produced would be more than enough to supply the civilian population. They are entirely overlooking the fact that, due to scare buying, the people in this country generally have more wool clothes than they have had for a long, long time. You can ask some of the clerks working for the various departments in Washington, and you will be surprised to find how many of them have bought a couple or 'three suits because of the fear that they were no longer going to be able to get an all-wool suit.

That is shown by the figures which came out a month or two ago. There is not only a tremendous increase in retail sales, but a tremendous increase in the number of garments made both in the women's wear end and the men's wear end. We have either in the hands of the manufacturer and retailer or in the consumers' closets a very large supply of woolen clothing.

Much has been said about rationing wool clothes. Personally I do not think it is necessary. Even if the civilian population of this country did not get any more wool this year, they would not be in very bad shape; they would be able to get by all right. I think most of the gentlemen here have enough clothing to get by this year.

With reference to mandatory blending of wools, they have never made entirely clear to me their reasons. I have a suspicion of why they want to do it, but I think that is something that this committee should properly inquire into, because it does have a decided effect on our market. What we are fearful of, Senator, is that once they get into the habit of wearing blended fabrics, we are going to have a tough time getting our market back when times are normal. If that is necessary for the war effort, we have no complaint; but we maintain that it is unnecessary.

The CHAIRMAN. You will also have a tough time getting back the market you will lose to Great Britain because of her goods coming in here, while you are not permitted to manufacture competing all-wool woolens, and only limited amounts of worsteds?

Mr. WILSON. Certainly. It is quite natural that Great Britain should get that market if that is the only place we can get virgin-wool goods. Our market is going to be limited. It was proposed at one time to cut the production even lower on worsteds, to a point where I do not think the mills would have had enough wool to make a run on that particular kind of goods.

Other gentlemen will speak more on the subject of Texas short wools and mohair, but I just want to mention them briefly.

Mohair is a specialty fiber. The War Production Board, I think, Senator, when they made their original wool allocation order, lifted the definition of wool out of the Wool Products Labeling Act, and they included mohair in their conservation order. It never shouuld have been included. Up to date it has not been used, and I am advised that so far as they know they do not intend to use it in defense articles.

The consequence is that mohair is piling up without a market. If they would release that mohair it is our opinion that it would go into civilian goods and there would be a market for it. The W. P. B. have made a partial release by allowing you to use a certain percentage more of mohair. I think it is two for one on the worsted system and five for one on the woolen system. But that does not settle it. The fact is that they made a mistake, and instead of correcting the mistake by saying, "All right; we are going to remove the restrictions and there

will no longer be any restrictions on mohair," they just cut off the dog's tail an inch at a time, which is a little hard on the dog; it might kill him, but you eventually cut his tail off.

They are just issuing enough of these amendments to encourage us without doing us any good. If mohair is not used in defense articles, then there is no reason that it should not be completely released.

Then we come to the question of short wools. Of course, Texas produces the largest proportion of short wools in this country, but in all of our wool States we have a short, fine clothing wool. It may only be a small percentage of the clip, but in the grading of it the Army does not use that wool in any of its specifications. I believe it can be used in some kinds of cloth. It is too fine for use in blankets. Its use is restricted and its market is thereby restricted. They are not selling any short Texas wool at all, and those fine clothing wools that they are making in their graded lines for Government use are left on their hands. They cannot do anything about it.

Noils, as you gentlemen know, are the first byproduct, so to speak, of the worsted combing systems. They are the short fibers that are combed out when you comb wool into tops. Noils are very similar to and come normally into competition with Texas wools.

The use of the noils is unrestricted. You can use all the noils you want. The use of the short wool is restricted. I submit that that is unfair and that that condition should be speedily corrected. Whether or not it makes a market for our short wool is entirely beside the point. It was a mistake to include it. Certainly if you include short wool, noils also should be included in the restricted classification.

I have rambled in my statement over a good deal of territory; I apologize to the committee. I should like to ask that later in the hearings I be permitted to make a further statement, for there are some things I have not had time to get in shape.

I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, your calling this meeting so promptly to give those of us who are here from long distances a chance to be heard. I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Gillis says he does not care to ask anything at this time. I assume, however, that you will be available later.

