Once the Jekyll Island group, led by Paul Warburg and steered by Edward House, got everything they wanted in the Fed and the personal income tax (founded upon the corporate income tax of 1909), we can infer they informed their European counterparts that the world was ready for war. European secret societies played with fire, not concerned who would be the actual match to light the tinder (which turned out to be Gavrilo Princip). Since the US could set any tax rate (including over 100%), the "income tax" upon the "rich" rapidly rose from 1% to literally 90% to fund the war support effort. Shipping war material upon the passenger ship Lusitania, after Germany warned us they would bomb it and even successfully took out newspaper ads warning potential US passengers of this stance, was the last straw. Lord Mersey said the Lusitania coverup was a damnably dirty business; the event was investigated by then Lord Admiral of the Navy, Winston Churchill.