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Show DEMOCRATS; MAY FAVOR FREEV00L ClarK and Underwood Are Caations; Question of . Re venae Important WASHINGTON. May Unequivocal declaration In favor of placing raw wool on tha free list In tha' revised wool schedule sched-ule and the consequent material strength i enlng of tha position of that element of the majority party In tha house, war tha net results of caucuses held Monday by tha Democratic repreeenlatlvea from has Tork and New Jersey. Tha Ohio and Massachusetts Democrats will caucus cau-cus today or tomorrow snd ether states are expected to meet soon to outline out-line their attitude. Bv a vote of eighteen lo four tha New Tork caucus Indorsed tha fight of Representative Rep-resentative Francis Burton Harrison, the New York Democratic member of the ways snd means committee, for free raw wool, whose sharp futtlngpoff of 121. Ooo.flOA of revenue is not favored by Speaker Clark. Chairman Underwood and other leading Jtnocrats. The New York caucus waa called al lbs requeat of Mr. Harrison. It was reported that thb sentiment of the majority of tlia wave and means committee com-mittee favorrd free raw wool. Tha only New York Democrats who stood out against free wool war Fornsa. Ayras. Connell and Uhderhlll. They declared for a substantial reduction reduc-tion In tha duty ranging from H It II per cant. Mr. Clark and Mr. Underwood, In objecting ob-jecting to elimination of tha revenue now derived front the duty on raw wool, have had tha support of many Democrats Demo-crats opposed to Immediate free raw wool. A canvass of tha Democrats, however, was eald to show a majority In favor and laat night one of the conservative majority leaders declared that tha only thing that stands In the. way la the problem prob-lem of-revenue. ' Mr. Underwood would not dlaruaa the action of the New Tork delegation. He Is proceeding cautiously with a view to avoiding any serious impairment im-pairment of the government revenuee. The wave and means committee will not meet to- tsks up Mte schedule before be-fore Wednesday. ! LEADER AGAINST PLAN. WASHINGTON. May t. The result of tha meeting of the Democratic members mem-bers of the New Tork house delegation,, which favored removing the duty upon Importations of wool makes It certain to western members of congress thst they will have to fight a Democratic party effort ef-fort to place wool oo the free list. It has been known for soms time that Speaker Clark and House Leader Underwood Under-wood have been exerting every effort to keep their party from adopting a programme pro-gramme providing for free .wool and It has been believed until now that they would be successful snd would et least hold the ways and means committee of the house' to a reduction of the duty to about ad per cent of Its present rats. The general understanding has been that a commitment to free wool would not only endanger Democratic success In ths next election, but would also Imperii speaker ciam'a pjpeitientiai proa pacta aleaara, Clark and. Underwood war wllllnc wlll-lnc to ompromie with tha fra traders I on th basis of I cents a pound, a ra-i ra-i duct I an of cents from th present tariff tar-iff rate, but thla has ben rejected by th fra wool men on th committee and the action of th New Tork delegation i today Indorsing the fra wool prorinrn makes It reasonably certain- that a fra wool bill wit) be reported from tha ways and means conimltte reirardleas of th opposition of Clark and Under wood, western members of con are from th wool frovins states assert that th a oat will reject such frwblll If It passes th house, but they fear tha ffet upon th wool arowlns; Industry -would b disastrous disas-trous beoaus of th unsettled eondltlons In th wool buslnsa. |