The Vast Territory that Our Inflated Monroe Doctrine Obligates Us to Defend 60 The Heart of America 76 Relative Numerical Strength of Field Artillery 104 Portrait of General Leonard Wood, U. S. A. 114 Number of Officers and Enlisted Men of U. S. Regular Army 118 Strength of Regular Armies on Peace Footing 124 Portrait of Admiral Austin M. Knight, U. S. N. 150 Strategic Spheres of Vital Importance in the Pacific 160 Battleship Strength of the Nations 168 How New York Could Be Bombarded from a Position off Rockaway Beach Beyond the Range of Our Forts 188 Opposing Fleets in Action _between_ 197 and 198 Some Annual United States Expenditures 226 Enormous Resources of the Warring Nations 232 Casualties of Peace and War Compared 296 INTRODUCTION OUR GREAT OBSESSION Success in every human pursuit depends upon ability to discern the truth and to utilize it. Facts, though they may be stern, are our best friends, and we should always welcome them with an open mind. Napoleon said that with good news there is never any hurry, but with bad news not a moment is to be lost. Consequently, those who discover to us certain facts of serious concern are our friends, even though it may be bad news. It is every man's duty, not only to himself, but also to those dear to him, to know the truth about anything which may menace his and their welfare, in order that he and they may become awakened to the danger and prepare for it accordingly. Those who deceive us by warning us of danger when there is no danger may not do us any harm; in fact, they may even do us good by cultivating our alertness and awareness. The hare may jump at a thousand false alarms to every one of actual danger; but it is the false alarms that have given him the alertness to save himself when real danger comes. On the other hand, those who convince us that there is no danger when there is great danger are the worst of enemies; they expose us, naked of defense, to the armed and armored enemy. Among the great deceivers with whom the human race has to contend is the confidence man, for he plays upon the fears, vanity, and credulity of his victim with the skill of a Kubelik upon the violin. He enlists his victim with him, and they work together to the same end. No man is greatly deceived by another except through his own co-operation. Every one has his pet egoistic illusion always under the spotlight of self-view; to him, his own importance is a veritable obsession. A nation is only a compound of individuals, and what is true of an individual also holds true of any aggregation of individuals.