SHORTLY before the outbreak of war in 1939, Clarence Streit wrote "Union Now," which was described as "a proposal for a federal union of the leading democracies." The influence which that book had upon American readers was phenomenal, and Union Now organizations sprung up throughout the country. "Union Now With Britain" brings the plan up to the minute, and discusses a federalized world of democracies in the light of the threatened invasion of England and the passage of H.R. 1776.

If Streit can persuade his readers to accept his basic premises, he will have little difficulty in making them agree with him that Union Now is the only solution to the world's problems. Assuming that our entry into the war is inevitable, that the League of Nations idea, by its very nature, can never work, that some form of world government is necessary, Streit concludes that a "United States of Man" must be formed immediately.

Since the publication of his original work, Streit's plan has had to undergo considerable revision, for the proposed number of member democracies has steadily decreased with the advance of Hitler. But the basic elements of the proposal, with equal emphasis on "union" and "now," remain unchanged.

The Union of the Free, under Streit's plan, would be a federation, not a confederation, and the principle of national sovereignty would be abolished. In practically every respect, the relations between the Union and the member democracies would be like those between the American government and the separate states. Fancying the Roman consular system, Streit suggests Churchill and Roosevelt as dual executives. Each member democracy would have one representative in the unicameral Congress, with an additional one for every 5,000,000 people. Thus there would be 49 members of Congress, of whom 27 would be American. After suggesting Wendell Willkie, Alf Landon, Al Smith, and others as our representatives, Streit leaves space for the gentle reader to fill in his own nominations. A proposed "Declaration of Inter-Dependence" and a constitution are included, showing how closely the U. S. M. can be patterned after the U. S. A.

The book itself represents considerable sound thinking, but it is occasionally marred by pedagogical and moralistic passages. Furthermore, Streit does not prove that the League of Nations failed because it was a confederation, and not because America refused to join it. He does not demonstrate conclusively that the federation will endure after the crisis is over. He does not show that Hilter's defeat can be made more certain by his plan than by our present policy. Despite these obvious short-comings, however, Clarence Streit's proposal is the most complete and workable program for the post-war world that has yet been presented. "Union Now With Britain" may well become one of the most influential books of the year.