1945

H. R. 2763. An act for the relief of Fred Crago; and

II. R. 3046. An act for the relief of Thomas A. Butler; to the Committee on Claims.

H.R. 3266. An act to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of June 25, 1938, as amended, by providing for the cartincation of batches of drugs composed whclly or partly of any kind of penicillin or any derivative thereof, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce.

R. 3278. An act to amend section 204 cf the act entitled "An act to expedite the provision of housing in connection with national defense, and for other purposes," approved October 14, 1940, as amended, to increase the amount • authorized to be appropriated therein, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Education and Labor.

P. R. 639. An act to amend paragraph 632 of title 16 of the United States Code; and

H. R. 2265. An act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to grant and convey to Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pa., certain lands of the United States in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pa., for highway purposes and for ornamental park purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.

H. R. 715. An act to provide the transfer by the Secretary of War of the Roseburg Rifle Range, Douglas County, Oreg., to the Defense Flant Corporation, and for other purposes;

H. R. 1647. An act to authorize the Sccretary of War to convey to the Captain William Edmiston Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution a certain building and tract or parcel of land situated in Montgomery County, Tenn.;

H. R. 2477. An act to give recognition to the noncombatant services under enemy are performed by officers and enlisted men of the Medical Corps of the Army; and

H. R. 3436. An act providing for a medal for Eervice in the armed forces during the present war: to the Committee on Military Affairs.

terials for the use of the United States, and for other purposes," approved October 10, 1940, as amended, for the purpose of continuing it in cílect;

H. R. 3233. An act to permit members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Public Health Service, and their dependents, to occupy certain Government housing facilities on 8 rental basis without loss of rental allow. ances; and

H. R. 3234. An act to amend the act entitled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to requisition property required for the defense of the United States," approved October 16. 1941, £8 amended, for the purpose of continuing it in efect; ordered to be placed on the calendar.

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
REFERRED

The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 50) declaring Congress to have recognized and approved the provisions of section 29.23 (m)-16 of Treasury Regulations 111, and for other purposes, was referred to the Committee on Finance. EXTENSION OF TRADE AGREEMENTS ACT

The Senate resuined the consideration of the bill (H. R. 3240) to extend the authority of the President under section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, returning to the pending measure before the Senate, there has been much discussion to the effect that imports of agricultural products into the United States comprise such a small percentage in the general over-all picture that it makes very little difference whether or not the reciprocal trade agreements are entered into and enforced. Yesterday the dis

H. R. 2504. An act to discontinue certain reports now required by law; to the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments.

H. R. 2508. An act to incorporate The Mothers of World War II, to set forth and establish the purposes and aims of the organization, fixing its corporate powers and establishing the rights of membership, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

H. R. 3269. An act further amending the part of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30. 1921, and for other purposes," approved June 4, 1920, as amended, relating to the conservation, on Custody, protection, and cperation of the naval petroleum and oil-shale escrves; to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

H. J. Res. 116. Joint resolution to facilitate the exccution of subsection (d) of section 13 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended; to the Committee on Interstate Commerce.

H. J. Res. 194. Joint resolution to continue the temporary increases in postal rates on first-class matter, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

from Kentucky [Mr. B'RKLEY] engaged in a colloquy with the senior Senator from Minnesota [Mr. SHIPSTEAD]. In his statement to the distinguished Senator from Minnesota the most distinguished majority leader said that it did not make any difference about the importation of Col because we consume more wool in this country than we produce, and therefore the operation of reciprocal trade agreements would not have any effect on the domestic production of wool.

I wish respectfully to call the attention of Members of the Senate to the hearings held before the Ways and Means Ccmmittee of the House of Representatives on H. R. 2652 on May 3 and 4, 1945. On page

page 1632 appears the testimony of

B. Wilson on behalf of the National Woolarowers' Association. Mr. Wilson in qualifying himself as a witness able and willing to testify states:

I am chairman of the legislative committee of the National Woolgrowers' Association, and am. and have been for over a quarter of a century, secretary of the Wyoming Woolgrowers' Association.

I think that qualifies him to speak. He has been here; I have talked to him

H. R. 3193. An act to permit waiving of the bonds of Navy mail clerks and assistant Navy Inail clerks, and for other purposes;

H. R. 3232. An act to amend section 3 of the act entitled "An act to authorize the Presi

dent to requisition certain articles and ma

of the Senate who are interested in the agricultural aspects of the reciprocal trade-agreements program have also talked to him.

On page 1634 Mr. Wilson said-and he was not challenged by any member of the committee or questioned about his statement:

6341

The most prosperous years our Industry has had, within 30 years, was the period 1922 to 1928.

He says further:

I do not think it is exactly a fair comparison, but wool prices were higher during the 1924-33 period than they were during the 1934 41 pericd.

He

That testimony is unchallenged. goes on further, and I think makes a very fair statement:

Only two wool duties have been reduced under the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. In the treaty made with Argentina in 1941 the duty on wool grading 40's and below was reduced from 24 cents to 13 cents, a reduction of 45.8.

That is nearly a full 50-percent reduction.

In the same treaty the duty-wool grading 44's and below was reduced from 24 cents to 17 cents, a reduction of 41.3 percent. In fairness it should be stated

He says-and I want to quote him correctly

that we do not produce many of those particular grades of wool in this country. The danger would be with the increased importations, that they would be used in substitution for wools of higher grade.

I think that is the answer to the contention of the majority leader that we consume more wool than is grown here, and that trade agreements do not affect the domestic wool industry. I think that the possibility of substitution for higher grades of wool suggest a very important argument why the reciprocal trade agreements should not be made applicable to wool produced in this country, particularly if an additional 50-percent reduction may be made in the present rates.

I desire to continue further to quote from Mr. Wilson's statement in answer to the most distinguished Senator from Kentucky. I think the statement of Mr. Wilson is very pertinent and I wish to draw it to the attention of the Senator from Kentucky. Mr. Wilson referred to the treaty with the United Kingdom, cffective January 1, 1939, which was discussed both by the president of the Wcol Growers Association and another witness on that date.

Mr. Wilson then said:

The full impact of the duty reductions under the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, as was pointed out by Mr. Basse (the pres!dent of the National Wool Growers' Association) has not been felt.

However, you will find that the wool rags on which the duty was reduced from 15 cents to 9 cents, which is a cut of 0 percent, the full amount allowed by the act, aid increase, in 1939 and 1940-materially increased.

As I understand—and I am not a textile operator-wool rags are what shoddy is made from.

It is not fair to take the increase from the year 1938, because in that year we imported an abnormally small quantity of rags, but taking the increase of the average pericd, imports, from 1932 to 1938, irciusive--that was before any trade agreement with Great Britain-we find that the importation of rags incrested 214 percent in volume and 204 percent in value.

I ask some of those who say that importations do not affect the domestic