66 .THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



distribution, it is only a matter of a sliort time 

 imtil another wave of discontent will arise over 

 the cost of living. If wages in the industries 

 were immediately reduced to-day to a level cor- 

 responding to the prices of farm products as 

 they existed before the war, there would be 

 a storm of protest even greater than that which 

 we heard in 1919. 



Popular complaint concerning the cost of liv- 

 ing is based upon improper relations between 

 income and the cost of necessities rather than 

 the mere fact that prices are higher than they 

 have been in the past. We gradually get used 

 to new scales of prices and it is only a sudden 

 change that brings out a protest. 



The permanent solution for our cost of living 

 problem centers in just three things: a more 

 direct and economical marketing system; an 

 efficient distributing system and vigilant over- 

 sight of trusts and credit. I am inclined to 

 think that the greatest relief to agriculture and 

 to the consumer will be obtained through co- 

 operative marketing. 



