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Show oo CALAIS IN GREAT DANGER. Once more the British have yielded ground. They have been driven from tho greater part of Messines ridge to the south of Ypres, and they are in great danger of being cut off at that key to Calais. 7 he news is not good and has not! Leen since ;he great offensive st&ricd OO March 21. Tbore is no evidence of a strong leserre force at anv point bid: of the Brilifb lines around iles einea, l s fast a. thev organize their new positions, 'he Germans seem ablf to make new gains. Lntil these forward lunges are stopped, the war outlook will be dark. If the whole northern line from Ypres to Nieuport has to be vacated and new defenses constructed, the British will have a desperate task to pcTform, on top of the hammering to which they are bom, subjected. Perhaps, if we Cf.nld get a per. behind be-hind the German l'res, th pro.-pec's WOttld not appear so discouraging. It is possible ti e Tenons have been se-trertjl se-trertjl punisheJ, tint their losses have been stagge-'.r.c and tension applied to the point of breaking. They roav hve extended themselves to the utmost, and are abour to yttld to a reaction. Who knows? But facing the situation as we see It, there is nothing for us to do other iren accept ifcl worrt and proceed to " plun to meet the mofl unexpected sue -co tes on the. part of the enemy. Should the Germans overrun that pait of France from Arras to Calais, there would be left a great fighting front to the south. Our troops art 'disembarking at Havre or Bordeaux, ' far below Calais. England would suffer most from a German victory extending, to the ! coast, as the capture of Palais would do much to make the Straits of Dover a mine field and close that channel to navigation. But the loss of that part of France should do nothing more than prove to America how necessary It is for us to begin to reallzo that the war Is creeping this way. Of courts, if the Germans were able to take all France, that would not bring the kaiser's troops to our shores, but It would be preliminary' tn an Offensive directed at the United Slates. France, at present, is our first line of trenches. It is for us to make the most of that position, so that finally, before being driven out. we shall leave deep, ugly wounds on the enemy which will render him less fit to continue con-tinue his world campaign f l onquesl. One thing though which buoys us up Is the confidence expressed by Secretary Sec-retary Baker, who has Just returned from Franco, and tho faith shown b Lloyd George in General Fochs ability to meet the crisis. We must not yield to pessimism, even while clearly searching out the unfavorable side of the conflict The only effect should he to make all j Americans more thoroughly resolved to throw off the garments of peace and don the habiliments of war. We must cultivate the fighting mood. |