Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Read online

  Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward

  G. Edward Griffin

  Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who

  makes it? The money magicians' secrets are unveiled. Here is a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, the pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money.

  A boring subject? Just wait' You'll be hooked in five

  minutes. Reads like a detective story - which it really is. But if s all true. This book is about the most blatant scam of history. If s all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. Your world view will definitely change.

  Putting it quite simply: this may be the most important book on world affairs you will ever read.

  "A superb analysis deserving serious attention by all Americans. Be prepared for one heck of a journey through time and mind."

  Ron Paul, member of Congress

  House Banking Committee

  "What every American needs to know about central bank power. A gripping adventure into the secret world of the international banking cartel."

  Mark Thornton, Asst. Professor of Economics,

  Auburn University; Coordinator Academic Affairs,

  Ludwig von Mises Institute

  "A magnificent accomplishment - a train-load of heavy history, organized so well and written in such a relaxed and easy style that it captivated me. I hated to put it d o w n . "

  Dan Smoot

  Publisher/Editor, Dan Smoot Report

  "As a career banker and president of a bank consulting firm, I thought I had a good understanding of the Federal Reserve. But this book changed the way I view our entire monetary system."

  Marilyn MacGruder Barn wall

  Grand Junction, Colorado

  HOW TO READ

  THIS BOOK

  Thick books can be intimidating. We tend to put

  off reading them until we have a suitably large

  block of time—which is to say, often they are

  never read. That is the reason a preview has been

  placed at the beginning and a summary at the end

  of each chapter. All of these together can be read

  in about one hour. Although they will not contain

  details nor documentation, they will cover the

  major points and will provide an overview of the

  complete story. The best way to read this book,

  therefore, is to begin with the previews of each

  section, followed by the chapter previews and

  summaries. Even if the reader is not in a hurry,

  this is still an excellent approach. A look at the

  map before the journey makes it easier to grapple

  with a topic such as this which spans so much

  history.

  THE CREATURE

  FROM

  JEKYLL ISLAND

  A Second Look at the

  Federal Reserve

  Third edition

  by G. Edward Griffin

  American Media

  Dedicated to the next generation-especially my own brood: James, Daniel, Ralph, and Kathleen.

  May this effort help to build for them a better world.

  Seventh printing: May 1998

  Sixth printing: September 1997

  Fifth printing: August 1996

  Fourth printing: September 1995

  Third printing: April 1995

  Second printing: November 1994

  First printing: July 1994

  Third edition: May 1998

  Second edition: September 1995

  First edition: July 1994

  © Copyright 1998,1995 and 1994 by G. Edward Griffin

  Published by American Media

  P.O. Box 4646

  Westlake Village, California 91359-1646

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-71615

  ISBN 0-912986-21-2

  Manufactured in the United States

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Preface i

  Acknowledgments iv

  Introduction v

  I. WHAT CREATURE IS THIS? 1

  What is the Federal Reserve System? The answer may

  surprise you. It is not federal and there are no reserves.

  Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Banks are not even banks. The key to this riddle is to be found, not at the beginning of the story, but in the middle. Since this is not a textbook, we are not confined to a chronological structure. The subject matter is not a curriculum to be mastered but a mystery to be solved. So let us start where the action is.

  1. The Journey to Jekyll Island 3

  2. The Name of the Game Is Bailout 25

  3. Protectors of the Public 41

  4. Home Sweet Loan 67

  5. Nearer to the Heart's Desire 85

  6. Building the New World Order 107

  II. A CRASH COURSE ON MONEY 133

  The eight chapters contained in this and the following

  section deal with material that is organized by topic, not chronology. Several of them will jump ahead of events that are not covered until later. Furthermore, the scope is such that the reader may wonder what, if any, is the connection with the Federal Reserve System. Please be patient. The importance will eventually become clear. It is the author's intent to cover concepts and principles before looking at events. Without this background, the history of the Federal Reserve is boring. With it, the story emerges as an exciting drama which profoundly affects our lives today. So let us begin this adventure with a few discoveries about the nature of money itself.

  7. The Barbaric Metal 135

  8. Fool's Gold 155

  9. The Secret Science 171

  10. The Mandrake Mechanism 185

  III. THE NEW ALCHEMY 215

  The ancient alchemists sought in vain to convert lead into gold. Modern alchemists have succeeded in that quest. The lead bullets of war have yielded an endless source of gold for those magicians who control the Mandrake Mechanism. The startling fact emerges that, without the ability to create fiat money, most modern wars simply would not have occurred. As long as the Mechanism is allowed to function, future wars are inevitable.

  This is the story of how that came to pass.

