ly existed; and the expense of
establishing such bases as Malta, Gibraltar, and Heligoland has
been tremendous. An important consideration has been the fact that,
unless the base were made so strong that it could not be taken,
it might be better not to attempt to fortify it, on the theory
that it would be better to let a poor naval base fall into the
hands of the enemy than a good one. To this reasoning, the answer
is usually made that no base can be made absolutely impregnable,
and that sufficient defense will be provided if it makes the task
and cost of capturing the base greater than the base is worth.
This means simply that the more valuable the base is, the more
money should be spent in defending it; and that _it is worse than
useless to defend it by any means that is obviously too small,
in proportion to its value_.

It often happens that the places that have the best position are
weak in strength and resources; a notable instance is Gibraltar,
another is Culebra, and the most notable of all is Guam. None of
these places is fortunate in either resources or natural strength,
though Gibraltar was strong for the artillery of the time when
the base was established there. In fact, it is hard to think of
any place that combines in itself the three advantages of a fine
strategical position, large resources, and great strength. The
three attributes seem almost incompatible; for how can a base far
distant from its home be well placed with reference to attacking
the lines of communication of any enemy intending to attack the
home coast, and yet have its own lines of communications safe? How
can it have a sheet of water, just deep enough but not too deep
to anchor a large fleet in, with all of its auxiliaries extensive
enough to accommodate all the vessels and far enough from the sea
to be safe from gun-fire, and yet be on an island so small and
so rugged, that an enemy could not land troops near the base and
capture it from the land side, as the Japanese captured Port Arthur?
The natural strategic advantages of a large and sheltered sheet
of water seem to entail the disadvantages of a large island, or
a continent.

There seems only one way in which to solve the problem of where
and how to establish a permanent naval base at a distant point, and
that is the way in which the world's preceptor--Great Britain--has
solved it; and the solution is to select a place that has already the
advantage of position, and then add to it