Kidogo's World: Exposing fraudulent money and the shift of power

Excerpts from Gertrude Coogan's Money Creators ,

the history of our debt-money system
How it came to be

... a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong,
gives it a superficial appearance of being right,
and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.
Thomas Paine in his preface to Common Sense

Following are excerpts from the Preface and the Table of Contents of Mysterious Moneychangers, a condensation of the definitive work of Gertrude Coogan, Money Creators . Also, you will find here the Preface and the Foreword to Money Creators. This book was first published in 1935 -- in the midst of the Great Depression. Its third (and last, to our knowledge) printing was in 1937. It deserved then -- and does now deserve -- a much wider distribution. Indeed, if it had been more widely read then it might have had a profound effect upon the history of our nation and our own lives in the past 60 years.

(The text in hard copy of Mysterious Moneychangers is available from the publisher. For information, send your name and snail mail address (Please put "MM-- Info" on the subject line): to kidogo@sonnet.com. We will relay your request to the publisher.)

The Foreword was written by Robert L. Owen, who, as Senator from the brand new state of Oklahoma and Chairman of the SenateÕs Banking and Currency Committee, had been instrumental in the passage of the Federal Reserve Act.

He spent the rest of his life trying to get it repealed.

These excerpts are here offered in the hope that electronic media might now accomplish what the normal book publishing of the 1930s could never hope to do.

---

Mysterious Moneychangers

condensed from Gertrude Coogan'sMoney Creators

published in 1935

Preface to Mysterious Moneychangers

Every historian approaches his subject with a point of view and a bias. Gertrude Coogan's education and professional background determined the point of view from which she researched history to uncover the enigma of money. Perhaps she is to be forgiven if her reading of a direct correlation between economics and history caused her to oversimplify her account of history. Aren't all history books oversimplifications, each encompassing its own bias? And perhaps only as we read them all do we begin to see the whole. Miss Coogan's offering may be very important for filling gaps in that whole.

She identified and made a good case for one thing as the driving force behind all major events of history. What is that driving force? Money? Yes, É and no. Not just any money. It is the magic money, the money often made into a whiplash. It is the money of the mysterious moneychangers.

Your past and that of your family cannot now be changed; but perhaps your future can -- if you take a few minutes to discover what may now be determining it by default! The remedy Miss Coogan espoused in 1935 when her book was first published (that Congress could simply print money as needed, without recourse to borrowing at interest from the Federal Reserve) would certainly be a far cry better than what we now have .... unless it would be far worse. [See Witherspoon's Essay on Money elsewhere in Kidogo's World. -- Ed]

A big difference between 1935 and 1994 is that in 1935 the economic house of cards was in obvious shambles. In 1994 the house of cards has been rebuilt to gigantic proportions. Because it is standing, the fact that it is a house of cards seems to escape the notice of most people.

Unfortunately, the reasoning for her remedy is flawed on two counts: (1) her naive supposition that the Congress could be trusted, and, the bottom line, (2) the unconstitutionality of the remedy itself. She based her remedy on a faulty interpretation of the clause of the Constitution that gives Congress power to coin money. That interpretation says the power to coin money includes the power to issue unbacked paper money. She somehow missed another clause of the Constitution that limits that power, specifically prohibiting the issuance of unbacked paper. The Founding Fathers purposed severely to restrict the power of Congress with regard to money and made the States the watchdogs. Their intentions were made clear in the Convention debate.

Nevertheless, her analysis of the situation is eminently worthy of attention. In it we see the rules by which the "game" of the present money system is played, and how that system has impacted our own lives -- and will continue to do so until we make the changes needed.

Fortunately, we donÕt have to go to the trouble of inventing and making new law. We have only to insist upon the much simpler solution of enforcing existing law. How to do so is the subject of another book, Remarkable Remedy.

Jean Carpenter

March 1994

Gertrude Coogan's Preface to Money Creators

There can be no Liberty without Economic Freedom -- America can have no Economic Freedom without an honest money system -- one removed from the controls of the socially irresponsible private Money Creators.

...

The reader will ask: "Why have not business leaders known that our money system is dishonest? They are intelligent, aggressive people who seem equal to anything." The answer is found in the fact that with few exceptions business men are honest, and, as honest men, believe that few men are dishonest.

The situation resulting from this concept has set the stage for any confidence game, large or small. The Money Creators have truly operated a confidence game.

Our home town and city bankers are, with few exceptions, honest men. Through intrigue and manipulations of gold and government debts they have become mere pawns in the world monetary confidence game.

