(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2) Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501 Sponsored by Vangard Sciences PO BOX 1031 Mesquite, TX 75150 There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS on duplicating, publishing or distributing the files on KeelyNet except where noted! May 30, 1993 WIZZARD.ASC -------------------------------------------------------------------- This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Double Helix BBS. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 12-02-92 (05:23) Number: 4935 From: JEFF SALZBERG Refer#: NONE To: ALL Netwrk: FIDO Subj: Ooohs and Oz.... Conf: (143) History -------------------------------------------------------------------- From the _Dallas Morning News_, 11/29/92 Olin Chism, book critic Oohs and Oz: Was money the message? You thought _The Wizard of Oz_ was about a little girl named Dorothy and her dog named Toto and how a tornado whisked them off in their Kansas farmhouse to an amazing fantasyland ruled by a strange magician, didn't you? How naive. L. Frank Baum's children's classic is actually an allegory about monetary policy, if a persistent theory is to be believed. The idea seems to have gained currency in scholarly circles back in the 1960s, was taken up by Gore Vidal some years later and is enshrined in a prestigious reference work, _The New Palgrave Dictionary of Money & Finance_. The latest edition has just been published by Stockton Press. You can have a copy for a mere $595. Prof. Hugh Rockoff of Rutgers University, who wrote the _Palgrave_ article, stresses that "there really isn't any hard evidence" for the theory, but "I think I find it persuasive." Dr. Rockoff, who teaches economics, explained the background last week: At the end of the 19th century, many farmers in the South and West were in debt. Most had very short-term mortgages by today's standards. They were hurt by high interest rates, a declining price level under the gold standard and a more precipitous drop during the depression of the 1890s. SILVER AND GOLD Populists led by William Jennings Bryan wanted to help the farmers by coining silver along with gold (their policy was known as Page 1 "bimetallism"). This expansion of the money supply would lower interest rates, increase prices and pull the farmers out of their hole. Mr. Bryan captured the Democratic nomination in 1896 and castigated the Republican supporters of the gold standard with his famous "Cross of Gold" speech. After losing the election, he tried again in 1900; he lost again. Enter _The Wizard of Oz_. When it was published in 1900, the monetary controversy was fresh on everyone's mind. _Oz_ theorists believe Mr. Baum wrote it as an allegory, with the Populists as the heroes and the gold crowd as the villains. In the grander versions of the theory, every character and virtually every object stands for something else. Dr. Rockoff explains the symbolism. Oz is of course the abbreviation for ounce (of gold). Dorothy, "always a staunch friend and honest to the core," is the American people. The good-natured Toto may represent the Prohibition Party. The storm represents the Populist movement. The Land of Oz is the Eastern establishment, firm supporter of the gold standard. Dorothy's house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, who Dr. Rockoff thinks may represent either the Eastern financiers or the pro-gold former president Grover Cleveland. The witch is wearing silver shoes. In the movie they became ruby slippers. Dorothy is told to follow the Yellow Brick Road (the gold standard, obviously) to Emerald City (Washington). Dorothy's companions are the Scarecrow, representing the farmers; the Tin Man, representing American workers; and the Cowardly Lion, representing William Jennings Bryan, not a bad sort but cowardly for failing to stick to his principles in the 1900 campaign. They defeat the Wicked Witch of the West, who has been interprested variously as "the malign forces of nature, western financiers, or more concretely William McKinley, Bryan's opponent in both elections." And what about the Wizard himself? Dr. Rockoff speculates he represents Mark Hanna, chairman of the Republican Party, who "was considered for a time to be a sinister power behind the throne, although his image later softened." Dr. Rockoff said last week that although he isn't absolutely sure Mr. Baum had all this in mind, he's been using _The Wizard of Oz in class "for a long time." Who said economics couldn't be fun? * Origin: The Fireside, Houston, Texas (713)496-6319 (1:106/114) -------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page. Thank you for your consideration, interest and support. Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we can be of service, you may contact Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 2