Complaint At High Price Of Wool

Chronicle (Levin), 4 December 1948, Page 5

Complaint At High Price Of Wool

Reeeived Friday, 7.10 p.m. \ NEW YORK, Dec. 2. The prices of Australian wool upon whieh America is depending for the largest percentage of her fine wools have advanced 15 to 20 per cent Since the opening of the auctions in September due to large purehases by Italy, France, the United Ivingdom and Russia, according to Mr. Curt Forstmann. In a report to the . American W001 Council, he said: "It is paradoxical that these countries whieh, with the exeeption of Russia, are maintaining their eeonomies on ruoney borrowed from the United States are in "a position to inilate world wool prices at the cost of American manufacturers and the American public. 1 am becoming more and more apprehensive of those aspects of" reeiprocal trade treaties whieh open the doors of this country to increasing importations of lower cost Wool tex tiles from the United Ivingdom and Continental Europe while world markets are shut to American manufacturers by embargoes, trade restrictions and dollar control measures. " Mr. Forstmann said he found New Zealanders and Australians "extremelv hospitable and friendly. Both countries have vast natural resources but are lield back from exploiting them as a result of the general practice of limitiug operations to one, or at the outside, two shifts of 40 hours weelcly. "