They and their predecessors inherited a system which, because it is, they believe it always was. If they would look into the origin of the system, and examine its nature, originated sub-rosa and only through centuries of legislative trickery congealed into Law, they would demand that the system be demystified, made non-collapsible, and honest in essence; for they would see that the near-by destiny of the system is ruin for them as well as for others.

January 29, 1935

FOREWORD to Money Creators

by former Senator Robert L. Owen

To the American People:

It gives me special pleasure to have the opportunity to explain the principles and purposes of this book, written by Miss Gertrude M. Coogan of Chicago.

The facts that Miss Coogan was awarded a Master's Degree in Economics and Finance by Northwestern University; was for eight years a Security Analyst for The Northern Trust Company of Chicago; that from the beginning she had a deep desire to understand the fancied enigma of money, have given her great insight into monetary science.

The basic principles of monetary science are simple. É Knowledge of the science has been made difficult by those who have converted these simple principles into an enigma. They have done so with ponderous volumes written on prices and on the processes of production, transportation, distribution and allied topics; weaving into the subject matter deceptive terms so that the public has been grossly misled by the use of words which contain accepted false premises.

...

The purpose of this book is to bring before the American people the knowledge that they must have regarding the nature and manipulations of their money system. In my opinion, America faces a crisis which may result in the loss of our Representative Constitutional Government unless every man and woman, rich or poor, young or old; doctor, lawyer, merchant laborer, educator, clergyman, social worker, society leader; will bestir himself or herself toward the problem of bringing the fundamental truths of monetary science to every fireside.

It is time for intelligent Americans to examine their money system .... Those who own insurance policies and savings accounts must bestir themselves to protect those accumulations. ...

... The truths themselves are very simple, but many of the newspapers and publishing companies allow themselves to be used to carry misinformation to the American public, while neglecting to print the truths. Honest money principles are understandable to every one when the money subject is presented in its true light. É

It required the assistance of every loyal American to help win the World War. In my opinion, the American people have more at stake today than they had at the time of the World War.É I believe the future of our nation and the principles for which it has stood, were less in jeopardy then than they are today. ...

The solution of the problem to protect our homes does not rest with a few leaders in a distant city. It is necessary that every man and woman appoint himself and herself a leader. Honest Money Groups must be formed in every block, in every precinct throughout the United States, and in every rural community. The rural community centers and schoolhouses can be most profitably employed this winter in showing the American farmers how simply they can solve all of their own problems. Their grave troubles have been caused not by overproduction, but by money manipulations frequently executed upon foreign advice and to harmonize with foreign "policies." The result has been the extraction of dollars of a distorted purchasing power from the American farmer. Collecting dollars of such unfair purchasing power has deprived many American farmers of their homes, and all farmers of their share in the industrial products which this nation is so well equipped to manufacture and distribute.

The principal reason for endorsing this book is that I feel it is an intelligent vehicle for the dissemination of the truths which must be understood in every home ....

... I am glad to commend it; to give the book my blessings in its principles and purposes ... It contains scientific truths -- not quackery.

...

This writer is informed. The information is sound. ... it is written in an attractive way with an engaging style, and it conveys to the American people truths of the very first magnitude.

When these truths are known, and the American people demand their constitutional right of an honest money system, this country will enter upon an era of material and physical prosperity; of opportunity, and spiritual and cultural advancement that will not only charm and delight its own people but will become a model for the rest of the human race.

Robert L. Owen, New York City, October 29, 1934.

Contents

1. WHY?

2. THE SETTING FOR THE "MYSTERY"

3. THE ORIGIN OF THE PRACTICES
   The origin of the practices of our mysterious and unconstitutional system of money

4. A FOREIGN SNARE
   The Strong Room Keeper attends a conference

5. THE "FEDERAL RESERVE" SNARE
   Another snare is created

6. THE MONEY CREATORS' HARVEST
   The Great War

7. "COOPERATION"
   London "cooperation" became exploitation

8. EFFECTS OF REVALUATION OF GOLD
   Changing the currency, paper money units, exchangeable for an ounce of gold

9. UNDER THE SEARCHLIGHT
   The Nature of wealth, money and debt

10. THE ACCORDION MYSTERY
    The United States monetary system of today (1935)

11. THE HISTORICAL FACTS
    Our untaught history

12. AN HONEST MONEY SYSTEM
    The only hope for economic security and peace

13. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS OR SOCIALISM
    What is capitalism? What is socialism?

    Chart:

    HOW GOLD PRICES ARE JUGGLED AGAINST AMERICAN FARMERS, LABORERS AND INDUSTRIALISTS

    WHERE TO FIND THE REMEDY