Mr. WILSON. Yes; I should like to have the right to put in a statement later in the hearing.

The CHAIRMAN. We shall next hear from Mr. C. B. Wardlaw.

STATEMENT OF C. B. WARDLAW, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL WOOL GROWERS ASSOCIATION, DEL RIO, TEX.

Mr. WARDLAW. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen: My name is C. B. Wardlaw. I live at Del Rio, Tex., and am in the livestock industry, being a grower of sheep, cattle, and goats. I am also president of the National Wool Growers Association, which is composed of associations of wool growers in the West and Southwest, where 70 percent of the wool in this country is produced.

Wool is a necessary raw material of critical importance to the success of our war effort. It is imperative to maintain and, if possible, to increase the production of wool in this country as a matter of national safety.

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If wool production is to be maintained at its present levels, it will be absolutely necessary for the Government to purchase the domestic wool clip for the duration of the war and for 1 year thereafter, or until the present stock pile of wool now accumulating in this country is disposed of.

So uncertain and critical are the conditions under which wool growers of the country are operating at the present time that unless an announcement of some satisfactory purchase plan or guarantee of price maintenance is made by the Government, within the next 30 days, production of wool for the coming year will be materially curtailed through the sale by wool growers of the ewe lambs necessary for either increasing or maintaining present production.

Under its wool-control program, the British Government has purchased the wool clips of its dominions for the duration of the war and for 1 year thereafter. It has set up marketing organizations and established selling prices for these wools.

As part of the joint war efforts of the United States and the British Empire, the United States Government is purchasing from the British Government, Australian and South African wool for the purpose of accumulating an emergency stockpile in this country. In order to expedite and simplify the importation of raw commodities including wool, the President by Executive order recently provided that various governmental agencies, including the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, could import strategic war materials without the payment of duty. As a result, the unprecedently large imports of foreign-grown wool being added to the American stock pile are entering this country duty-free. British wool and textile interests are already actively speculating on the advantages they believe are bound to accrue to their wools as a result of this immense duty-free importation of wools into the United States. They believe that when peace is declared, then the combination of surplus and the precedent of dutyfree wools will bring prices down to a point where British wools will capture the American markets.

Government control of the use of wool and Government purchase of British Government-owned wool have combined to produce a surplus of wool in this country which is greater than any which has previously existed.

The policy of our Government with respect to the American wool grower presents the following inequitable and unfair situations:

First, the Government dictates to wool textile manufactures the amount of wool which may be used for civilian purposes. At the present time this is restricted to 20 percent of the amount of wool used in producing worsted materials for civilians in 1941 and 10 percent of the amount used in producing woolens for civilians in 1941. In other words, manufacture for civilian purposes is restricted to 15 percent of the amount of wool consumed in 1941.

Second, as a further control, the War Production Board in recently announced regulations, is stimulating the adulteration of all woolen products by granting wool textile manufacturers a subsidy in the form of additional allowances of wool. The Office of Price Administration further stimulates adulteration of wool products, particularly with rayon and cotton, by granting manufacturers who have previously made only pure wool products, a price advantage of 10 percent, as a reward for adopting a policy of blending or adulterating their products.

Third, the Government, through the Defense Supplies Corporation, is purchasing from the British Government, British Governmentowned wool, and is storing these wools as a reserve. It is acknowledged officially by the Governments of Australiza and South Africa that the United States is today the sole foreign market for their wools and that the American policy of purchasing their surpluses, is a determining factor in maintaining a stable economy. Without American purchases Australian authorities declare that the country would face bankruptcy.

Fourth, the sole protection enjoyed by American wool growers is the uncertain and fluctuating protection of ceiling prices. The maximum prices which the American wool grower may receive for his clip, has been established by the Office of Price Administration. There is, however, no floor under wool prices. The Government subjects American wool growers to every control regarding uses and the manner of use, of the wool growers' product. It is accumulating an unexampled surplus of foreign wools brought in under war-time duty-free regulations. There is no official Government policy regarding the disposal of these surplus wools, except an informal assurance that they will not be sold in a manner which will adversely affect prices for domestic wool.

