Father Fahey reports: "Given the defective principles of money manipulation outlined in the last section, it is easy to see how financiers came to occupy their present dominant position in modern States. The bankers observed that about 90 per cent of their total stock of gold remained in their vaults entirely undisturbed, and that only about 10 per cent of the precious metal was required for the normal transaction of business. The Banks then began to circulate far more promises to pay for gold than they had gold to meet, and to collect interest on the fictitious money. ... The toleration by the State of this practice of lending promises to pay to ten times the amount of money which the bankers had in their possession was the second and more important step in the bankers' advance to control in modern States." Fahey notes the beginning of the fraud that led to the fractional reserve banking system, which is now based upon nothing as reported on several websites and videos on the internet. This work makes a fascinating introduction into the debasing of currency that has led to the recent bubble markets and economic distress world-wide.