Thomas D. Schall

Thomas David Schall (June 4, 1878 – January 14, 1955) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he served in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Minnesota.

Early life
Schall was born in a log cabin Reed City, Michigan in 1878 to Mary Ellen Schall (née Jordan) and a father who died during Schall's infancy. Following the death of his father Schall and his mother were left in deep poverty. Eventually Mary obtained a homestead in Traverse County, Michigan, and was employed as a cook.

In 1884, Schall and his mother moved to Campbell, Wilkin County, Minnesota. During this time, Schall worked where he could to support himself and his mother, one such job Schall worked was in selling newspapers, effectively being homeless on the streets of Minneapolis for nights on end after selling all of his papers. For several months he even joined the circus. Around this time, wanting the best for her son, his mother arranged for Schall to be adopted by a wealthy farmer, hoping that he could help Schall get a good education. Instead, he put Schall to work on his farm. During this time, Schall ran away twice, with his second attempt successfully reuniting him with his mother. At age 12, Schall was enrolled in school in Wheaton, Minnesota.

Four years later, he entered high school at Ortonville, Minnesota at age 16. During his time at the school, he discovered a talent for oration, something others around him noticed, with many persuading him to enter an oratorical contest, in the contest he won one of his first prizes. He went on to the state competition and won second place. Before this, he was interested in boxing and baseball. In 1896, after Schall had graduated from high school, the President of Hamline University heard him speak and, impressed, arranged for him to receive a scholarship. Schall enrolled at Hamline University in 1898 at age 18.

During his time at Hamline, he started his own laundry service to pay for his education. Despite his enrollment at Hamline, Schall eventually transfered to the University of Minnesota in 1900. During his schooling at the University of Minnesota, Schall continued cultivating his oratory skills and won honors for himself and the school in the Northern Oratorical League. During this time he also won the Pillsbury Prize. Graduating from the university in 1902, he earned his A.B. degree. Following this he enrolled at the St. Paul College of Law and graduated in 1904 with a LL.B. degree. In 1905 Schall was admitted to the bar.

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Legal career & blindness
In 1907, Schall was trying a case in Fargo, North Dakota when, after the court recessed for lunch, Thomas and a fellow attorney went to a stand to purchase some cigars. While the other attorney lit his with a match, Schall used a newly installed electrical cigar lighter to light his. Due to being improperly connected to its power source, the machine sparked and flashed bright light into his face. In the process he suffered burns to his arm. Despite his injuries he returned to the courtroom after lunch to continue the case. After the proceedings that day ended, Schall noticed that his vision had been unfocused, and as the days progressed, his vision continuously degraded and, after three months, he was left totally blind.

After he had gone blind, Schall and his wife visited numerous doctors, hoping to find ways to reverse his blindness. In their efforts they exhausted their savings and sold off all their belongings, including Schall's legal library and eventually, everything they owned. Schall heard of a doctor with a new surgical procedure, but it was expensive, and was unaffordable for Schall. To pay for the procedure, Schall resumed his legal practice, using spaces loaned to him by friends. Over time, Schall was able to gain confidence in his abilities, despite his blindness, and began focusing on personal injury law. Eventually he disregarded the procedure and opened a new office in the Security Building in Minneapolis, an office he kept for many years.

Margaret, his wife, became his personal secretary both in the law offices and in Washington. While attending the University of Minnesota before she married Tom, she had earned extra money reading to a professor who was losing his sight. Given Thomas's past and her knowledge of what the blind professor had accomplished at the University, she urged her husband to continue in his practice of law. To aid him in his legal practices, Margaret, his wife, became his personal secretary at his legal offices as well as in Washington. As his secretary she would help him read and write, actions he was unable to do due to his blindness.