  11. The Rothschild Formula 217

  12. Sink the Lusitania! 235

  13. Masquerade in Moscow 263

  14. The Best Enemy Money Can Buy 285

  IV. A TALE OF THREE BANKS 307

  It has been said that those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. It may come as a surprise to learn that the Federal Reserve System is America's fourth central bank, not its first. We have been through all this before and, each time, the result has been the same. Interested in what happened?

  Then let's set the coordinates of our time machine to the colony of Massachusetts and the year 1690. To activate, turn to chapter fifteen.

  15. The Lost Treasure Map 309

  16. The Creature Comes to America 325

  17. A Den of Vipers 341

  18. Loaves and Fishes, and Civil War 361

  19. Greenbacks and Other Crimes 377

  V. THE HARVEST 405

  Monetary and political scientists continue to expound the theoretical merits of the Federal Reserve System. It has become a modern act of faith that economic life simply could not go on without it. But the time for theory is past. The Creature moved into its final lair in 1913 and has snorted and thrashed about the landscape ever since. If we wish to know if it is a creature of service or a beast of prey, we merely have to look at what it has done. And, after the test of all those years, we can be sure that what it has done, it wi
ll continue to do. Or, to use the Biblical axiom, a tree shall be known by the fruit it bears. Let us now examine the harvest.

  t

  20. The London Connection 407

  21. Competition Is A Sin 431

  22. The Creature Swallows Congress 451

  23. The Great Duck Dinner 471

  VI. TIME TRAVEL INTO THE FUTURE 505

  In the previous sections of this book, we have travelled

  through time. We began our journey by stepping into the past.

  As we crisscrossed the centuries, we observed wars, treachery, profiteering, and political deception. That has brought us to the present. Now we are prepared to ride our time machine into the future. It will be a hair-raising trip, and much of what lies ahead will be unpleasant. But it has not yet come to pass. It is merely the projection of present forces. If we do not like what we see, we still have an opportunity to change those forces. The future will be what we choose to make it.

  24. Doomsday Mechanisms 507

  25. A Pessimistic Scenario 537

  26. A Realistic Scenario 565

  PHOTOGRAPHS

  The seven men who met in secret at Jekyll Island 24

  The Fabian Society stained-glass window 106

  First photo section 208-214

  Period cartoons about the Rothschilds 234

  Items relating to the sinking of the Lusitania 262

  Second photo section 396-404

  APPENDIX

  A. Structure and Function of the Federal Reserve 590

  B. Natural Laws of Human Behavior in Economics .......... 592

  C. Is Ml Subtractive or Accumulative? 594

  BIBLIOGRAPHY 596

  INDEX

  602

  PREFACE

  Does the world really need another book on the Federal

  Reserve System?

  I have struggled with that question for several years. My own library is mute testimony to the fact that there has been no shortage of writers willing to set off into the dark forest to do battle with the evil dragon. But, for the most part, their books have been ignored by the mainstream, and the giant snorter remains undaunted in his lair. There seemed to be little reason to think that I could succeed where so many others have failed.

  Yet, the idea was haunting. There was no doubt in my mind that the Federal Reserve is one of the most dangerous creatures ever to stalk our land. Furthermore, as my probing brought me into contact with more and more hard data, I came to realize that I was investigating one of the greatest "who-dunits" of history.

  And, to make matters worse, I discovered who did it.

  Someone has to get this story through to the public. The

  problem, however, is that the public doesn't want to hear it. After all, this is bad news, and we certainly get enough of that as it is.

  Another obstacle to communication is that this tale truly is incredible, which means unbelievable. The magnitude by which reality deviates from the accepted myth is so great that, for most people, it simply is beyond credibility. Anyone carrying this message is immediately suspected of paranoia. Who will listen to a madman?

  And, finally, there is the subject matter itself. It can become pretty complex. Well, at least that's how it seems at first.

  Treatises on this topic often read like curriculum textbooks for banking and finance. It is easy to become ensnared in a sticky web of terminology and abstractions. Only monetary professionals are motivated to master the new language, and even they often find themselves in serious disagreement. For example, in a recent letter circulated by a group of monetary experts who, for years, have conducted an ongoing exchange of ideas regarding monetary reform, the editor said: "It is frustrating that we cannot find more agreement among ourselves on this vital issue.

  We seem to differ so much on definitions and on, really, an 1

  unbiased, frank, honest, correct understanding of just how our current monetary system does function."

  So why am I now making my own charge into the dragon's

  teeth? It's because I believe there is a definite change in the wind of public attitude. As the gathering economic storm draws nearer, more and more people will tune into the weather

  report—even if it is bad news. Furthermore, the evidence of the truth of this story is now so overpowering that I trust my readers will have no choice but to accept it, all questions of sanity aside.

