ANSWER TO CRITICS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 October 1941, Page 6

ANSWER TO CRITICS

MAJOR-GENERAL PUTTICK’S REPORT ON DOMINION-BUILT TANKS. MR SEMPLE’S COMMENTS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. The report is certainly an answer to some of the superficial and stupid criticism thrown about by people who do not know the first thing about the business, said Mr Semple (Minister of Railways) this morning, commenting on the report prepared by the Chief of the General Staff (Major-General Puttick) on the Dominion-built tank. “I am delighted with the report,” said Mr Semple, ‘‘because it has justified the efforts made by Mr T, G. Beck, District Public Works Engineer in Canterbury, and the men associated with him in the building of three tanks. Mr Beck, as a civil servant, could not reply to his critics, from whom he had to put up with many cheap sneers. “That tank was an honest to God effort to do something with the material at our disposal,” added Mr Semple, “when raiders were at our back door, instead of sitting down and moaning, we felt we ought to do something to manufacture weapons that would help to defend our country and our people. I was responsible for the suggestion which was carried out by Mr Beck, in conjunction with Mr A. D. Todd, engineer at the Public Works Department workshops at Temuka, and Mr A. J. Smith, overseer. The first tank was made at Temuka and two more at the Addington Workshops, where Mr Hoare and his men did invaluable work. For the sake of the men concerned, I am pleased with Major-Gen-eral Puttick’s report. He put the tank through an acid test and it came out with flying colours. I agree with the General that now that modern tanks, with proper -armoured steel, are coming to hand, there is no need to make any more converted tractor tanks.”