158 THE HIGH COST OF LIVING 



Moreover, this is the procedure adopted in the 

 countries where the problem has been reasonably 

 solved. 



What are the necessary steps to secure such free- 

 dom of production and distribution in the food 

 supply? 



(1) Let us begin at the farm. It is obviously im- 

 possible for each farmer to find his own market in 

 the distant city. It is absurd that he should ship 

 his produce in broken lots at excessive freight rates 

 and have no responsible consignee to whom his 

 produce can be sent for sale. The first step is to 

 organize shipments from the farm. And this is not 

 difficult. It can be done by the creation of a State 

 department of markets, with provision for county 

 or local warehouses, to which any farmer can bring 

 his produce and receive a receipt for it from a State 

 agent or a representative of the farmers' organiza- 

 tion if it is done by co-operation. Then the com- 

 bined consignments of all of the farmers can be 

 shipped to the city market in car-load lots irrespec- 

 tive of individual ownership. This would mean a 

 saving in freight rates to the individual. It would 

 relieve the isolated farmer of the necessity of seeing 

 his produce through to the city, where in many in- 

 stances he is defrauded of the value of his produce 

 by the consignee or paid a nominal price fixed by 

 the fictitious sales made by the exchanges. This is 

 the Australian method, where the State produce 



