Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward

When we consider, also, in this connection that into thesereservoirs of money and credit there flow a large part of the reserves ofthe banks of the country, that they are also the agents andcorrespondents of the out-of-town banks in the loaning of theirsurplus funds in the only public money market of the country, and

that a small group of men and their partners and associates have nowfurther strengthened their hold upon the resources of theseinstitutions by acquiring large stock holdings therein, byrepresentation on their boards and through valuable patronage, webegin to realize something of the extent to which this practical and

effective domination and control over our greatest financial, railroadand industrial corporations has developed, largely within the past fiveyears, 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.

DESTINATION JEKYLL ISLAND

As the train neared its destination of Raleigh, North Carolina, the next afternoon, it slowed and then stopped in the switching yard just outside the station terminal. Quickly, the crew threw a switch, and the engine nudged the last car onto a siding where, just as quickly, it was uncoupled and left behind. When passengers stepped onto the platform at the terminal a few moments later, their train appeared exactly as it had been when they boarded.

They could not know that their travelling companions for the night, at that very instant, were joining still another train which, within the hour, would depart Southbound once again.

The elite group of financiers was embarked on a thousand-mile journey that led them to Atlanta, then to Savannah and, finally, to the small town of Brunswick, Georgia. At first, it would seem that Brunswick was an unlikely destination. Located on the Atlantic seaboard, it was primarily a fishing village with a small but lively port for cotton and lumber. It had a population of only a few thousand people. But, by that time, the Sea Islands that sheltered 1- Herman E. Krooss, ed.. Documentary History of Currency and Banking in the United States (New York: Chelsea House, 1983), Vol. Ill, "Final Report from the Pujo Committee, February 28,1913," pp. 222-24.

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THE CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND

the coast from South Carolina to Florida already had become popular as winter resorts for the very wealthy. One such island, just off the coast of Brunswick, had recently been purchased by J.P.

Morgan and several of his business associates, and it was here that they came in the fall and winter to hunt ducks or deer and to escape the rigors of cold weather in the North. It was called Jekyll Island.

When the Aldrich car was uncoupled onto a siding at the small Brunswick station, it was, indeed, conspicuous. Word travelled quickly to the office of the town's weekly newspaper. While the group was waiting to be transferred to the dock, several people from the paper approached and began asking questions. Who were Mr. Aldrich's guests? Why were they here? Was there anything special happening? Mr. Davison, who was one of the oWners of Jekyll Island and who was well known to the local paper, told them that these were merely personal friends and that they had come for the simple amusement of duck hunting. Satisfied that there was no real news in the event, the reporters returned to their office.

Even after arrival at the remote island lodge, the secrecy continued. For nine days the rule for first-names-only remained in effect. Full-time caretakers and servants had been given vacation, and an entirely new, carefully screened staff was brought in for the occasion. This was done to make absolutely sure that none of the servants might recognize by sight the identities of these guests. It is difficult to imagine any event in history—including preparation for war—that was shielded from public view with greater mystery and secrecy.