  If the village idiot says the bell has fallen from the steeple and comes dragging the bell behind him, well,...

  Lastly, I have discovered that this subject is not as complicated as it first appeared to be, and I am resolved to avoid the pitfall of trodding the usual convoluted path. What follows, therefore, will be the story of a crime, not a course on criminol-ogy-

  It was intended that this book would be half its present size and be completed in about one year. From the beginning,

  however, it took on a life force of its own, and I became but a servant to its will. It refused to stay within the confines prescribed and, like the genie released from its bottle, grew to enormous size. When the job was done and it was possible to assess the entire manuscript, I was surprised to realize that four books had been written instead of one.

  First, there is a crash course on money, the basics of banking and currency. Without that, it would be impossible to understand the fraud that now passes for acceptable practice within the banking system.

  Second, there is a book on how the world's central banks—

  the Federal Reserve being one of them—are catalysts for war.

  That is what puts real fire into the subject, because it shows that we are dealing, not with mere money, but with blood, human suffering, and freedom itself.

  Third, there is a history of central banking in America. That is essential to a realization that the concept behind the Federal Reserve was tried three times before in America. We need to know that and especially need to know why those institutions were eventually junked.

  Finally, there is an analysis of the Federal Reserve itself and its dismal record since 1913. This is probably the least important part of all, but it is the reason we are here. It is the least important, not because the subject lacks significance, but ii

  because it has been written before by writers far more qualified and more skilled than I. As mentioned previously, however, those volumes generally have remained unread except by

  technical historians, and the Creature has continued to dine upon its hapless victims.

  There are seven discernible threads that are woven throughout the fabric of this study. They represent the reasons for abolition of the Federal Reserve System. When stated in their purest form, without embellishment or explanation, they sound absurd to the casual observer. It is the purpose of this book, however, to show that these statements are all-too-easy to substantiate.

  The Federal Reserve System should be abolished for the

  following reasons:

  • It is incapable of accomplishing its stated objectives.

  (Chapter 1.)

  • It is a cartel operating against the public interest. (Chapter 3.)

  • It is the supreme instrument of usury. (Chapter 10.)

  • It generates our most unfair tax. (Chapter 10.)

  • It encourages war. (Chapter 14.)

  • It destabilizes the economy. (Chapter 23.)

  • It is an instrument of totalitarianism. (Chapters 5 and 26.) This is a story about limitless money and hidden global

  power. The good news is that it is as fascinating as any work of fiction could be, and this, I trust, will add both pleasure and excitement to the learning process.

  The bad news is that every detail of what follows is true.

  G. Edward Griffin

  iii

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  A writer who steals the work of another is called a plagiarist.

  One who takes from the works of many is called a researcher. That is a roundabout way of saying I am deeply indebted to the effo
rts of so many who have previously grappled this topic. It is impossible to acknowledge them except in footnote and bibliography. Without the cumulative product of their efforts, it would have taken a lifetime to pull together the material you are about to read.

  In addition to the historical facts, however, there are numerous concepts which, to the best of my knowledge, are not to be found in prior literature. Primary among these are the formulation of certain

  "natural laws" which, it seemed to me, were too important to leave buried beneath the factual data. You will easily recognize these and other editorial expressions as the singular product of my own perceptions for which no one else can be held responsible.

  I would like to give special thanks to Myril Creer and Jim Toft for having first invited me to give a lecture on this subject and, thus, forcing me to delve into it at some depth; and to Herb Joiner for encouraging me, after the speech, to "take it on the road." This book is the end result of a seven-year journey that began with those first steps. Wayne C. Rickert deserves a special medal for his financial support to get the project started and for his incredible patience while it crawled toward completion. Thanks to Bill Jasper for providing copies of numerous hard-to-locate documents.

  Thanks, also, to Linda Perlstein and Melinda Wiman for keeping my business enterprises functioning during my preoccupation with this project. And a very personal thanks to my wife, Patricia, for putting up with my periods of long absence while completing the manuscript, for meticulous proofreading, and for a most perceptive critique of its development along the way.

  Finally, I would like to acknowledge those readers of the first three printings who have assisted in the refinement of this work.

  Because of their efforts most of the inevitable errata have been corrected for the second edition. Even so, it would be foolhardy to think that there are no more errors within the following pages. I have tried to be meticulous with even the smallest detail, but one cannot harvest such a huge crop without dropping a few seeds.

  Therefore, corrections and suggestions from new readers are sincerely invited. In my supreme optimism, I would like to think that they will be incorporated into future editions of this book.

  iv

  INTRODUCTION

  The following exchange was published in the British humor magazine, Punch, on April 3, 1957. It is reprinted here as an appropriate introduction and as a mental exercise to limber the mind for the material contained in this book.