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.
Q. What are banks for?
A. To make money.
Q. For the customers?
A. For the banks.
Q. Why doesn't bank advertis-
ing mention this?
A. It would not be in good taste.
But it is mentioned by implica-
tion in references to reserves of
$249,000,000 or thereabouts.
That is the money that they have
made.
Q. Out of the customers?
A. I suppose so.
Q. They also mention Assets of
$500,000,000 or thereabouts.
Have they made that too?
A. Not exactly. That is the
money they use to make money.
Q. I see. And they keep it in a
safe somewhere?
A. Not at all. They lend it to
customers.
Q. Then they haven't got it?
A. No.
Q. Then how is it Assets?
A. They maintain that it would
be if they got it back.
Q. But they must have some
money in a safe somewhere?
A. Yes, usually $500,000,000 or
thereabouts. This is called
Liabilities.
Q. But if they've got it, how can
they be liable for it?
A. Because it isn't theirs.
Q. Then why do they have it?
A. It has been lent to them by
customers.
Q. You mean customers lend
banks money?
A. In effect. They put money
into their accounts, so it is really
lent to the banks.
Q. And what do the banks do
with it?
A. Lend it to other customers.
Q. But you said that money they
lent to other people was Assets?
A. Yes.
Q. Then Assets and Liabilities
must be the same thing?
A. You can't really say that.
Q. But you've just said it. If I put
$100 into my account the bank is
liable to have to pay it back, so
it's Liabilities. But they go and
lend it to someone else, and he is
liable to have to pay it back, so
it's Assets. It's the same $100,
isn't it?
A. Yes. But...
v
Q. Then it cancels out. It means,
doesn't it, that banks haven't
really any money at all?
A. Theoretically....
Q. Never mind theoretically.
And if they haven't any money,
where do they get their
Reserves of $249,000,000 or
thereabouts?
A. I told you. That is the money
they have made.
Q. How?
A. Well, when they lend your
$100 to someone they charge
him interest.
Q. How much?
A. It depends on the Bank Rate.
Say five and a-half per cent.
That's their profit.
Q. Why isn't it my profit? Isn't it
my money?
A. It's the theory of banking
practice that...
Q. When I lend them my $100
why don't I charge them inter-
est?
A. You do.
Q. You don't say. How much?
A. It depends on the Bank Rate.
Say half a per cent.
Q. Grasping of me, rather?
A. But that's only if you're not
going to draw the money out
again.
Q. But of course, I'm going to
draw it out again. If I hadn't
wanted to draw it out again I
could have buried it in the gar-
den, couldn't I?
A. They wouldn't like you to
draw it out again.
Q. Why not? If I keep it there
you say it's a Liability. Wouldn't
they be glad if I reduced their
Liabilities by removing it?
A. No. Because if you remove it
they can't lend it to anyone else.
Q. But if I wanted to remove it
they'd have to let me?
A. Certainly.
Q. But suppose they've already
lent it to another customer?
A. Then they'll let you have
someone else's money.
Q. But suppose he wants his too
... and they've let me have it?
A. You're being purposely ob-
tuse.
Q. I think I'm being acute. What
if everyone wanted their money
at once?
A. It's the theory of banking
practice that they never would.
Q. So what banks bank on is not
having to meet their commit-
ments?
A. I wouldn't say that.
Q. Naturally. Well, if there's
nothing else you think you can
tell me...?
A. Quite so. Now you can go off
and open a banking account.
Q. Just one last question.
A. Of course.
Q. Wouldn't I do better to go off
and open up a bank?
vi
Section I
WHAT CREATURE
IS THIS?
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.
Chapter One
THE JOURNEY TO
JEKYLL ISLAND
The secret meeting on Jekyll Island in Georgia at
which the Federal Reserve was conceived; the
birth of a banking cartel to protect its members
from competition; the strategy of how to convince
Congress and the public that this cartel was an
agency of the United States government.
The New Jersey railway station was bitterly cold that night.
Flurries of the year's first snow swirled around street lights.
November wind rattled roof panels above the track shed and gave
a long, mournful sound among the rafters.
