The Horoscope of the Federal Reserve

By Bill Meridian

"I wonder what they do up there."

Jim Morrison of the Doors, from Love Street


Chart 1A —12/23/1913 Wilson signs Fed Reserve Act

This article was first published in 1985 in the NCGR Journal. It is reproduced here in an updated format.

On December 23, 1913 at 6:02 P.M., President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law (Chart 1 A at left)

The time is well documented in many encyclopedias because it was one of the first live radio broadcasts from the White House. Historical accounts report that Wilson said that he was affixing his signature to the Act at the designated time. The Fed actually began operations on November 16,1914, time unknown. This chart is set for 9 am EST in N.Y. (Chart 1-B, below.)

The Fed was charged with
two tasks upon its creation:

1) to ensure monetary and price stability

2) to prevent bank failures.

 

As Charts 2 and 3 reveal, the Fed has succeeded in neither respects. How could such a seemingly well-intentioned effort fail so completely? And, with the above intentions in mind, would any competent astrologer entrust these tasks to the entity described in Chart 1?

 

Chart -1B— 11/16/1914 Fed begins operation

The Chart's Major Configurations

The Fed's horoscope is dominated by three major axes or groupings:

1) Mars and Neptune rising opposite Jupiter.

2) The Sun opposite Pluto, both squaring the zero Aries Midheaven.

3) The Moon in mutual reception with Pluto, the former ruling the Ascendant and the latter the fifth house.

The first grouping is descriptive of the Fed's tendency to inflate the currency. How could any entity with a hard Mars-Jupiter-Neptune aspect be expected to exercise restraint and maintain a stable currency? An insider tells me that these planets do describe the idealistic zeal or misguided ideas with which most Fed employees go about their jobs (note Neptune ruling the ninth house and Mars the tenth).

The Sun-Pluto-Midheaven T-square describes the Fed's propensity to accumulate power in a subtle fashion without the knowledge of most citizens (Pluto in the twelfth). As we shall see in the next section, the Sun's rulership of the second house is the Fed's ability to control the dollar value of all the country's assets, which, in fact, is accomplished by a fifth house method (Pluto's rulership).

The Moon-Pluto-fifth house relationship describes the Fed's open market operations, the principal process by which the currency's value is controlled. Of course, the Moon in a mundane chart such as this rules the people, and the Fed has an enormous impact upon all of us. Pluto's presence is especially noteworthy here because this is the Fed's most powerful, yet covert and least understood tool. Mythologically, did not Pluto wear a helmet that rendered him invisible when he went above ground?

The Fed's Origin

On the evening of November 22, 1910, a group of distinguished men met at a railway station in New Jersey to board a private train for Jekyll Island, Georgia. The group included Senator Nelson Aldrich, the presidents and senior partners of the largest New York banking and financial houses, a German banker named Paul Warburg, and J.P. Morgan's personal assistant, Benjamin Strong. So secret was the journey, that the travelers addressed each other by first name only, and Jekyll Island's regular staff of servants was sent on holiday lest the exclusive gathering attract attention. Jekyll Island was owned as a private sporting lodge and retreat by some of the country's most influential industrialists and financiers. At the time, the members estimated that they controlled one-sixth of the world's wealth (membership by inheritance only).

Why did the group seek such a remote location to formulate a new monetary bill for the country? The reason lies in the events surrounding the Panic of 1907. Demand for monetary reform soared following the Panic. The average citizen was very opposed to the big city banking interests, which they felt caused financial upheavals through their manipulations. The National Monetary Commission, under Senator Aldrich, was charged with the writing of a reform bill. How would the public have reacted if they had known that the Jekyll Island group, and not the Commission, authored the legislation?

Over the next two weeks at Jekyll Island, the group constructed the Aldrich Plan, a document that came to be known as the Federal Reserve Act. Instead of securing monetary reform, the Act gave monopoly control of the country's credit to a small group. This group could charge the population a fee for using this credit- a fee which we call the interest rate. In light of these facts, the subterranean power and control of the Sun-PlutoMidheaven T-square now takes on much greater meaning.