Fifth, this informal assurance has only the authority of administrative executives in the employ of the Government; it has not the authority of either a Presidential decree or an Act of Congress. The policies of the War Production Board, Office of Price Administration, and other Government war time organizations are subject to radical changes without notice, and are determined, in many instances, by the personal dictates of incumbents. However well intentioned the Government may be, no informal fluid policy can possibly be effective against the economic effect of an accumulating surplus of wool, which cannot possibly be used owing to the rigid restriction as to its use, exercised by the Government.

As part of the rigid restrictions affecting the use of wool, the War Production Board has either prohibited or limited the use by textile manufacturers of the so-called specialty fibers, including camel's hair, vicuna, alpaca,_ and mohair. Except for a limited use of alpaca imported from Peru, none of these specialty fibers have any military value and are not included in the specifications of any fabric for military use. The total amount of any of those specialty fibers, except mohair, which is a domestic product, that is available, is not sufficient to be of any military value.

Mohair, a domestic product, presents a critical problem. In normal peace times, between 60 and 70 percent of the total mohair production of some 20,000,000 pounds, was used in the manufacture of automobile upholstery. This market has disappeared with the conversion of the automobile industry to war purposes. The War Production Board permits the use of mohair under onerous restrictions, principally because it believes that those mills which specialize in the use of mohair and mohair and wool blends, would have an advantage over other mills if they were permitted to continue their normal peace time civilian production of so-called specialty fiber fabrics. The incongruity of this position is emphasized by the subsidy the War Production Board and the Office of Price Administration are offering manufacturers to adulterate their products with fibers other than wool.

The manufacture of adulterated or blended products is a special industry within the total wool industry. The payment of this subsidy is a direct advantage to a special group of manufacturers, and a direct penalty to those producers who have previously made only pure wool fabrics, and who lack "the machinery and the experience necessary to make adulterated or blended products."

Mohair should be released from all restrictions because it has no military value, and is of tremendous value to manufacturers of apparel woolens for men's and women's wear, from the standpoints of wear, texture and improved appearance.

With reference to Texas short wools, under W. P. B. regulations, noils the short wool fibers resulting from combing worsted tops-are exempted from restrictions. Texas short wools which are similar in length and are used for identical purposes, are included in the W. P. B. restrictions. They are extremely valuable in the manufacture of civilian materials, particularly in the hat manufacturing industry and in the production of overcoatings and other full-weight materials. They are not specified in any instance whatever for any fabric used either by the Army or the Navy. As a result, these Texas short wools which have a specific and important market, are accumulating in a surplus which is destroying their normal price levels. The men's hat industry, facing an acute shortage of rabbit fur, could use Texas short wools to advantage. Instead, it is now using in larger quantity each year a newly developed casein powder known as Aralac.

American wool growers should be protected. The British dominions producing 75 percent of the world's wool clip are protected against the grave hazards to wool resulting from the war, by the British Government. The American Government is officially providing a market for these wools by purchasing them with Government funds; the purchases are so large that they are resulting in an inventory which has depressed the American growers' wool as much as 10 cents per greasepound, and has caused wool textile manufacturers to defer buying domestic wools because of a softening market, and their certainty, based on experience, that prices are bound to recede still further. Under existing conditions, the American wool grower, faced by increased costs of materials, labor, taxes, and all other overhead expenses, must curtail production of wool unless he is protected against an inevitable ruinous decline in prices. Only Government purchase or Government protection in the form of ceiling and floor prices, will be effective:

(a) The Government should put raw wool in the same definite price range as are the tops and yarns made from this wool. Prices should be proportionate to top yard and goods prices, all of which are fixed by the Government, so long as these prices are based on the ceiling price of the raw material wool.

(b) The Government should remove from the wool grower the burden of being obliged to carry the weight of the enormous wool surplus which the Government, by its own purchases, is accumulating. In addition to this Government surplus, there is being added a commercial surplus. Purchases of foreign wool by private interests are at an all-time high. Despite war risks which it is estimated have over the past 6 months resulted in the loss of only approximately 2 percent of all wool shipments.