4 NOVEMBER 1916, Page 9

The American Plan of Government. By C. W. Bacon and

F. S. Morse. (G. P. Putnam's Sons. $2.50 not.)—This useful book is a commentary on the American Constitution, as modified by successive amendments and by a long series of judicial interpretations. As the authors take the document clause by clause, they do not always make it clear whether the Federal Government has ultimately prevailed over the States ; in the case of the national Income Tax, for example, the adverse decision of the Supreme Court in 1891 is reported in one place, while the tax of 1913, successfully enforced under the guise of an Excise duty, is mentioned in another place. The steady growth of the powers of tho central authority, and especially of the President, is well illustrated.