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, we will see how astrology can be useful in answering questions such as those posed above. Second, the Fed's real effect on this country and the world, accurately described by the natal horoscope, will be explored. This is not an easy task because the country's intricate banking system is so misunderstood by so many. Indeed, a recent survey of midwestern youths revealed that 75% of the respondents believed that the Federal Reserve was a branch of the military. To fully explain this subject and related phenomena such as inflation and deflation requires much more space than is available here, but the author hopes to leave you with a greater understanding of our monetary system by which better political choices can be made.

In its original conception, the Fed was to be a bank, controlled by Congress, which would supply funds to the economy in time of stress. However, the Act created a corporation, the Fed, in which the country's major bankers purchased the stock and were themselves appointed to key positions. In fact, as of July 26, 1983, 53% of the Fed's outstanding shares were owned by the five largest New York City banks. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors is appointed by the President to fourteen-year terms. However, the true seat of power is the Fed Advisory Council which is appointed by the directors of the twelve district banks. So the President and Congress have little effect on Fed leadership. This is a curious arrangement in view of the Constitution which gives Congress the exclusive power to coin money and regulate the value thereof. Further study shows that Congress cannot delegate this authority. The power to create money is a great one.

In the words of Baron Nathan Rothschild:

"I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the empire on which the sun never sets. The man that controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply."

If you think about it, money is one-half of any non-barter transaction. In a barter deal, goods are swapped for goods. Of course, the vast majority of today's dealings are goods for money. If one has the power to regulate the value of money, one can influence half of all business transactions. Why should one group be granted this vast power? Would Congress give a monopoly over all car sales or food sales to any one entity?

How did the Plutonian powers manage to establish this institution? A public relations campaign reflective of the chart's strong Neptune plus the Lunar South Node in the third house was the major tool. Note the December 23 date- two days before Christmas, when most lawmakers were already on holiday and little opposition could be mustered. So effective was the Neptunian public relations blitz that voters in the 1912 presidential election had their choice of the Democratic platform of the Federal Reserve Act, or the Republican platform of the Aldrich Plan - which was the foundation of the Federal Reserve Act. In fact, the December 24, 1913 N.Y. Times carried the front page headlines:

Who would oppose a law which would bring such benefit?

The Strength of the Fed

In order to exercise control over the nation's money credit, the new institution was granted the following three powers (a fourth power, that of bank examination, is incidental and need not be discussed here):

1) Control of the discount rate

2) Control over bank reserve requirements

3) The ability to conduct open market operations.

The first power is the weakest - the ability to regulate the interest rate charged on borrowings from the Fed by member banks. This was a more powerful instrument when the member banks had only the Fed as the major lender; there are other sources. In fact, one of my instructors at the university showed us how the discount rate actually just follows the Fed Funds rate, the pure interest rate between banks. The second and third are at the heart of the Fed's ability to influence currency and credit conditions.

Control over bank reserve requirements is most important and deserves some historical explanation. The term reserve requirement simply means that member banks must keep on hand only a portion of depositors' money- the remainder can be loaned out. Obviously, the lower the requirement, the greater the extent of the loans that can be made. How great? To determine the amount by which the money supply will be increased by any given reserve requirement, simply convert the percentage, say l0%, to a fraction (1/10) and take the reciprocal. So a l0% requirement leads to a ten-fold increase, 20% leads to a fivefold increase, and so on. This is the fractional reserve banking system, and the requirement currently ranges from 3% to 12%. Obviously, such a system collapses if we all go down to the bank to withdraw our funds simultaneously. (It is interesting to note that nowhere in American banking theory, or in British theory upon which it is based, is the safety of the depositors' money of any consideration at all).

The third power, open market operations, is probably the most difficult to comprehend. This is a process by which the Fed purchases government debt in the form of treasury notes and bonds. The debt is then added to the Fed's balance sheet as an asset while the cash (credit, in reality) is injected into the economy through the banking system. The fractional reserve system then multiplies the effect in a Jupiter-Neptune fashion. If the Fed wishes to restrict the money supply, it sells bonds into the market, thereby withdrawing money from the system. This is accomplished through the Fed's own trading desk which is operated daily. I believe that this is symbolized by the Moon-Pluto-fifth house relationship. It is a lunar or daily trading activity (fifth house) which has an enormous but hidden effect on the people.

