He thought a moment and then went over to the War Office where Lloyd George had just succeeded the lamented Kitchener.
"What could a man buy for fifteen and six?" he asked the many-sided little Welshman who was progressively filling every important job in the Empire.
"He could buy six trench bombs," was the reply.
"That's enough!" exclaimed Le Bas. "I've got it!"
Lloyd George looked a little startled, whereupon his visitor remarked: "You have given me just the thing I wanted. Wait until to-morrow and you will find out what it is."
The very next day Lloyd George and a great part of the whole British Nation knew exactly what Sir Hedley got out of his interview with the War Minister, because the first advertisement announcing the new type of War Loan read like this:
"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR CARTRIDGES FOR FIFTEEN AND SIX, AND YOUR MONEY BACK WITH COMPOUND INTEREST
"Do you know that every 15/6 you put into War Savings Certificates can purchase 124 rifle cartridges?
"How many Cartridges will you provide for our men at the Front?
"For every 15/6 you put into War Savings Certificates now you will receive £1 in five years' time. This is equal to compound interest at the rate of 5.47 per cent.
In 1 year it becomes 15/9 In 2 years it becomes 16/9 In 3 years it becomes 17/9 In 4 years it becomes 18/9 In 5 years it becomes £1
"If you need it you can withdraw your money at any time, together with any interest that has accrued."
This advertisement made a good many people sit up because it brought home for the first time one concrete use of the money absorbed in war loans.
The National War Savings Committee had two things to sell. One was the Five Per Cent Exchequer Bond: the other was the new Fifteen and Six War Savings Certificate. The promoters were quick to see that while the Exchequer Bond was very desirable, the principal effort must be concentrated on the War Savings Certificate for which the widest appeal and the best selling talk could be made.
That it was a good "buy" nobody could deny. It was the obligation of the British Government: it was free from Income Tax: it could be cashed in at any time at a profit: and it made the owner part and parcel of the financing of the war. Every post office and nearly every bank became a selling agent. In short, it was a simple, cheap and worth-while investment absolutely within the scope of every one.