FOREMAN QUIN EXPLAINS

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12465, 5 June 1926, Page 9

FOREMAN QUIN EXPLAINS

REPLY TO CRITICISMS “COUNCIL PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH.” Th© following statement was made by Mr Quin, who was foreman on the work;— “As the officers have had a chance to plead their cause, I would claim a, email space in your paper to throw some little light on the existing conditions under which I had to act as foreman for tho tunnel construction work. When I started on the work £2OOO had already been spent or wasted on preliminary work. I was allowed to have one shift boss and a gang of men, some few miners, but not one experienced tunneller amongst them, to help me. The ground was dangerous and was not fit to be left open sixteen hours out of twenty-four, So in Order to obtain two shifts of men I had to send in my resignation alter much delay, not on Mr Paterson’s part, \vho quite saw the necessity of tho two shifts. “This delay was Caused through councillors begrudging to pay tiie money; they were once again Id wise and £1 foolish. I then suggested that it should be let on contract but again they would not pay the price to get experienced men to help, me carry out the work. At the start I mentioned to Mr Aked that the design was wrong, and I did not like carrying it out. t ani not going to try and exonerate myself from any of the blame attached to the cracks which oc* curred, but I do say that had I not been laid up at the time they could have been remedied being in their green state, but three weeks elapsed before I was on the scene. The bars left in were in dangerous ground, and to my wav of thinking it was safer to leave them in than to endanger the men’s lives working there to take them out. “The thiokness of concrete of which he remarks on I cannot answer for as my hours of work were supposed to he from 7.a.m. to 11 p.m. intermittingly. Tho shift bosses had my instructions to see that the full amount of concrete was put in. I could hot' be expected to be watching them and the men and do outside work too. I had to trust on the men being faithful to their work as well as to mvself. “Every foreman on the P.AV.D; is allowed a house free and close to his work. There was a council house directly over the tunnel which I asked Mr Paterson to let me have as aoon as wo were started on the work. I was told it was leased to a commercial traveller. Some short time after I offered this traveller either to occupy part of the house or in return exchange him with my house in the city. He was away from Wellington most of his time. On the fact of this, this house was sublet, so 1 had to continue to live in the city where I could hot be on the spot to give the attention 1 would otherwise have given. UNSATISFACTORY CONDITIONS

“I do not suppose in the course of history any man had to face more unsatisfactory unpleasant conditions than I had to try to carry out that work. Any witnesses Mr McLean had to be able to speak correctly must have., been men who were employed. They were both traitors to their boss and ' unfaithful to the work he expected them to help him with. No other man should have been called as a witness; only men who had actually done the work or seen the work done. I am sorry that a gentleman of Mr McLean’s standing would listen to any unfair and unjust versions passed by biased outsiders on the work, which he appears to have done. There have been many untrue statements made and much personal vindictiveness. COUNCILLOR SEMPLE’S REMARKS “As a ratepayer of Wellington I object strongly to R. Semple’s remarks yi. the council against myself. As a Labour* leader one would hardly ex-' pect him to publicly condemn one of his fellow workers, and even past a reflection on the crowd of workers who helped with the work. I neither frequent hotel bars nor billiard saloons, and meet of my time was employed in repairing my house before Jetting. The public can think for themselves oyer this. This reference 1 have returned to Mr Paterson. My shoulders are broad, my health is good, and fay hands are willing to work, and so 1 hope not to require the reference. Mr McLean may have been fortunate in his young engineering days if he never committed any blunders (who of us has not), but he was fortunate that he was employed other than by the Wellington City Council and had to contend with outside public, and more particularly the extreme Labour crowd and its undercurrent. I would venture to say that most of the present generation will see this tunnel still standing, despite this great noise that has been made. “Councillor Semple seems to he forever quoting Orongorongo, a hole driven through the Hills by gelignite, and if a special commission were put on tho Orongorongo job the people of Wellington would have more cause to squeal: over the cast. Most probably many faults could also he found with it. It was not a finished tunnel when Semple and his party left it; it had to be completed by another mob of men. “I am quite willing to take my share of the blame, but I think a little more mercy could have been shown under the whole of the circumstances one had to work under.” FOREMAN QUIN. N.B.—Being away back on railway lines have just received papers, and I trust as fair dealing men you will publish this letter.