Of course, the abuse of these powers could result in an enormous increase in the money supply, so great responsibility is necessary. (In the absence of such responsibility, a gold standard is needed to limit the amount of currency that is created.) How much restraint would be exercised by an institution with Mars and Neptune rising opposite Jupiter? The result of the granting of these powers to the Fed has been, as we know, massive inflation.

 

The Meaning of Inflation

The dictionary defines inflation as the increase of the currency of a country, especially by the issuing of paper money not redeemable in specie, (specie being defined as hard money) and a substantial rise of prices caused by an undue expansion in paper money or bank credit. Note that the key is a rise in money or credit supply which leads to a drop in the value of the currency and a rise in prices. In other words, each individual unit of currency becomes worth less and prices seemingly rise. Remember, the currency is actually becoming worth less, the goods are not becoming worth more. There are different types of inflation, but we will concern ourselves only with credit inflation which has troubled modern man.

To gain a better understanding, visualize two rectangles, one representing the total amount of goods produced by an economy while the other represents its supply of money. If industrial production rises in a given year, one rectangle grows. All other matters being equal, the same amount of dollars chase more goods -so prices fall. Very basically, the aim of sound money management should be to keep this equation represented by these two rectangles in balance. Increases or decreases in industrial production should be met by related increases or decreases in money supply. If the balance of this equation gets too far out of kilter, nature attempts to restore order through the markets. (Free markets are a wonderful mechanism in that they always speak the truth, mirroring society's honesty or lack of it. The level of interest rates, unemployment, etc., are one of the electorate's prime measuring sticks for determining a government's performance. So, of course, free markets are the enemy of totalitarian governments. It is truly amazing to see the measures politicians will employ to warp the market mechanism, such as subsidies, off-budget spending, the graduated income tax (an invention of socialists), etc.

On an overall basis, money supply has exceeded industrial production substantially, particularly in the last quarter century. Our rectangular equation has been thrown out of balance. The result has been the great inflation that we witnessed in the 1970s. What happens to the excess credit that is issued? It flows into speculation. If all of the factories that are needed are in operation, why open more? One can buy commodities (such as in the 1970s) or stocks (such as in the 1920s and 1990s).

These inflationary periods seem to coincide with Neptune's journey through fire signs while deflations tend to be related to Neptune's trek through earth signs. The table below depicts this relationship:

1807-1820 Neptune in Sagittarius (fire): Period of growth, inflation, and speculation. Boom ended with collapse in 1819.

1820-1834 Neptune in Capricorn (earth): Second Bank of US gradually imposes restraint on a chaotic banking system. Slow and managed economic growth.

1861-1875 Neptune in Aries (fire): Inflation and speculation. Collapse in Sept. 1873.

1875-1888 Neptune in Taurus (earth): Contraction of the money supply led to the deflationary 1880s.

1915-1929 Neptune in Leo (fire): The boom known as the Roaring Twenties.

1929-1942 Neptune in Virgo (earth): The Great Depression. Loss of blue collar jobs.

1970-1984 Neptune in Sagittarius (fire): The 1970s inflation which was fueled by Nixon taking the USA completely off of the gold standard. It is magnified by 3 Jupiter-Neptune conjunctions. The 1980 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction brings the 1980-1981 recession.

1984-1998 Neptune in Capricorn (earth): Reagan and Volcker wring the inflation out of the system. Loss of white collar jobs.

2025-2039 Neptune in Aries (fire): Next big inflation.

2039-2053 Neptune in Taurus (earth): Next big deflation.

Deflations occur when the natural forces of the market take over and purge the excess money (debt) from the system through bankruptcy and default. Thus, our equation of the two rectangles is brought back into balance, and the new, debt-free economy is ready to start growing again.

