Past Performances.

JUST now, when the political field is crowded with entries assembling for the Presidential race, Mr. Seitz's treatment of some of the disappointed aspirants for the White House holds an unusual interest. Perhaps his pages will offer some value to the beaten--he adduces evidence to prove that the best man has not always won--but at all events they should be valuable to any reader interested in American politics.

From Aaron Burr to William Jennings Bryan, Mr. Seitz deals with eighteen "also rans" in the Presidential sweeps-takes. Famous names appear, like John Calhaun, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Men like John Fremont, James G. Blaine, less in the mouths of the public, receive their due.

The short chapters devoted to each man are half essay, half straightforward biographical sketch. The effect is to paint clear pictures of the candidates in the medium of their political careers, intimating the fitness of each for the office which they missed, and analyzing carefully the forces which settled the fate the each in the race.

Many of the chapters interlock, furnishing clear and comprehensive summaries of eras in the political history of the United States. The entire book is a fairly complete survey of the influences dominating party struggles from the days of Jeffersonian Democracy to those of Bryanesque Democracy.