80 THE HIGH COST OF LIVING 



was to the effect that conditions in April, 1917, when 

 there was a shortage of 140,000 cars, were the worst 

 in history, but that even graver congestion was in 

 prospect. 



This admission was made when the effective con- 

 duct of the war, the support of England and France, 

 the suppl^-ing of munitions, the ecjuipment of our 

 own army and navy, and the feeding of our people 

 were involved. We have directed millions of farm- 

 ers to plant and harvest food, to give their labor to 

 the nation, and when the harvesting has been done, 

 the whole nation — ^yes, the whole allied world — may 

 see the successful conduct of the w^ar, which has cost 

 millions of men and untold billions of wealth, im- 

 perilled and possibl}' brought to naught by the break- 

 down of transportation facilities, not on the sea but 

 on the land. 



This embargo on food is a continuing condition. 

 It recui's each year. It affects the wheat, corn, 

 and cereal crop of the West as it does the cattle- 

 raisers. The railroads admit this. Every industrial 

 centre in the country knows it. The Interstate 

 Commerce Commission has stated the peril in the 

 strongest possible words. In its report of January 

 13, 1917, on the "Car Supply Investigation," the 

 commission said: 



"The present conditions of car distribution 

 throughout the United States have no parallel in 

 our history. In some territories the railroads have 



