The Creature from Jekyll Island - G. Edward Griffin

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 P.M, 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

The Creature from Jekyll Island - G. Edward Griffin