ould be exhausted.

This sentence may be modified by saying that the time might be
lengthened by the occasional arrival of supply ships and colliers
that might come by way of the Mediterranean, or the Cape of Good
Hope, or any other route which approached the Philippines from
the southward; and it is possible that, in the unfortunate event
of a war between us and some Asiatic power, our relations with
European countries might be such as to make the use by us of such
routes feasible and safe. In view, however, of the conditions of
island possession in the Pacific as they actually are, and because
of the rapid and abrupt changes that characterize international
relations, the probability of being able to use such routes seems
too small to receive grave consideration.

_Other Bases in the Pacific_.--The Pacific Ocean is so vast, and
the interests of the United States there will some day be so great,
that the question of establishing naval bases, in addition to bases at
Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and Guam, will soon demand attention.
The localities that are the most obvious are the Panama Canal Zone
and the Samoan Islands in the south, and the Aleutian Islands in
the north. A moderately far-seeing policy regarding the Pacific,
and a moderately far-seeing strategy for carrying out the policy,
would dictate the establishment and adequate protection of bases in
both the southern and the northern regions; so that our fleet could
operate without undue handicap over the long distances required.
The same principles that govern the selection of positions and
the establishment of bases in the Atlantic apply in the Pacific;
the same requirements that a base shall be near where the fleet
will conduct its operations--no matter whether those operations
be offensive or defensive, no matter whether they concern direct
attack or a threat against communications.

* * * * *

In view of the great value of naval bases, one may be pardoned
perhaps for a feeling of surprise that the United States has no real
naval base, home or distant. Our large navy-yards are our nearest
approximation to real bases. The yards at Norfolk and Bremerton seem
to combine the three factors of position, strength, and resources
better than do any other stations; though both are surpassed in
resources by New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Bremerton has
the greatest natural military strength of all our stations; in
fact, it is na