WHITEHALL SYSTEM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 July 1942, Page 3

WHITEHALL SYSTEM

SALUTING ORDER ISSUED AT TOBRUK TWO DAYS BEFORE PLACE FELL. WRITER’S BITTER JIBE. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright) LONDON, June 30. Referring to the coming war debate, Mr Hannen Swaffer, writing in the “Daily Herald,” says: “Tobruk, my dear M.P.’s, is only the symptom. You must not talk about Libya in the coming debate. Get down deeper into the roots of our discredited Whitehall system. “Perhaps the answer to the red tape and refusal to consider new ideas is given in the letter of an n.c.o. about two days before Tobruk fell. The letter says: ‘Our commanding officer has issued a special order on saluting. It appears that the men were not saluting officers who were riding in cars. Particularly those? cars flying a small flag. The commanding officer’s order said: “Failure to salute shows lack of efficiency, lack of spirit and lack of discipline. Soldiers who fail to salute their officer are either ill-trained, insolent or idle. All this lack of discipline leads to wars being lost.” ’ ” Mr Swaffer adds: “From all this it is obvious that the loss of Tobruk was due to bad saluting.”