It was approaching ten PM, and the station was nearly empty
except for a few passengers scurrying to board the last Southbound
of the day. The rail equipment was typical for that year of 1910,
mostly chair cars that converted into sleepers with cramped upper
and lower berths. For those with limited funds, coach cars were
coupled to the front. They would take the brunt of the engine's
noise and smoke that, somehow, always managed to seep through
unseen cracks. A dining car was placed between the sections as a
subtle barrier between the two classes of travelers. By today's
standards, the environment was drab. Chairs and mattresses were
hard. Surfaces were metal or scarred wood. Colors were dark green
and gray.
In their hurry to board the train and escape the chill of the
wind, few passengers noticed the activity at the far end of the
platform. At a gate seldom used at this hour of the night was a
spectacular sight. Nudged against the end-rail bumper was a long
car that caused those few who saw it to stop and stare. Its gleaming
black paint was accented with polished brass hand rails, knobs,
frames, and filigrees. The shades were drawn, but through the open
door, one could see mahogany paneling, velvet drapes, plush
4
armchairs, and a well stocked bar. Porters with white serving coats
were busying themselves with routine chores. And there was the
distinct aroma of expensive cigars. Other cars in the station bore
numbers on each end to distinguish them from their dull brothers.
But numbers were not needed for this beauty. On the center of each
side was a small plaque bearing but a single word: ALDRICH.
The name of Nelson Aldrich, senator from Rhode Island, was
well known even in New Jersey. By 1910, he was one of the most
powerful men in Washington, D.C., and his private railway car
often was seen at the New York and New Jersey rail terminals
during frequent trips to Wall Street. Aldrich was far more than a
senator. He was considered to be the political spokesman for big
business. As an investment associate of J.P. Morgan, he had
extensive holdings in banking, manufacturing, and public utilities.
His son-in-law was John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Sixty years later, his
grandson, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, would become Vice-
President of the United States.
When Aldrich arrived at the station, there was no doubt he was
the commander of the private car. Wearing a long, fur-collared
coat, a silk top hat, and carrying a silver-tipped walking stick, he
strode briskly down the platform with his private secretary,
Shelton, and a cluster of porters behind them hauling assorted
trunks and cases.
No sooner had the Senator boarded his car when several more
passengers arrived with similar collections of luggage. The last
man appeared just moments before the final "aaall aboarrrd." He
was carrying a shotgun case.
While Aldrich was easily recognized by most of the travelers
who saw him stride through the station, the other faces were not
familiar. These strangers had been instructed to arrive separately,
to avoid reporters, and, should they meet inside the station, to
pretend they did not know each other. After boarding the train,
they had been told to use first names only so as not to reveal each
other's identity. As a result of these precautions, not even the
private-car porters and servants knew the names of these guests.
Back at the main gate, there was a double blast from the
engine's whistle. Suddenly, the gentle sensation of motion; the
excitement of a journey begun. But, no sooner had the train cleared
the platform when it shuttered to a stop. Then, to everyone's
surprise, it reversed direction and began moving toward the station
THE JOURNEY TO JEKYLL ISLAND
5
again. Had they forgotten something? Was there a problem with
the engine?
A sudden lurch and the slam of couplers gave the answer. They
had picked up another car at the end of the train. Possibly the mail
car? In an instant the forward motion was resumed, and all
thoughts returned to the trip ahead and to the minimal comforts of
the accommodations.
And so, as the passengers drifted off to sleep that night to the
rhythmic clicking of steel wheels against rail, little did they dream
that, riding in the car at the end of their train, were seven men who
represented an estimated one-fourth of the total wealth of the entire
world.
This was the roster of the Aldrich car that night:
1. Nelson W. Aldrich, Republican "whip" in the Senate, Chairman
of the National Monetary Commission, business associate of J.P.
