THE COST OF LIVING 379 



by improvements in the arts of agriculture, and by the cultivation of 

 new and better lands in the west. The crisis of 1907, by depressing 

 conditions in general, caused a temporary retardation in the upward 

 movement, making it more pronounced as prosperity returns. More- 

 over, the critical point in the proportion between the urban and rural 

 classes is one which may be reached and passed in a brief period of time. 

 Apparently we have just reached, or are just passing, this juncture in 

 the United States. Finally, the explanation herein offered does not 

 claim to be a complete one. For such a complicated phenomenon, there 

 is undoubtedly a variety of causes, each with its own importance. But 

 the division of population between city and country is the underlying 

 condition which has made the operation of the other causes possible. 



At this point the question naturally arises, why does not this state 

 of affairs work out its own cure ? "Why does not the high price of farm 

 products, bringing, as it apparently must, large profits to the farmer, 

 make country life more attractive, and check the rush to the city, or 

 even entice some of the urban dwellers back to the soil ? 



The first and most obvious answer to this query is that by no means 

 all the profits accruing from the high price of food ever find their way 

 back to the pockets of the original producer. Farmers have never been 

 able to secure for themselves, for long periods of time or over large 

 areas, the benefits of combination. Under our modern system of 

 supply, the products of the soil pass through a number of different 

 hands before they reach the consumer, and each of the intermediaries 

 must have his profit. A large part of the excess of price over the actual 

 cost of production is absorbed by transportation companies, commission 

 merchants, packers and retail dealers — themselves mainly city dwellers. 



But this is only a very partial explanation. The factors which 

 determine residence in city or country are something more than the 

 financial advantages which this or that locality has to offer. That the 

 opportunities for achieving marked success in business, and amassing 

 huge fortunes are greatest in the centers of population is undoubted, 

 and the decision of many a country lad to break away from the familiar 

 home surroundings is forwarded by the hope that he may be one of the 

 fortunate ones who find their place in the city, and win great rewards. 

 Occasionally it turns out so. But it is a question whether the average 

 young man stands a better chance of making a comfortable living in the 

 city than on the farm, and monetary considerations alone could hardly 

 exert such an attractive force as we see in operation. 



The lure of the city is something infinitely more complex and intri- 

 cate than this. A complete and adequate explanation of its power has 

 long been sought in vain. Some of the elements of its irresistible 

 charm are obvious, and may be easily stated — the excitement and variety 

 of metropolitan life, the opportunities for recreation and diversion, the 

 comforts of city houses, the chances for achieving success and fame in 



