Is the Federal Reserve really just a cartel operating against the interest of the public?

A cartel is a group of independent businesses which join together to coordinate the production, pricing, or marketing of their members. Like a monopoly, the goal of a cartel is to reduce competition and increase profitability. In 1910, seven men who represented ? of the world’s wealth got together to write a banking bill in a highly secretive fashion at Jekyll Island. In the February 9, 1935, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, an article appeared written by Frank Vanderlip. In it he said: “Despite my views about the value to society of greater publicity for the affairs of corporations, there was an occasion, near the close of 1910, when I was as secretive–indeed, as furtive—as any conspirator…..I do not feel it is any exaggeration to speak of our secret expedition to Jekyll island as the occasion of the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System.” He went on to say “If it were to be exposed publicly that our particular group had got together and written a banking bill, that bill would have no chance whatever of passage by Congress.”(1) Since its creation, the Federal Reserve has been successful in continually bailing out banks and shifting the costs to the American taxpayer. What else could we expect from a private bank that controls the monetary system of the nation?Is the Federal Reserve really just a cartel operating against the interest of the public?
In the sense that it's part of the unregulated crapitalist system, yes.