Morgan, father-in-law to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.;
2. Abraham Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the United States
Treasury;
3. Frank A. Vanderlip, president of the National City Bank of New
York, the most powerful of the banks at that time, representing
William Rockefeller and the international investment banking
house of Kuhn, Loeb & Company;
4. Henry P. Davison, senior partner of the J.P. Morgan Company;
5. Charles D. Norton, president of J.P. Morgan's First National Bank
of New York;
6. Benjamin Strong, head of J.P. Morgan's Bankers Trust Company;
and
7. Paul M. Warburg, a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Company, a
representative of the Rothschild banking dynasty in England
and France, and brother to Max Warburg who was head of the
Warburg banking consortium in Germany and the Netherlands.
1. In private correspondence between the author and Andrew L. Gray, the Grand
Nephew of Abraham P. Andrew, Mr. Gray claims that Strong was not in
attendance. On the other hand, Frank Vanderlip — who was there — says in his
memoirs that he was. How could Vanderlip be wrong? Gray's response: "He was
in his late seventies when he wrote the book and the essay in question.... Perhaps
the wish was father to the thought." If Vanderlip truly was in error, it was perhaps
not so significant after all because, as Gray admits: "Strong would have been among
those few to be let in on the secret." In the absence of further confirmation to the
contrary, we are compelled to accept Vanderlip 's account.
6
THE CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND
CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH
Centralization of control over financial resources was far
advanced by 1910. In the United States, there were two main focal
points of this control: the Morgan group and the Rockefeller group.
Within each orbit was a maze of commercial banks, acceptance
banks, and investment firms. In Europe, the same process had
proceeded even further and had coalesced into the Rothschild
group and the Warburg group. An article appeared in the Nezv York
Times on May 3, 1931, commenting on the death of George Baker,
one of Morgan's closest associates. It said: "One-sixth of the total
wealth of the world was represented by members of the Jekyll
Island Club." The reference was only to those in the Morgan group,
(members of the Jekyll Island Club). It did not include the
Rockefeller group or the European financiers. When all of these are
combined, the previous estimate that one-fourth of the world's
wealth was represented by these groups is probably conservative.
In 1913, the year that the Federal Reserve Act became law, a
subcommittee of the House Committee on Currency and Banking,
under the chairmanship of Arsene Pujo of Louisiana, completed its
investigation into the concentration of financial power in the
United States. Pujo was considered to be a spokesman for the oil
interests, part of the very group under investigation, and did
everything possible to sabotage the hearings. In spite of his efforts,
however, the final report of the committee at large was devastating:
Your committee is satisfied from the proofs submitted ... that
there is an established and well defined identity and community of
interest between a few leaders of finance ... which has resulted in great
and rapidly growing concentration of the control of money and credit
in the hands of these few men....
Under our system of issuing and distributing corporate securities
the investing public does not buy directly from the corporation. The
securities travel from the issuing house through middlemen to the
investor. It is only the great banks or bankers with access to the
mainsprings of the concentrated resources made up of other people's
money, in the banks, trust companies, and life insurance companies,
and with control of the machinery for creating markets and
distributing securities, who have had the power to underwrite or
guarantee the sale of large-scale security issues. The men who through
their control over the funds of our railroad and industrial companies
are able to direct where such funds shall be kept, and thus to create
these great reservoirs of the people's money are the ones who are in a
THE JOURNEY TO JEKYLL ISLAND
7
position to tap those reservoirs for the ventures in which they are
interested and to prevent their being tapped for purposes which they
do not approve....
When we consider, also, in this connection that into these
reservoirs of money and credit there flow a large part of the reserves of
the banks of the country, that they are also the agents and
correspondents of the out-of-town banks in the loaning of their
surplus funds in the only public money market of the country, and
that a small group of men and their partners and associates have now
further strengthened their hold upon the resources of these
institutions by acquiring large stock holdings therein, by
representation on their boards and through valuable patronage, we
begin to realize something of the extent to which this practical and
effective domination and control over our greatest financial, railroad
and industrial corporations has developed, largely within the past five
years, and that it is fraught with peril to the welfare of the country. 1
Such was the nature of the wealth and power represented by
those seven men who gathered in secret that night and travelled in
the luxury of Senator Aldrich's private car.
https://archive.org/stream/pdfy--Pori1NL6fKm2SnY/The Creature From Jekyll Island_djvu.txt
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.
