THE

PREFACE

'HE majority of the following chapters were prepared for the Army and Navy Journal in the belief that the European war of 1914 was to force upon the attention of the United States issues that might readily lead to war, if the country was true to its traditions as a Neutral Power.

Of these issues the fundamental one, which in a sense involves all others, is of coursewhether or not a peaceful commercial people shall have a place under the sun, or, to put it differently, whether nations that prefer the cultivation of commerce, art, and letters are to impose their will upon militant peoples or be ruled by these.

While the fact that the United States may be made a belligerent by breach of its neutrality, makes it suitable for officers, upon whom the nation depends in time of stress,