Excerpt from Fundamentals of Military Service Our once protecting sea barrier has been converted by the advances of science into the readiest and cheap est means oi communication between ourselves and our trans-oceanic neighbors. Our once Splendid iso lation has been changed by civilization and commerce into an intimate and indissolu'ble inter-relation with the other peoples of the world. It is impossible to turn back, nor do the younger generation desire to. They choose rather that the nation shall take its place proudly in the councils of the world; prepared to meet unfalteringly its responsibilities, and to maintain with dignity its just standards of reasonable existence. This demands a degree of military preparedness that will secure us against invasion, and lend forcefulness to the tone when the nation speaks. Our national policies are, in the end, dictated by private citizens through the power of public opinion; and the very life of the nation may depend on what those citizens have previously demanded in prepara tion for defense. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.