‘War Bonds’ needed to see us through economic meltdown

IN the late 18th century, the emergent French republicans financed Napoleon’s war by eliminating their aristocracy and liquidating their assets (incidentally many of their works of art and furniture finished up in the stately homes of our English aristocracy).

Bankrupt Germany in 1930 set about eliminating their large and wealthy Jewish population, acquiring their assets of gold, silver and jewellery, their wealth being portable as they were stateless. In 10 years, Nazi Germany built a war machine able to challenge the rest of the world.

Britain was reasonably wealthy, but ill-prepared to match the Germans.

In the emergency, with bombs targeting London and strategic centres, our Government raised money from our willing population by means of Savings Certificates and War Bonds, to be repaid after the war.

My grandfather sold his second-rate rented property to give each of his grandchildren £500 worth of Savings Certificates. I didn’t cash mine until my marriage in 1954.

Towns and cities “adopted” warships, raising millions to finance World War Two. “Speed the Tanks” comes to mind.

Now, in the early 21st century, we are in the middle of a disastrous economic war, with most of Europe in tear-jerking and hopeless debt. I suggest that our Government should issue a modern equivalent of War Bonds to encourage our wealthy population, especially immigrants, city financiers, owners of football clubs etc to help us now. Form an investment league table, before frustration leads to civil unrest. At least we are not being bombed as we were in the 1940s!

Buy British Bonds – maybe for a specific cause, such as the HS2 rail link.

From: Bernard Robinson, Midland Terrace, Hellifield, Skipton.

REGARDING the High Speed line from London to Yorkshire, why is it going to take about 20 years to build?

The Settle to Carlisle line was built in seven years, with 14 tunnels and twenty viaducts, mostly with hand labour.

Today we have diggers, dozers, cranes and tunnelling machines, so why is it going to take so long to construct? Could the reason be that we have too many committees, bureaucrats and too much red tape?

From: D Wood, Thorntree Lane, Goole.

DAVID REED (Yorkshire Post, January 25) states in his letter that your correspondents misunderstand the case for HS2, and the reason for this new line is lack of capacity

He misses the fact that the three existing North-South routes are not fully utilised.

The capacity of these existing lines can be almost doubled by using 15 to 20 coach trains as in the past, instead of the woefully inadequate six and eight coach trains as now used on these routes.

All three of these routes have in the past had large sections of four-line track reduced to two-line track (in the name of cost-cutting efficiency).

The track bed is still there, and simply reinstating these four-line tracks coupled with longer trains on these existing routes will provide far more extra capacity than the new line and at far less cost.