Who would want to bring on such a destructive phenomenon as inflation -those who have similar financial interests. Bankers, such as David Rockefeller (whose natal Jupiter trines Neptune ) can loan the excess money and earn progressively higher interest rates. Politicians, such as, Ted Kennedy (natal Jupiter trine Neptune), can spend the new cash on social programs. And the heads of struggling corporations, such as Chrysler's Lee lacocca (whose natal Jupiter trines Neptune), can borrow to see their companies through hard times. In fact, the chief architect of the Federal Reserve System, Paul Warburg, was born August 10, 1868, with a fiery Sun trine a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in a fire sign.

Opponents of inflation have Saturn-Neptune connections, such as former Fed governor Paul Volcker (square), the free-market advocate Ludwig Von Mises (conjunction), and myself (semi-square). Inflation, if you have not guessed by now, is a Jupiter-Neptune phenomena - the illusion of wealth. Recall the opposition in the Fed's chart, and if you still need convincing, check the past effect of hard angles of these two planets on bullion prices. In fact, one reason that the 1970s inflation was so severe was due to the fact that not only was Neptune in Sag, but Jupiter was, too. There were three conjunctions, and near the time of the last one, President Nixon took the USA off of the gold standard by signing the Smithsonian Agreement. Deflation is ruled by Saturn-Neptune. Paul Volcker revealed his plan to fight inflation on October 6,1979 with Saturn square Neptune.

Analysis by the Uranian system yields similar and striking interpretations. The combination of Jupiter + Apollon represents the money supply. In doing this research, I formulated Jupiter + Apollon- Hades to mean destruction of the money supply. Calculate this formula with a 90 degree dial and the combination of Jupiter + Apollon - Hades = 0 degrees Cardinal, The Federal Reserve Sun, Pluto, and Midheaven. In this task, the Fed has been succeeding.

Now that we have explored the origin, function, and inflationary effect of the System, let's look at the timing of some of the more important events in Fed history.

Timing with the Fed Chart

In its first few years of existence, the Fed's power grew via favorable legislation. In June of 1917, the Federal Reserve Act was amended, lowering the, reserve requirement that the Fed could impose on member banks. Of course, this greatly expanded their ability to make loans through the multiplier effect. Gold bullion was moved from the treasury to the reserve banks. This is a most curious development. The gold belonged to the U.S. government through the Treasury, but was shifted to a private corporation, the Fed. In short, the powers that had been left out of the original Act were added by legislation in the one or two year period following 1913. Astrologically, the Sun -Pluto -Midheaven T-Square moved to various degrees of exactitude via progressions or solar arc directions during this period, a most fitting description.

Much like a teenager who had just learned to drive, the young Fed was reluctant to push down on the accelerator and did not exercise much of its power during the first few years of its existence, but that would soon change. The Fed began open market operations in 1915. In the period from 1916 to 1920 the Fed began to force credit into the system to finance World War I. From 1916 to 1918 no less than 7 lunar and solar eclipses landed on the degrees from 2 to 29 Cancer-Capricorn. Of course, this set off the Mars-Jupiter-Neptune configuration in the chart. Here was the Fed's first big inflation. The results were shocking. From 1913 until 1920 the consumer price index rose from 100 to 225.3. Realizing that this could not go on, the Fed decided to cut back when Saturn squared its natal Saturn. They raised the discount rate and from May 1920 until July 1921 the consumer price index fell from 247 to 141, the Fed's first big deflation. It is interesting to note that Jupiter conjoined transiting Neptune in November of 1920, the month the inflation peaked and the prices began to turn down.

The next important period occurred in the years 1922 and 1923 when the government decided that it should control prices. The mechanism employed would be open market operations, rather than the discount rate. At this point a progressed New Moon occurred in the Fed chart, and, as anyone who has read Rudhyar knows, this is the beginning of a new cycle. In the words of Leyla Rael, "A person can almost always identify an important trend in his or her life as having subtly begun around that time. It is a time of inner reorientation." Neptune also squared the natal Moon during this period, the Moon being related to open market operations as previously outlined. Of course, it is also representative of the people who are unaware of the importance of this event.