Q. What are banks for?
A. To make money.
Q. For the customers?
A. For the banks.
Q. Why doesn't bank advertis-
ing mention this?
A. It would not be in good taste.
But it is mentioned by implica-
tion in references to reserves of
$249,000,000 or thereabouts.
That is the money that they have
made.
Q. Out of the customers?
A. I suppose so.
Q. They also mention Assets of
$500,000,000 or thereabouts.
Have they made that too?
A. Not exactly. That is the
money they use to make money.
Q. I see. And they keep it in a
safe somewhere?
A. Not at all. They lend it to
customers.
Q. Then they haven't got it?
A. No.
Q. Then how is it Assets?
A. They maintain that it would
be if they got it back.
Q. But they must have some
money in a safe somewhere?
A. Yes, usually $500,000,000 or
thereabouts. This is called
Liabilities.
Q. But if they've got it, how can
they be liable for it?
A. Because it isn't theirs.
Q. Then why do they have it?
A. It has been lent to them by
customers.
Q. You mean customers lend
banks money?
A. In effect. They put money
into their accounts, so it is really
lent to the banks.
Q. And what do the banks do
with it?
A. Lend it to other customers.
Q. But you said that money they
lent to other people was Assets?
A. Yes.
Q. Then Assets and Liabilities
must be the same thing?
A. You can't really say that.
Q. But you've just said it. If I put
$100 into my account the bank is
liable to have to pay it back, so
it's Liabilities. But they go and
lend it to someone else, and he is
liable to have to pay it back, so
it's Assets. It's the same $100,
isn't it?
A. Yes. But...
v
Q. Then it cancels out. It means,
doesn't it, that banks haven't
really any money at all?
A. Theoretically....
Q. Never mind theoretically.
And if they haven't any money,
where do they get their
Reserves of $249,000,000 or
thereabouts?
A. I told you. That is the money
they have made.
Q. How?
A. Well, when they lend your
$100 to someone they charge
him interest.
Q. How much?
A. It depends on the Bank Rate.
Say five and a-half per cent.
That's their profit.
Q. Why isn't it my profit? Isn't it
my money?
A. It's the theory of banking
practice that...
Q. When I lend them my $100
why don't I charge them inter-
est?
A. You do.
Q. You don't say. How much?
A. It depends on the Bank Rate.
Say half a per cent.
Q. Grasping of me, rather?
A. But that's only if you're not
going to draw the money out
again.
Q. But of course, I'm going to
draw it out again. If I hadn't
wanted to draw it out again I
could have buried it in the gar-
den, couldn't I?
A. They wouldn't like you to
draw it out again.
Q. Why not? If I keep it there
you say it's a Liability. Wouldn't
they be glad if I reduced their
Liabilities by removing it?
A. No. Because if you remove it
they can't lend it to anyone else.
Q. But if I wanted to remove it
they'd have to let me?
A. Certainly.
Q. But suppose they've already
lent it to another customer?
A. Then they'll let you have
someone else's money.
Q. But suppose he wants his too
... and they've let me have it?
A. You're being purposely ob-
tuse.
Q. I think I'm being acute. What
if everyone wanted their money
at once?
A. It's the theory of banking
practice that they never would.
Q. So what banks bank on is not
having to meet their commit-
ments?
A. I wouldn't say that.
Q. Naturally. Well, if there's
nothing else you think you can
tell me...?
A. Quite so. Now you can go off
and open a banking account.
Q. Just one last question.
A. Of course.
Q. Wouldn't I do better to go off
and open up a bank?
vi
Section I
WHAT CREATURE
IS THIS?
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.
Chapter One
THE JOURNEY TO
JEKYLL ISLAND
The secret meeting on Jekyll Island in Georgia at
which the Federal Reserve was conceived; the
birth of a banking cartel to protect its members
from competition; the strategy of how to convince
Congress and the public that this cartel was an
agency of the United States government.
The New Jersey railway station was bitterly cold that night.
Flurries of the year's first snow swirled around street lights.
November wind rattled roof panels above the track shed and gave
a long, mournful sound among the rafters.
