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Show WOOL BILL PASSED. The snrpriso of the day was the passage bj' the Senate yesterday of the modified La Follctte wool bill. This reduces tho wool tariff to an average of about thirty-five per cent, which means cutting tho duties practically in two. Wc had been assured by Apostle-Senator Apostle-Senator Smoot that there would bo no wool legislation at tho present, session; that the Senate would neither puss tho House wool bill nor the La Follctte bill. His own modification of the wool tariff is still in the hands of the Son-ate Son-ate Finance Committee. Inspiration is thus a failure as applied to a Senate forecast. Tho vote, by which the Senate passed this La Follctte modification is even more surprising than the action itself. A vote of forty-eight against thirty-two is a decisive vote, which shows that the Republicans are no . longer in control of thfl Senate so far as the tariff is concerned or in sfact on nnj'. proposition proposi-tion where the progressives are, with reasonable unanimity, opposed to the regulars, and' can get Democratic support. sup-port. It is said to be a matter of doubt whether the House will agreo to' the Ln Follette substitute for its own wool schedule. But, inasmuch as tho Democratic Demo-cratic Sonators supported the La Follctte Fol-lctte proposition, there would appear to be no party reason why the Democrats Demo-crats of the House should not do the sumo The situation thus created is a niost interesting one, and the question of what President Taft will do about it in case tho House agrees to tho Senate Sen-ate proposition, is a burning one. Judging from what he has said heretofore, hereto-fore, ho would veto the measure; but, in view of his own denunciation of the present -wool schedule, and of tho staunch support which ho has received from the Democrats for his Canadian reciprocity agreement, and in view of tho criticisms that are made of tho Tariff Board, it might be that he would feel impelled to 6i'gn this amendment of tho wool schedule. But a very few days now will tell. |