The next significant aspect in the horoscope occurred in August of 1929, when Pluto moved onto the Fed Ascendant. During the 1920s the Fed tried to cope with the genie it had let out of the bottle, but as Richard Nixon said in the Watergate tapes, "It's hard to get the toothpaste back in the tube." Once this excess of money had been released in the 1916 to 1920 time period, rampant speculation and inflation ensued. Most of the newly created money was channeled into the stock market because that is where the bankers could earn their highest rates of return. It is important to note that this period differs significantly from the inflation we've just suffered in the 1970s, in that the money went into paper assets such as stocks and bonds. There was a minor real estate boom that ended in 1926 and 1927, but the important point to remember is that the dollar was still linked to gold in the 1920s. Therefore, there was no reason to flee paper assets as there was in the 1970s. So with the newly created purchasing power people bought stocks. Because stocks are not part of the consumer price index, the inflation was not reflected so much in the form of rising prices. But let's remember that the definition of inflation is an excess creation of purchasing power, and not rising prices.

The meaning of Pluto's passage over the Fed Ascendant and Mars can be viewed in different ways. In August, the Fed raised the discount rate to 6%, a level not to be reached again until 1969. They did this in order to curb the speculation that raged in the New York stock market. As we all know they succeeded too well - in September the market collapsed. Did the Fed deliberately cause the crash by raising the discount rate, or did they simply lose control of an overheated situation? Some believe that the Fed deliberately caused the crash to reduce price levels and to put banks that were not under its control out of business. They may have wanted to do this because, forearmed with this knowledge, insiders could have raised cash at the top of the stock market rally, and then sat back and waited for prices to collapse. They then could rush in to buy companies and property at a fraction of their previously inflated value. Most believed that the Fed simply lost control of the situation because they did not understand what was happening. As an example, one large corporation, after hearing warnings from the Fed that they should clamp down on stock market speculation, simply thumbed their noses by withdrawing their money from the banking system. They then placed it directly on deposit with a New York brokerage house, thereby bypassing the banking system altogether. No matter which theory you choose, I think the Pluto transit describes both.

During the years that followed, Pluto conjoined the Fed's Jupiter. It assumed many new powers and more banks fell under its control. The foundation for the "New Deal" was laid. The Fed was to be the prime financier (at the expense of the American people through the invisible taxation called inflation). On February 27, 1932, an important legislative amendment was passed. The Fed was allowed to hold government bonds as collateral for its currency issues. Prior to this time the Fed had only been allowed to buy commercial paper which is the short term debt of corporations. The act was passed in order to ensure liquidity during times of tight money. However, now the Fed could simply finance government debt by purchasing treasury bills and treasury bonds. This was a most significant occurrence because it laid the groundwork for the lion's share of the inflation that we have experienced since that time.

In April of 1935 the Fed's inflationary powers were expanded yet further as Pluto opposed the Fed Jupiter. The open market committee was strengthened and centralized in New York City, and the board of governors was authorized to alter bank reserve requirements without emergency. I could go on, but the main point is that the Fed chart is a power gatherer and an inflator. The only question is how much power is being assumed or how much purchasing power is being forced into the system.

 

The next significant event was the outbreak of World War II. From June of 1940 to December of 1945 the U.S. money supply more than tripled from 40 billion dollars to 127 billion dollars. 

During these years, Neptune moved back and forth over zero Libra, while two more eclipses activated the Fed Ascendant and Sun. As an outgrowth of the war, many Fed powers became permanent and the significance of Neptune and the zero Aries Midheaven became obvious.

