o 



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69^3 



PREFACE 



The high cost of Hving is not a war product. The 

 war hastened tendencies. It aggravated conditions. 

 It gave opportunities for speculation and extortion. 

 But the cost of Hving was rising rapidly before the 

 war. And it will continue to rise when the war is 

 over unless radical steps are taken to prevent it. 



The last few years have witnessed a change in 

 the economic foundations of American life. Com- 

 petition is passing. Monopoly has entered into al- 

 most every process of industry. The laws of de- 

 mand and supply no longer protect us. A host of 

 intermediaries have wedged themselves in between 

 the producer and the consumer, each one of which 

 is interested in taking as large a profit for himself 

 as possible. This is not only true of food, it is true 

 of almost every necessity of life. Even more im- 

 portant, the control of the land and resources of the 

 earth has diminished production. It has excluded 

 men from the land. It has limited the opportu- 

 nities of labor. It has checked initiative. It has 

 reduced the amount of wealth produced. 



Monopoly is responsible for the conditions which 

 confront us. It operates in the following ways: 



It controls the natural resources, the agencies of 



• ^7374-3 



