That tenuous connection was precisely the role to be played byAugust Belmont in the United States, and the anti-Semitism hefound there was undoubtedly the reason he changed his name fromSchoenberg to Belmont upon landing in New York in 1837. Prior tothat, the Rothschild agent had been the firm of J.L. and S.I. Joseph &Company, about as American sounding as one can get. It was notlong, however, before the Belmont-Rothschild connection becamecommon knowledge, and the ploy ceased to be effective.
In 1848, the family decided to send Alphonse Rothschild to theUnited States to check on Belmont's operations and to evaluate thepossibility of replacing him with a direct Rothschild representative,perhaps Alphonse himself. After an extended visit, he wrote home: In a few years from now America will have attracted to itself the greater part of trade with China and the Indies and will be enthroned between the two oceans.... The country possesses such elements of prosperity that one would have to be blind not to recognize them.... I have no hesitation in saying that a Rothschild house, and not just an agency, should be established in America.... Today we are presented with a fine opportunity. Later on, difficulties will of necessity arise as a result of competition from all sides.3
1. Eustace Mullins, Secrets of the Federal Reserve (Virginia: Bankers Research Institute, 1983), p. 49.
2. Derek Wilson, p. 176.
3. B. Gille, Histoire de la Maison Rothschild, Vol. 1,1965-1967, p. 581, cited by Derek Wilson, p. 181.
THE LONDON CONNECTION 415
Some historians have expressed amazement over the fact thatthe recommendation was never acted upon. Wilson says: "This wasthe greatest opportunity the Rothschilds ever lost."1 Those with amore skeptical bent are tempted to wonder if the opportunity reallywas lost or if it was merely taken in a more indirect fashion. It issignificant that, precisely at this time, George Peabody was makinga name for himself in London and had established a close relationship with Nathan Rothschild. Is it possible that the Peabody firmwas given the nod from the Rothschild consortium to representthem in America? And is it possible that the plan included allowingBelmont to operate as a known Rothschild agent while usingPeabody & Company as an unknown agent, thus, providing theirown competition?