In 1945 the Fed was to begin to play a key role in such construction and foreign aid programs as the Marshall Plan and the International Monetary Fund. In order to fully appreciate the power of the zero Aries Midheaven, one must realize that the mechanism by which the Fed could import inflation to all countries of the world was now set in place. (For those who are not familiar with Uranian astrology, zero degrees of the cardinal points are considered world points. Planets located on these points or passing over them find ready expression in the world.) In warfare, the victors always receive the spoils. The institution of the dollar as the world's reserve currency was one of the major prizes that the United States garnered at the end of World War II. The U.S. had two-thirds of the free world's gold in Fort Knox, and foreign countries considered dollars to be as good as gold. Therefore, whenever they received dollars, these funds were added to the country's reserves. The banks within that country could issue new loans versus the new reserve dollars. The multiplier effect then took place within the country and greatly expanded the money supply. Of course, this was welcomed at first because the funds were needed to rebuild. However, U.S. monetary authorities were to grow very irresponsible in the years following the war. They began to issue dollars and credit far beyond our ability to repay in gold bullion. So foreign countries greatly expanded their own internal money supplies without having access to gold to back their newly-issued currency. In the 1960s foreign claims against U.S. gold became excessive, and bullion began to flow out of the United States rapidly. This was finally brought to a halt in August of 1971 when Richard Nixon closed the gold window. Few Americans realized that this action constituted an admission that the country was essentially broke in terms of its foreign obligations. We could no longer redeem dollars for gold. The dollar declined sharply in value on world markets - the damage had been done. The inflated dollars were already loose in the world's monetary system and the subsequent rise in prices was worldwide, thus the importance of the zero Aries Midheaven. (It is interesting to note that a horoscope set up for the signing of the Bretton Woods monetary agreement has zero Aries on the Ascendant, according to Roy Whitney.) Of course, the preceding description of events following World War II again point to the importance of Neptune in the chart and its ninth house rulership. Closer to the present, the Saturn station at 0 Aries on December 3,1996 coincided with Chairman Greenspan's comments about market exhuberance. The Dow plunged over 300 points over the next two weeks.

More recently, we can look at the passage of Pluto as having described changes in the Federal Reserve System. From the fall of 1971 until the fall of 1972 Pluto passed back and forth over zero Libra. The president was given the power to nationalize the bank industry via the Fed in what has become known as the Economic Emergency Act. In June of 1980, stationary direct Pluto made its last square to the Fed's Mars. The Monetary Control Act was passed. This act essentially gives the Fed the power to reduce bank reserve requirements to zero, granting the power to inflate to infinity. Almost as important was the provision of the law that enables the Fed to purchase any debt. This means that the Fed is no longer limited to purchasing U.S. government debt but can purchase obligations of corporations or of bankrupt nations. Efforts to find out whether this power is being used to bail out bankrupt countries have been blocked. The Fed simply refuses to reveal whether they are purchasing foreign debt, information that their publications formerly disclosed. Again we see the South Node in the third house and the Mercury-Saturn opposition at work. (It is amusing and yet tragic to note that when I contacted the Fed to receive samples of the publications distributed to the public, I received a comic book. The comic book blamed inflation on Arabs, greedy businessmen, and housewives.)

The 2000 Outlook

In late 1998, Neptune exited Capricorn and lifted its deflationary effect. On April 6,1999 Saturn squared Neptune and the deflation began to lift. Prior to that date, most felt that inflation was dead. After that date, the Fed began to raise rates, energy prices rose, and fears of inflation returned. I was able to predict this change in advance. The early signs were the strengthening of the Canadian and Australian currencies as well as the move up in oil. The return of the eclipses to Cancer-Capricorn will stimulate the natal planets in the Fed chart and will likely lead to above-average increases in the money supply.

A Deeper Look

What does this mean on a deeper level? Are we the victims of the Fed? In all things, there is a mutuality. I do not think that there is anyone reading these words who has not benefitted in some indirect if not direct way from the inflation of the 1960s and 1970s. If you received a student loan or any type of financing at all you paid less interest than you should have. Many government programs and individual jobs were created through inflation. This is the Neptunian side of inflation-it is addictive. The debt has a Plutonian side-the debt issuer controls the debtor.

