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Show uu AMERICANS IN THEIR FIRST FIGHT. Our American troops have had their first desperate contact with tho ut'iuiaus, mu uiuj nivti; ii j jvj kuui, man to man, thoy are tho Gorman's master. Two hundred forty "shock troops" were sent over the top In a heavy barrage to raid the American trenches. They entorcd the first lino trench, only to be expelled and'madc to rush back to thoir defenses, leaving leav-ing the battlefield stro-wn with dead. This is what we have expected of our boys, whenever a real test came. No Gorman forco need hopo to overawe over-awe the best blood of America. Before Be-fore this war is many months further along, Berlin and all Germany will bo-gin bo-gin to understand what American courage moans. For months word has been coming out of Germany telling of the untrained, un-trained, undisciplined, ineffective American force, which the most inferior in-ferior German battalions could dispose dis-pose of and eliminate. ThiB has boon accepted as the- usual Gorman brag and boast. When the British entered tho war In large numbers, tho same slurs were directed at them. Since tVion ovon tho London volunteers. drawn in part from the slums of th great city, have met and defeated th Prussian Guard. No German, from the heart of th military lifo of the KalBer's empire, can conceive of an American, from out of civil life, being equal in combat to a Prussian Guard. Ho cannot measure meas-ure the initiative, tho quickness of ac tion, the enconquerablo spirit of the avorage American, and he must loam his lesson by experloncc, which is about to be dealt out to him in very large closes. Of courne, in this awful conflict, America must pay the price of victory. There will bo casualties heavy casualties. cas-ualties. But as tho lists of dead and wounded arc cabled across tho ocean and as thoy go out to the homes, America will begin to got on its fighting fight-ing clothes. Then much of tho looso talk by aliens will stop in this country, coun-try, there will bo a moro sorlous mien and tho atmospheor will bo that of war in Its most tragic form. |