Be Careful Crossing The Street

On December 19, 1935 Thomas D Schall was fatally struck by a car.  Schall was blind.  And a United States Senator.  We've had some colorful characters in Washington and Schall ranks high on that list.

Born in 1878 into desperate poverty in a cabin outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, after his father deserted the family, Schall's mother moved the family to the small town of Wheaton in Western Minnesota.  Though he did not attend school until he was 12, Schall soon discovered a gift for oratory (he was also a boxer and baseball player); the president of Hamline College in St Paul heard him and arranged a scholarship.  Schall transferred to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1902 and from St Paul Law School in 1904.

Off to a promising start as a trial lawyer specializing in personal injury cases, young Schall's life was transformed by an accident in 1907, while trying a case in Fargo, North Dakota.  At a cigar stand, Schall was trying out a new electric cigar lighter.  Unfortunately, it had been plugged into the wrong outlet and when ignited it flashed in his face.  Over the next three months he went completely blind.  He decided to resume his practice with the assistance of his wife Margaret for reading and writing and built a successful practice based on his trial skills.

In 1914, Schall ran for Congress on the Progressive Party ticket, winning the race and being reelected in 1916.  In 1918 he switched to the Republican Party and was elected to three more terms.  In 1924, Schall was elected to the Senate, becoming the first blind senator, and was reelected in 1930.

Accommodations were made for his blindness; the House allowed him to have a personal page for which he thanked fellow Members:

“To the blind man, work is a pleasure and by giving me the means to do more work you have expanded my pleasure and released me from bondage and given me freedom. The hands which reach out to me and the voices which encourage me make bright the otherwise gray days and give me a renewed zest to fight the game of life.”

After joining the Senate he was allowed to have a guide dog on the floor of the chamber. Margaret continued to assist him in Washington with reading and writing.

All through his life, Tom Schall loved public speaking.  In this biographical sketch, Peggy Chong writes:

One thing he loved to do was to speak to the people.  It is said that he would talk to any group at great length on current issues.  Most of his supporters were the poor people of Minnesota.  He would address crowds, primarily outdoors at community picnics or on street corners, from the back of a car.  It didn't matter to him.  It has been said that, if three people were found loitering outside his Lake Harriet home, he would take the opportunity to speak from his retaining all to those who would listen.

Despite his blindness, Schall continued with an active life, learning to fly, becoming a skilled horseman, and enjoying shooting, as you can see!

On the evening of December 19, 1935, Senator Schall stopped at a grocery store on his way home to Maryland.  While crossing the Baltimore-Washington Highway in the evening darkness, assisted by an aide but without his guide dog, both were struck by a hit and run driver, who was later identified and arrested. The senator died three days later, while his aide survived a fractured skull.

As a politician, Schall was always controversial, enjoying feuds, and constantly facing close elections.

As a progressive, Schall supported regulation of business and child labor laws, but later became an outspoken opponent of President Franklin Roosevelt, accusing him of being a communist and planning to establish a dictatorship.  The increasingly vituperative nature of his attacks on FDR led to headlines like this one in the September 5, 1934 New York Times:

ATTACK ON NEW DEAL RENEWED BY SCHALL; Senator Asserts NRA Codes Censor Press, Rayburn Act Curbs Radio, Wires.

For a flavor of the relations between Schall and FDR you can read this 1934 exchange of letters. 

Upon his death, Time Magazine noted:

"Of all the Senators who sat in the last session of Congress the one least liked by his colleagues was undoubtedly the late Huey Long. Had a secret vote for that distinction been taken, a runner-up to the Louisiana "Kingfish" would probably have been blind Senator Thomas David Schall of Minnesota. He was so unmeasured in his attacks on President Roosevelt, his wife and family, that even the sternest opponents of the New Deal shivered. But just as Senators were shocked by the assassination of Democrat Huey Long, so last week they were shocked by the tragedy that befell Republican Tom Schall."

Thomas Schall was survived by three children and wife Margaret, who passed in 1954.