James Saxon and John Kennedy vs Wall Street

[James DiEugenio]

I would be willing to wager that almost no one ever heard of James Saxon.  Very, very few books ever mention the man.  Turns out to be an important figure.  Once you fit him into Kennedy's economic program.

The best book I know of on that is Don Gibson's Battling Wall Street.  Which, again few people have read. IMO, its the best book on the subject of Kennedy's economic policy. JFK was opposed in this also by the Power Elite. Just recall the Steel Crisis, which I go into here. It was over more than just steel.  And James Saxon was just about starting a rebellion against the Fed and David Rockefeller.  

https://kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/james-saxon-and-john-kennedy-vs-wall-street

[Ron Bulman]

I guess I had heard of him when I read Crossfire many years ago but it didn't sink in.  Much more detail about him here along with the bigger picture.  I passed economics I & II but it wasn't my strong suit.  This is pretty straight forward.  There was another guy under Dillon in the Secret Service whose name I can't remember that hated JFK who seemed like a natural conduit from the top to the bottom.  I though it surprising I didn't find any reference to Saxon in the index in Battling Wall Street.

[James DiEugenio]

That was surprising to me also.

I don't think Don found that interview with him, which I thought was a real hum dinger.  That is why I provided the link.  Saxon was really urging a flow of easy credit and the opening of more banks everywhere with competitive interest rates.  And he specifically named the Fed and Chase Manhattan in the interview. The Steel Crisis was a tell tale event in retrospect.

I think the guy you are referring to is Elmer Moore.  There is little doubt today by anyone in the know, Moore was a keystone in the cover up in more than one way.  And he despised Kennedy, and Bolden.

Edited January 26, 2021 by James DiEugenio

[Ron Bulman]

I've become refreshed somewhat so to speak on Moore recently thanks to discussions on the forum.  He should have had his feet held to the fire by a real investigator for more info but it's too late now.  Still pretty incriminating what he said and did.

Vince posted the name of Deputy SS Chief Paul Paterni on another thread.  This is the guy I was thinking of.  I don't know where I got the idea he hated JFK because I haven't found that.  I re read the pages on him in Survivor's Guilt.  Secret Service since the 1930's but also OSS in WWII.  Serving in Milan Italy with Angleton and CIA Warren Commission liaison Ray Rocca.  To me that means he was a Dulles loyalist.

Dillon was OSS.  A private word to Paterni to speak to . . . of the CIA.  One more level (who?) down to Roberts?.

  

[Dennis Berube]

Thanks Jim, good read. To me, articles like this are worth far more than entire books on the "how" question like the autopsy.

 

 

On 1/23/2021 at 11:32 PM, James DiEugenio said:

And he specifically named the Fed and Chase Manhattan in the interview. The Steel Crisis was a tell tale event in retrospect.

When was the last President who challenged the orbit of the Federal Reserve in any serious way like this? As far as I know it was JFK, very telling.

 

It really is amazing that no President has ever directly challenged the main point of the Federal Reserve's power and tried to re institute Article 1 Section 8 regarding government's right to control the money supply. This Saxon/JFK effort appears to be a way of attacking from the side, something FDR kind of did in WWII by demanding low interest rates for the war and production, but not a direct assault. 

 

From the Fed's website:

In addition, though the Congress sets the goals for monetary policy, decisions of the Board—and the Fed's monetary policy-setting body, the Federal Open Market Committee—about how to reach those goals do not require approval by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government.

 

 

[James DiEugenio]

Nice one Dennis.  I was not aware of that declaration from the Fed.

In light of that, Saxon was really going after that doctrine.

And as I wrote, in his interview done right before Kennedy was killed, he said there was no interference from above in what he was doing.  Since Saxon was gaining notoriety, and JFK was a vociferous reader, he had to know what his employee was up to.  As I said, I think Saxon was doing what Kennedy wanted DIllon to do, but Dillon was too much aligned with the Fed and Chase Manhattan to do so.

[Dennis Berube]

That Federal Open Market Committee aspect of the Federal Reserve was signed into law by FDR in the 1935 Banking Act, one of the biggest mistakes he ever made imo. It ceded far too much monetary control to the Federal Reserve, he should have nationalized it instead, but I guess the Morgan types had already tried to overthrow and/or kill him once or twice already at that point.

 

With Dillon, it seems JFK really underestimated the forces against him. Some of his "unity" choices really ended up badly. Lodge might have been the worst, although I guess Dulles would take the cake in that conversation. Regardless, I know he had his reasons for making appointing/keeping those people but you have to wonder if it would have made a difference if he hadn't. It kind of reminds of me of pondering the Wallace/Truman in 1944 question in a way.

[James DiEugenio]

Kennedy did not want Lodge in VIetnam.

He wanted to switch Gullion there from Congo.

It was Rusk who vetoed Gullion.  Rusk was another unity type choice.

Dillon and Rusk were really Rockefeller types in Kennedy's cabinet. 

Saxon was a a really good guy. There is not enough written about him.  Very forward thinking and it seems to me progressive in how he wanted to use banks and money. 

[Cliff Varnell]

3 hours ago, Dennis Berube said:

That Federal Open Market Committee aspect of the Federal Reserve was signed into law by FDR in the 1935 Banking Act, one of the biggest mistakes he ever made imo. It ceded far too much monetary control to the Federal Reserve, he should have nationalized it instead, but I guess the Morgan types had already tried to overthrow and/or kill him once or twice already at that point.

 

With Dillon, it seems JFK really underestimated the forces against him. Some of his "unity" choices really ended up badly. Lodge might have been the worst, although I guess Dulles would take the cake in that conversation. Regardless, I know he had his reasons for making appointing/keeping those people but you have to wonder if it would have made a difference if he hadn't. It kind of reminds of me of pondering the Wallace/Truman in 1944 question in a way.

Soon after the ‘60 election Joe Kennedy had JFK contact Robert Lovett (Brown Brothers Harriman banker “wise man”) who recommended Dean Rusk for State, McGeorge Bundy for National Security Advisor, C. Douglas Dillon for Treasury, and Robert McNamara for Defense.

Lovett and Old Joe had tried to get Ike to fire Allen Dulles for several years.

Rusk started complaining about the size of the Cuban operation as soon as he took over State, and continued to complain right up to the point when the “Go Decision” was made D-Day -1 and he suddenly fell silent.

Yalie Harrimanite Richard Bissell, as head of CIA covert operations, mis-managed the operation, guaranteeing failure at the Bay of Pigs.

The primary outcome of the Bay of Pigs fiasco was the removal of Allen Dulles.

I find it plausible that that was the primary objective of Lovett and Old Joe.

[James DiEugenio]

Dennis, I would say that of the Big Four, Kennedy hit on maybe two.

His brother as AG, and McNamara as Sec Def.

Rusk and Dillon I think were Rockefeller guys. In his book on JFK and the non aligned world, Robert Rakove writes about how Rusk ended up discarding Kennedy's policies once LBJ got into office. Rusk turned out to be a hawk on Vietnam also.  His testimony about the Tonkin Gulf incident is really something to read.

[Cliff Varnell]

8 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Dennis, I would say that of the Big Four, Kennedy hit on maybe two.

His brother as AG, and McNamara as Sec Def.

Rusk and Dillon I think were Rockefeller guys. In his book on JFK and the non aligned world, Robert Rakove writes about how Rusk ended up discarding Kennedy's policies once LBJ got into office. Rusk turned out to be a hawk on Vietnam also.  His testimony about the Tonkin Gulf incident is really something to read.

https://harvardpolitics.com/presidents-wise-men-president-kennedy-decline-eastern-establishment/