WHY THERE IS NOT MORE FOOD 101 



throws up his hands. And when the cost of trans- 

 portation to market is as much as the farmer re- 

 ceives for his labor, he comes to the conclusion that 

 there is something wrong with the government that 

 permits such a thing, and he turns away in despair, 

 for he sees no prospect of relief. 



I have not the slightest doubt but that the pro- 

 duction of food of all kinds would be increased 

 enormously aU over the country if the railroads 

 were in public hands. I believe that the Eastern 

 markets could be supplied from their own doors 

 if they were free from the discrimination and em- 

 bargo which now prevails. One of the greatest of 

 all obstacles to the revival of farming is the imcer- 

 tainty of a market and the fear that the transport- 

 ing and distributing agencies would bring the efforts 

 of the farmer to naught. Other countries have dis- 

 covered that these agencies cannot with safety be 

 left in private hands, and in other countries cities 

 are surrounded by gardeners and truckmen who 

 supply the local market.^ They raise cattle, sheep, 

 hogs, and poultry, and sell directly to the retail 

 merchants or through the markets of the near-by 

 cities. These countries have eliminated the private 

 distributer and have opened up the highways, the 

 warehouses, and the cold-storage plants and made 



^ In Baltimore, where splendid markets are maintained by the city, 

 the cost of living is very low, while all about the city the business 

 of truck-gardening has been developed to satisfy the local demand. 