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House of Representatives
In 1914 Schall ran for Congress for Minnesota's 10th Congressional district, which spanned Hennepin, Wright, Anoka, Pine, Kanabec, Pine, and Mille Lacs Counties, as a Republican. In the middle of the wartime surge in popularity for the Republican Party, Schall won handily against his Democratic opponent. Winning his election, Schall became the first blind member of the House of Representatives. He began his service on March 4, 1915, and held office from the 64th to 68th Congresses. Due to him being legally blind, he was granted a full-time page by a House vote to assist him in his duties.

One of the first matters the freshman representative had to vote on was for the Speaker, during the balloting he cast his vote for incumbent speaker George W. Norris, a fellow Republican and progressive.

In 1924, Schall became the first legislator to accept an invitation to speak at a convention of the Minnesota State Organization of the Blind. Due to his support for the organization, the MSOB would contact Schall throughout his tenure. One such instance where the MSOB enlisted Schall was when the Pensions for the Blind Bill was being voted on in Congress

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1924 Election
Main article: 1924 United States Senate election in Minnesota

Over time, conflicts in Minnesota between agrarian and industrial interests helped form a unified movement of farmers and labor-workers which culminated in the formation of the Farmer–Labor Party in 1922. In 1923, in a special election following the death of senator Knute Nelson, the party elected its first member to the Senate, Magnus Johnson. When the normal election arrived in 1924, Schall ran for the Republican nomination and won, defeating Oscar Hallam and Ole Sageng in the process. In the general election, he had to face off against Magnus Johnson, a member of the nascent Farmer–Labor Party, and John J. Farrell, a member of the Democratic Party. After a hard-fought electon, Schall defeated Johnson by a close margin, while Farrell came in at a distant third.

Protesting his defeat, Johnson notified his fellow Senators, as well as those on the Committee on Privileges and Elections, that he intended to contest the results fo the election. His protest came on February 2, 1925, with only a month left before his term was set to expire. Six days after Johnson began contesting the election, the Senate ordered the Committee his charges. In his contest, Johnson made numerous allegations against Schall, including "excessive campaign expenditures, false and defamatory statements made about Johnson, illicit promises of political appointments, violation of franking privileges, unlawful distribution of a scurrilous campaign newspaper, and coercion of campaign contributions from bootleggers and other miscreants."

In June, the Committee on Privileges and Elections advised that Johnson's request for a recount be refused, the contest dismissed, and charges made against Schall be dropped. None of Johnson's witnesses could provide evidence linking Schall to any illegal activities. Reviewing the accusations that Schall violated the Minnesota Corrupt Practices Act, the Committee cited that Johnson had failed to file a formal contest in Minnesota district court, as was the process under the law. As noted by the Committee, the Senate could not be expected to act as a substitute for a district court. While the Committee would have given serious consideration to a court ruling, it would not be binding upon the Senate, which is the sole judge on the qualifications of its members.

On June 16, 1926, the Senate accepted the unanimous opinion of the committee that Schall retain his seat. The decision did not fully satisfy Schall, as when objection was raised to the cost of printing the full set of hearings, Schall had the clerk read a lengthy statement prepared in order to place, on the official record, his rebuttal in the strong language of "these unfounded, baseless slanders" against him. Due to the level of concern expressed by Schall, he successfully convinced his colleagues, and the Senate as a whole, that the hearings be printed in full. A month later, the Senate authorized a payment to Schall for his expenses in defending his seat. In a frustrated speech following the contest, Schall derided Johnson as “a marionette who kicked and waved his hands and opened his mouth according to the tension of the string.”

Tenure
Taking note of a recent innovation in Germany, Schall became one of the first Americans to use a guide dog, named Lux, to assist him in his disability. He also successfully changed the rules of the Senate to accomodate him and his service animal. Traveling between Minneapolis and Washington, Schall was forced to do it by himself, as he was forced to put Lux in the baggage car for the duration of his trip. This was because the railroads refused to allow Lux to accompany Schall into public train cars or private compartments. In 1926, working with fellow Senator James W. Wadsworth Jr., the two introduced a bill that would allow a guide dog to accompany his owner on public transportation and within other public areas.

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