It was approaching ten PM, and the station was nearly empty
except for a few passengers scurrying to board the last Southbound
of the day. The rail equipment was typical for that year of 1910,
mostly chair cars that converted into sleepers with cramped upper
and lower berths. For those with limited funds, coach cars were
coupled to the front. They would take the brunt of the engine's
noise and smoke that, somehow, always managed to seep through
unseen cracks. A dining car was placed between the sections as a
subtle barrier between the two classes of travelers. By today's
standards, the environment was drab. Chairs and mattresses were
hard. Surfaces were metal or scarred wood. Colors were dark green
and gray.
In their hurry to board the train and escape the chill of the
wind, few passengers noticed the activity at the far end of the
platform. At a gate seldom used at this hour of the night was a
spectacular sight. Nudged against the end-rail bumper was a long
car that caused those few who saw it to stop and stare. Its gleaming
black paint was accented with polished brass hand rails, knobs,
frames, and filigrees. The shades were drawn, but through the open
door, one could see mahogany paneling, velvet drapes, plush
4
armchairs, and a well stocked bar. Porters with white serving coats
were busying themselves with routine chores. And there was the
distinct aroma of expensive cigars. Other cars in the station bore
numbers on each end to distinguish them from their dull brothers.
But numbers were not needed for this beauty. On the center of each
side was a small plaque bearing but a single word: ALDRICH.
The name of Nelson Aldrich, senator from Rhode Island, was
well known even in New Jersey. By 1910, he was one of the most
powerful men in Washington, D.C., and his private railway car
often was seen at the New York and New Jersey rail terminals
during frequent trips to Wall Street. Aldrich was far more than a
senator. He was considered to be the political spokesman for big
business. As an investment associate of J.P. Morgan, he had
extensive holdings in banking, manufacturing, and public utilities.
His son-in-law was John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Sixty years later, his
grandson, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, would become Vice-
President of the United States.
When Aldrich arrived at the station, there was no doubt he was
the commander of the private car. Wearing a long, fur-collared
coat, a silk top hat, and carrying a silver-tipped walking stick, he
strode briskly down the platform with his private secretary,
Shelton, and a cluster of porters behind them hauling assorted
trunks and cases.
No sooner had the Senator boarded his car when several more
passengers arrived with similar collections of luggage. The last
man appeared just moments before the final "aaall aboarrrd." He
was carrying a shotgun case.
While Aldrich was easily recognized by most of the travelers
who saw him stride through the station, the other faces were not
familiar. These strangers had been instructed to arrive separately,
to avoid reporters, and, should they meet inside the station, to
pretend they did not know each other. After boarding the train,
they had been told to use first names only so as not to reveal each
other's identity. As a result of these precautions, not even the
private-car porters and servants knew the names of these guests.
Back at the main gate, there was a double blast from the
engine's whistle. Suddenly, the gentle sensation of motion; the
excitement of a journey begun. But, no sooner had the train cleared
the platform when it shuttered to a stop. Then, to everyone's
surprise, it reversed direction and began moving toward the station
THE JOURNEY TO JEKYLL ISLAND
5
again. Had they forgotten something? Was there a problem with
the engine?
A sudden lurch and the slam of couplers gave the answer. They
had picked up another car at the end of the train. Possibly the mail
car? In an instant the forward motion was resumed, and all
thoughts returned to the trip ahead and to the minimal comforts of
the accommodations.
And so, as the passengers drifted off to sleep that night to the
rhythmic clicking of steel wheels against rail, little did they dream
that, riding in the car at the end of their train, were seven men who
represented an estimated one-fourth of the total wealth of the entire
world.
This was the roster of the Aldrich car that night:
1. Nelson W. Aldrich, Republican "whip" in the Senate, Chairman
of the National Monetary Commission, business associate of J.P.
Morgan, father-in-law to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.;
2. Abraham Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the United States
Treasury;
3. Frank A. Vanderlip, president of the National City Bank of New
York, the most powerful of the banks at that time, representing
William Rockefeller and the international investment banking
house of Kuhn, Loeb & Company;
4. Henry P. Davison, senior partner of the J.P. Morgan Company;
5. Charles D. Norton, president of J.P. Morgan's First National Bank
of New York;
6. Benjamin Strong, head of J.P. Morgan's Bankers Trust Company;
and
7. Paul M. Warburg, a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Company, a
representative of the Rothschild banking dynasty in England
and France, and brother to Max Warburg who was head of the
Warburg banking consortium in Germany and the Netherlands.
