East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1920-03-06
27-TON BRITISH MARK TANK SENT
HOLT COMPANY is LARGEST GIFT
FOR CHRISTMAS EVER HEARD OF

IL
The largest Christmas present ever
lreceived by the Holt Manufacturing
Company was a British Mark w war
tank, sin consequence" the letter of
presentation stated, "of the great as
sIstance rendered by the Holt Man
ufacturing Company to the British
government during the war"
The director of artillery of the Brit
ish government. according to Sturgis
G. storie. local agents for the Holt
company, in making this present to the
Holt company, pays a justly earned
tribute to American inventive genius,
for 1t was America that made the fa-
nous British tank possible.
British military engineers who saw
caterpillar tractors at work prior to
and during the early days of the war,
were amazed at the apparent ease with
which this American scross-
country cruiser" navigated rough
ground, climbed out of bitches and
over distractions and pulled heavy
guns and howitzers after 1t. So they
built a similar machine of larger size.
armored 1t with steel plates to keep
out the enemy's bullets, mounted guns
inside of the steel plate body and
called this new and wonderful engine
OF war the tank" What the tank
did to help the allies to victory is SO
well known that 1t needs no reteliing.
England built 1885 fighting tanks
to use against the Germas and every
one of them embodied the principle of
the caterpillar tractor built by Holt
The total weight of all these enormous
engines of destruction reached the
amazing sum of 76s. 900 tons. or over
$50 ,000, 600 popnds, the equivalent in
weight to over a million soldiers in
full fighting and marching equip
ment.
Had the war lasted another six
months America wodld have contrib
uted an equal weight of fighting tanks
to the cause The largest American
tank was somewhat heavier and ca
pable of straddIing a trench IA feet
wide without difficulty. The parts
for these tanks were to be manu-
factured in America and shipped
ssknocked down. to the other side.
The shipping of the 27-ton Christ
mas present to the Holt company pre-
sented a pretty prablem. 1t left Lon
/ don, England, on October 10, 1919.
! and arrived at Peoria. H., shortly art
err Christmas. Special arrangements
/ had to be devised to handle 1T in
/ transshipping at New York and also
4 on its thousand mile journey by raii
4 from the Atlantic seaboard to Peoria.
4 In addition to being based upon the
l fundamental design of the American
caterpillar. the British Mark " tank
was also armed with the American
Lewis machine guns. This tank became
4 the standard of use at the front in
4 1917 and was the type of tank which,
with the help of few of the earlier
ones. went into action at the battle of
Cambria, November 90. 1917. With
out artillery preparation the tanks
advanced over the Hindenburg line
and were chiefly responsible in win
ming the victory.
Reiamin Holt, when he invented tins
caterpillar tractor and put 1t to worA
plowing the sunny fields of California
little realized the mighty effect that
this invention was destined to have
on future wars
Nor is 1t considered probable tha'
. his fellow Americans even today real
ize that American inventive genius
: has thus played one of the mighties
Z PARTS in shaping the destiny of nations
and in securing the triumph of righ
over might.