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Show o TARIFF ON WOOL NOT LOWERED Washington, D. C, February 7 Assurances that no steps had been taken or were immediately in prospect pros-pect to lower the tariff on wool, thus endangering the market for one of Utah's important products, were given today by Senator Elbert D. Thomas (D.) of Utah after rumors and enquiries to that effect had, caused him to seek information from administrative sources. The tariff commission has the power either to lower or raise rates by 50 percent, but such action could only be taken after the commission had held hearings on the subject and proper steps had been taken to bring the matter to public attention. No action of any sort has been taken, and the Utah Senator has learned that no action is contemplated. "Such rumors and enquiries are a good sign in one respect," Senator Thomas said. "They indicate that the wool industry has come a long way up from the morass of low prices in which it found itself at the height of the depression a year ago.- Rising-prices and better con- ditions always bring unfounded rumors ru-mors of tariff changes. It is a sign of good times." The price of wool has more than doubled in the past year. According to the last available figures of the Department of Agriculture here, the average price paid to producers throughout the United States on December 15, 1933, was 24.2 cents a pound, compared to 9.2 cents for December 15, 1932, and 12.9 cents on December 15, 1931. Senator Thomas expressed the be- ; lief that the rumors of a reduction in the tariff might also have arisen following the return of Secretary of State Hull and his delegation from the Pan-X American Conference at Montevideo. Such conferences always al-ways bring recurring fears that Argentine Ar-gentine wool might have won a more advantageous position through lowered low-ered American tariffs, but the Utah Senator said he had been unable to find any justification for such a view at the present time. |