IN THE UNITED STATES BY ARTHUR N. HOLCOMBE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916 All rights reserved "No government can now expect to be permanent unless it guarantees progress as well as order; nor can it continue really to secure order unless it promotes progress." J. S. MILL: The French Revolution and its Assailants. PREFACE STATE GOVERNMENT in the United States is a subject on which many books might be written. This book is designed to furnish a critical analysis of the principles of state government in the United States. Beginning with a statement of the principles upon which the governments of the original states were established, it explains how the original forms of government have developed in response to changing conditions, how the present state governments are meeting present needs, and concludes with a brief consideration of some of the contemporary plans for further reform. Why should we change our form of government? Has the time come for discarding the eighteenth century doctrine of the division of powers? These are some of the more fundamental questions to which the book attempts to give an answer. But the book is not solely concerned with the political philosophy of American state government. It also treats of the more practical problems arising out of the growth of the functions of the modern state and the increase of its administrative activities. For the convenience of those readers who may wish to pursue further the study of contemporary state government, I have prepared a bibliographical appendix, containing a selected list of the most useful titles. References cited in the text or in the footnotes are, for the most part, omitted from this list. It has not seemed necessary to include either in the text or elsewhere much statistical matter relating to the forms of government, such as tables of the numbers and tenure of members of state legislatures, or to the conduct of administration, such as tables of enlistments in the state militia or of salient features in industrial or labor legislation. Such information is readily obtainable in various well-known publications, notably in the American Year Book, published annually since 1910. |