities? And if so. which? And does
Washington mean that an Ohio Presi-
dent shall acknowledge and affirm the
social inferiority of Ohio? II il does,
imagine II will have 10 apply elsewhere
than at the White House Of to-day. In
- -. 90 .V,Iy ~
the West as our own child. graded III
our ideas, which the Western states. OF
some Of them. have perhaps broadened
I do not think we are anxious 10 see a
Western President knocking at a New
York door in search Of social code
nor at any Washington door except the
White House itself.
Nv Washington experiences go back sc
far that in the present rush Of novelties
social and political, they may pass as
ancient history. But Washington, though
il has drawn its residents from all over
the codntry, has always narrowed It's
social basis. It may be doubted whether
even in a little italian court Of the
eighteenth century, or little German
court Of yesterday, the passion for eti-
ouette and the wrangle over small prece-
dencies has ever been carried so far
II is tribute to Washington that ir
mite Of its meticulous social temper, i
hiss nevertheless a society so agreeable
The great difference between Washing
ton and the Italian court which Stendha
painted In his immortal "Chartreuse d.
Parme" is that, in the older, everything
was settled and permanent, while In th'
younger everything is experimental; oi
everything outside of the higher ofticia
world. Even this last did Mrs. Hay un'
settle in her time, TO the CONSERVATION o.
some and the delight Of many.
But precedence is Of no value unless
II is fixed. The only object Of 1t is u
determine each mans and woman's place
and so avoid disputes. In England II II
fixed and is so immutable that there is II
all the Kingdom but one man who car
alter II, and he is the King. There coult
be no safer guardian, because King. bl
virtue Ct his being King. is for things
as they are The most striking innoVa
ton In our time was the late klng'
when he gave the Prime Minister, there
tofore without rank except as Priv!
Councillor, a place next after the Arch
bishop Of York and before the Peerage.
The changes, therefore, are few
Whether at court or in society the sue
cession Of places is unalterable: theoret
ically. In practice disputes arise, evel
at court, which is, socially speaking. tn
Holy Of Holes. will offer you singh