“The bank hath benefit of interest on all moneys which it creates out of nothing.” — William Paterson, founder of the Bank of England, 1694.

“All the perplexities, confusion and distresses in America arise not from defects in the constitution or confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, as much from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.” — John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson.

If congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to use themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations. — US President Andrew Jackson.

“The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.” — US President Abraham Lincoln

“History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance.” — US President James Madison

“The money power denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes.” — Democrat Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.

 "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce." — US President James A. Garfield

“This Federal Reserve Act establishes the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President (Wilson) signs this bill the invisible government of the Monetary Power will be legalized.” — Hon. Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr.

“Bankers own the earth; take it away from them but leave them with the power to create credit; and, with a flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again... If you want to be slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let the bankers control money and control credit.” — Sir Josiah Stamp, Director, Bank of England, 1940.

"Banks lend by creating credit. They create the means of payment out of nothing." — Ralph M. Hawtrey, former Secretary of Treasury, England.

“The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.” — John K. Galbraith, in “Money: Whence it came, where it went”, p. 29.

“The banks do create money. They have been doing it for a long time, but they didn't quite realise it, and they did not admit it. Very few did. You will find it in all sorts of documents, financial textbooks, etc. But in the intervening years, and we must all be perfectly frank about these things, there has been a development of thought, until today I doubt very much whether you would get many prominent bankers to attempt to deny that banks create credit.” — H. W. White, Chairman of the Associated Banks of New Zealand, to the New Zealand Monetary Commission, 1955.

This article was published in the Oct.-Nov.-December, 2003 issue of “Michael”.