The original idea of Menzel and Salisbury concerning the origin of cosmic rays has been extended and some of its possible consequences worked out in more detail. It is concluded that low frequency electromagnetic waves (a few cycles per second) may exist in limited regions near the outer edge of the solar corona, and could accelerate ions to cosmic-ray energies. An attempt is made to explain both the "ordinary" cosmic rays and the intensity increases following solar flares in terms of the action of these waves.