1. In private correspondence between the author and Andrew L. Gray, the Grand
Nephew of Abraham P. Andrew, Mr. Gray claims that Strong was not in
attendance. On the other hand, Frank Vanderlip — who was there — says in his
memoirs that he was. How could Vanderlip be wrong? Gray's response: "He was
in his late seventies when he wrote the book and the essay in question.... Perhaps
the wish was father to the thought." If Vanderlip truly was in error, it was perhaps
not so significant after all because, as Gray admits: "Strong would have been among
those few to be let in on the secret." In the absence of further confirmation to the
contrary, we are compelled to accept Vanderlip 's account.
6
THE CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND
CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH
Centralization of control over financial resources was far
advanced by 1910. In the United States, there were two main focal
points of this control: the Morgan group and the Rockefeller group.
Within each orbit was a maze of commercial banks, acceptance
banks, and investment firms. In Europe, the same process had
proceeded even further and had coalesced into the Rothschild
group and the Warburg group. An article appeared in the Nezv York
Times on May 3, 1931, commenting on the death of George Baker,
one of Morgan's closest associates. It said: "One-sixth of the total
wealth of the world was represented by members of the Jekyll
Island Club." The reference was only to those in the Morgan group,
(members of the Jekyll Island Club). It did not include the
Rockefeller group or the European financiers. When all of these are
combined, the previous estimate that one-fourth of the world's
wealth was represented by these groups is probably conservative.
In 1913, the year that the Federal Reserve Act became law, a
subcommittee of the House Committee on Currency and Banking,
under the chairmanship of Arsene Pujo of Louisiana, completed its
investigation into the concentration of financial power in the
United States. Pujo was considered to be a spokesman for the oil
interests, part of the very group under investigation, and did
everything possible to sabotage the hearings. In spite of his efforts,
however, the final report of the committee at large was devastating:
Your committee is satisfied from the proofs submitted ... that
there is an established and well defined identity and community of
interest between a few leaders of finance ... which has resulted in great
and rapidly growing concentration of the control of money and credit
in the hands of these few men....
Under our system of issuing and distributing corporate securities
the investing public does not buy directly from the corporation. The
securities travel from the issuing house through middlemen to the
investor. It is only the great banks or bankers with access to the
mainsprings of the concentrated resources made up of other people's
money, in the banks, trust companies, and life insurance companies,
and with control of the machinery for creating markets and
distributing securities, who have had the power to underwrite or
guarantee the sale of large-scale security issues. The men who through
their control over the funds of our railroad and industrial companies
are able to direct where such funds shall be kept, and thus to create
these great reservoirs of the people's money are the ones who are in a
THE JOURNEY TO JEKYLL ISLAND
7
position to tap those reservoirs for the ventures in which they are
interested and to prevent their being tapped for purposes which they
do not approve....
When we consider, also, in this connection that into these
reservoirs of money and credit there flow a large part of the reserves of
the banks of the country, that they are also the agents and
correspondents of the out-of-town banks in the loaning of their
surplus funds in the only public money market of the country, and
that a small group of men and their partners and associates have now
further strengthened their hold upon the resources of these
institutions by acquiring large stock holdings therein, by
representation on their boards and through valuable patronage, we
begin to realize something of the extent to which this practical and
effective domination and control over our greatest financial, railroad
and industrial corporations has developed, largely within the past five
years, and that it is fraught with peril to the welfare of the country. 1
Such was the nature of the wealth and power represented by
those seven men who gathered in secret that night and travelled in
the luxury of Senator Aldrich's private car.
https://archive.org/stream/pdfy--Pori1NL6fKm2SnY/The Creature From Jekyll Island_djvu.txt
hey akhi I only read the question and answer part it is to long to read sxb. U should have summarised it.
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