Why did we do it? I believe that when the spiritual search stops, the material ambitions increase proportionately. Having been lost spiritually, we became extremely acquisitive materially. We wanted to have more than we were willing to give, so we mortgaged the future to satisfy our appetites in the short run. In addition, we misunderstood contraction and expansion. We greatly emphasized the economic expansions and minimized the economic contractions to avoid economic pain. But healthy contractions have a positive side. They cleanse the system of excesses and inefficient businesses, a process that eventually leads to greater benefit for all. Nothing can keep expanding forever. If you do not believe this, try inhaling for the next 30 minutes! By misunderstanding the positive functions of contraction and pain, we have simply postponed the day when we will have to undergo a much greater contraction with much greater pain. In that period, we will learn the positive sides of these seemingly frightening phenomena and feelings. With the material taken away, we will be left to search for deeper values. As anyone who researches the human condition and process can tell you, individuals create crises to get themselves back to a more truthful foundation. Or, as some say, a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.

Has Anyone Ever Noticed?

The Congressional Record was filled the remarks of Congressman Louis T. McFadden, Speaker of the House. He spoke against the Fed, exposing it, "Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States government institutions. They are not government institutions. They are private monopolies.". He was fired upon while exiting a cab in the Capitol. He then became very ill after food at a Washington banquet. He was saved by a physician friend who happened to be present.

He finally succumbed on October 3,1936 from "heart failure sudden death after a dose of intestinal flu.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Sr., father of the famous aviator, opposed the Fed in 1913. He ran for the governor of Minnesota in 1917, but attacks by the NY Times and raids on his home and office by federal agents hurt his campaign.

When Senator La Follette charged that a money trust of 50 men ran the country, George F. Baker, partner in J.P. Morgan & Co., replied that the comment was completely false. As far as he knew, not more than eight men ran the country. The Committee on Banking Currency, and Housing (of the House of Representatives, 94th Congress, second session, August 1976) issued the following report:

FEDERAL RESERVE DIRECTORS: A STUDY OF CORPORATE AND BANKING INFLUENCE

The report concluded: "In summary, the Federal Reserve directors are apparently representative of a small group which dominates much of the economic life of this nation." End of Congressional Report. The facts of the Fed's creation have not gone entirely unnoticed as the following quotes indicate. The Wall Street Journal of December 8, 1984 quoted Representative Jack Kemp, the nation's only supply-side quarterback, 'An elitist Federal Reserve is determining the course of the American and the world economy."

In the late 1980s, the Morton Downey, Jr. Show invited Eustace Mullins, author of Secret of the Federal Reserve and myself to speak about the Fed on the air. I declined and Eustace accepted. About a month later, major sponsors pulled their backing and the show was cancelled. I recall reading an article in which Downey lamented that he could not understand why his life had suddenly taken such a downturn.

Recommended Reading:

  1. America's Money Machine, Elgin Groseclose, Books Inc., NYC,NY.
  2. Money and Man, Elgin Groseclose, University Press, Norman, Ok.
  3. The Creature from Jekyll Island, Griffin, American Opinion Publishing, PO Box 8040, Appleton, Wi. 54913.
  4. Secrets of the Federal Reserve, Eustace Mullins, Bankers Research Institute, Box 1105, Staunton, Va. 24401.
  5. Congressman McFadden on the Federal Reserve Corporation, Remarks in Congress 1934, Arizona Caucus Club, PO Box 60, Mesa, Az. 85201.
  6. The Greatest Story Never Told, Riott, Nanoman Press, Oak Brook, Il. 60522.
  7. History of Interest Rates, Homer, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.
  8. The Price of Money, Homer and Johannesen, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.
  9. The Velocity of Money, Garvy and Blyn, Federal Reserve Bank of NY, NYC, NY.
  10. The Great Contraction, Friedman, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
  11. Depression, Inflation, and Monetary Policy, Warburton, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Md.
  12. Readings in Money, National Income, and Stabilization Policy, Smith, R.D. Irwin, Homewood, Il.
  13. The Great Inflation, Brown, Oxford University Press, Amen House, London.
  14. A Half Century of Federal Reserve Policy Making, Anderson, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa.
  15. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Annual Report, FDIC, Washington, DC.
  16. Historic Beginnings- The Federal Reserve, The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston,Ma.
  17. Statfacts-Understanding Federal Reserve Statistical Reports, Federal Reserve Bank of NY.