The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-11-05
Presidents Family in Mourning,
and War Makes Embassy
Affairs Impossible
WAR HAS EFFECT OF
EXCESSIVE TARIFF
Believers In Principle Have OPP
portunities to Study It's Ac-
tual Working Effects
BY OLSON GARDNER.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5.-The dead
est social season Washington has
ever seen will be this winters. Al
ready the White House has an
nounced that there will be no formal
dinners or receptions. The presi-
dents family u In mourning; the Eu-
ropean war makes It impossible for
diplomatS to mingle socially without
great discrimination; congress will
be here only for the short session.
which means that wives are generally
left at home; 30 the wooden shutters
are slow In coming on the fronts oi
mansions on Massachusetts-ave
Sheridan and Dupont.circies.
A new fad has been taken up By
society; nothing less than Q reversion
to the bicycle. Several of the 80.
called smart set" have been seen on
Washington streets clad In khaki rid.
Ing costumes and taking long jaunts
on their wheels. Until now the use
of. the wheel has Of late years been
confined almost exclusively to tele-
graph messenger boys.
tarin are having an excellent chance
to observe the results Of that political
and economic theory. The foreign
war has produced practically all the
effects OF very high tariff wall. The
results, OF course, are complicated by
several other effects produced by the
war.
Also persons interested in curbins
immigration have an opportunity 20
see what happens when the great
stream Of immigrants ceases to flow
into New York, Boston. Baltimore and
Philadelphia. The only effect so far
observed has been q tightening Of the
servant market and panicky discus.
sion among our better classes" as to
what II to be done for servants. They
forget that servants are not included
under the contract labor law, and
that the Red Cross and the relief
committees may be used as q recruit.
ing agency to bring buffers. house.
maids and cooks to the United States
under indefinite contract at very
small wages forced by the dire con.
ditions In Belgium and northern
France.
1t II quite certain that the rail
roads will not be granted the increase
In freight rates which has just beer
argued before the interstate commerce
commission. The latter body, Il ID
understood, holds that the railroads
have failed to make good their case.
The figures show that there has not
even been the temporary emergency
claimed by the carriers. For the
month OF August. for instance-the
last month for which complete figures
are available--it appears that the
gross revenues of all the railroads Ia
Official classification territory de-
creased $8,000,000, az compared with
the figures for the same month last
year, but the net revenues of these
same railroads increased more than
$500, 900, demonstrating that the loss
In gross revenue had been more thar
met by economies. More important
than this, however, the commission
holds that the railroads are asking
the commission to do an act which
they have no power under the law u
do. The railroads plead that the for
eign war has cut their earnings and
they want to tax the people to make
up the loss. This IL entirely q DIFF
ferent question from giving the rail
roads power to charge fair" rates