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The Story Behind The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz
[a parable about populism,
money reform, and the 1890s Midwestern political movement led by William Jennings
Bryan
www.moneyreformparty.org.uk/
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in Chicago in 1900. Its author, L. Frank Baum, was the editor of a South Dakota newspaper and a
supporter of William Jennings Bryan who stood three times, unsuccessfully, as a U.S. Presidential
candidate for the Democratic Party.
The particular concern of both Baum and Bryan was the nature of the money supply then prevalent in the United States, and in
the Mid-Western States in particular.
In America during the 1890s, as in Britain, there
had been a severe depression. Many businesses had gone bankrupt, farmers forced to sell up, factories closed and workers made
unemployed. True, some farms in the Mid-West were suffering from drought, but most were still capable of growing food; the
businesses and factories were still capable of providing the things that people needed; the workers still wanted to work to
provide those things, and people would still want the goods and services produced if they had the money to buy them.
The money in the USA then, as now, was entirely
created by the private banking system. The pretence existed then that money was based on gold. (Even now some people still
think that it is!) The major banks, based on the East and West coasts, could vary the amount of money in circulation, lending
more to encourage commercial activity, then fore-closing on loans to put people out of business, enabling the banks to acquire
their businesses cheaply.
Baum and Bryan wanted money to be based on silver, not gold, as silver was more readily available in the Mid-West, where
it was mined. Such a money supply could not be manipulated by the banks. So the story of the Wizard of Oz starts with a cyclone
in the form of imagined electoral success for Bryan...
Dorothy, a sort of proverbial 'Everywoman', lands on the Wicked Witch of the East (the East-coast bankers), killing
her, so freeing the Munchkins, the down-trodden poor, but the Wicked Witch of the West (the West-coast bankers) remains loose.
To deal with her and to get back to Kansas (normality), the Good Witch of the North, representing the electorate of
the North (this is less than 40 years after the civil war), tells Dorothy to seek out the Wizard of Oz ('oz' being short for
ounce, the means of weighing both gold and silver). She also gives her a pair of silver slippers (as they were in the book
- they became ruby ones in the film). Only these silver slippers will enable her to remain safe on the yellow-brick road,
representing the bankers' gold standard, as she heads towards the Emerald City, representing
Washington DC.
On her journey, Dorothy encounters a Scarecrow, representing the farmers, who do not have the wit to understand how
they can end up losing their farms to the banks, even though they work hard to grow the food to feed a hungry nation. If only
they could think it through!
Next, she encounters a Tin Woodsman, representing the industrial workers, rusted as solid as the factories of the 1890s
depression, and who have lost the sense of compassion and co-operation to work together to help each other during hard times.
Also, a spell cast upon him by the Wicked Witch of the East meant that every time he swung his axe, he chopped off a bit of
himself - he downsized!
Then the growing party encounters a Cowardly Lion, representing the politicians. These have the power, through the power
of Congress and the Constitution, to confront the Wicked Witches, representing the banks, but they lack the courage to do
so.
Dorothy is able to motivate these three potent forces and leads them all towards the Emerald City, whence
'greenbacks' had once come, and an encounter with the omnipotent and wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz is initially quite majestic and apparently awesome, but he turns out to be a little man without the
power that people assume he possesses. He does, of course, represent the President of the United States. With the
Wizard's illusion of power shattered, he is replaced by the Scarecrow who would 'be another Lincoln'.
The Wicked Witch of the West, fearful for her own power, then attempts to destroy Dorothy but is herself dissolved in
a bucket of water, as rain relieves the Mid-West drought, saves the farmers' livelihoods and prevents repossession by the
banks.The Good Witch of the South, representing the Southern electorate, tells Dorothy that her
silver slippers, silver-based money, are so powerful that anything she wishes for is possible, even without the help of the
Wizard. Dorothy wishes to go home. There all is now well, because the land has a stable
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***
Still a Pertinent Message
So ends this famous modern American 'fairy-tale'. Its true message has been lost to the mists of time and the demands
of Hollywood, but its
message is no less pertinent now than when it was written.
William Jennings Bryan was neither the first nor the last American politician to try to reform the US money supply.
In fact, two money reformers achieved the office of President and attempted to put money reform into action, but just like
in the Oz story, the 'Most Powerful Man in the World' was not as powerful as people believed.
In 1865, Abraham Lincoln introduced the original 'greenbacks', which were paper money issued by the US Government, largely
to pay for the Federal war effort during the civil war. It was 'fiat' money, money made legal tender by Act of Congress. Unfortunately,
Lincoln died suddenly a few weeks later and his plans died with him.
In 1963,
John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11110 which would have removed the power of money creation from all US private
banks, including the privately-owned Federal Reserve, and invested that power in the US Government. Unfortunately, Kennedy
died suddenly a few weeks later and his plans died with him.
***
The Problems of Debt
In the USA 100% of the money supply is created by the private banks.
In Britain the figure is over 97%. In the rest of the
world, the figure is estimated to be over 95%. All this money is created as a debt. It is created when people borrow money,
as banks do not lend existing money; they just create new money out of thin air to lend.
Money created as a debt by the banks bears a charge of interest. This increases the amount of money that the economy
owes by an amount greater than the amount in existence. This means that the economy is a saddled with a debt that can never
be paid off, merely passed around like a game of Pass-the-Parcel in a Belfast pub. It
is like a game of musical chairs, where someone has to lose out.
***
A Solution
Money does not have to be based on debt, nor indeed does it have to be based on precious metals. Real wealth is the
goods and services that people create for each other. Money is merely a means of exchange. It could be created by HM Treasury
and spent on providing public services, saving us all a modicum of taxation, and then the economy would not have to be saddled
with large debts.
Executive Order 11110 issued by John F. Kennedy on June 4th 1963,
from Wikipedia
This executive order allows the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to issue $4.29 billion in silver certificates ($2 and $5 Notes) against silver bullion based on authority delegated by the President to the Secretary under the Thomas Amendment
to the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
Silver certificates were printed without
interest. The Order was for the Treasury to issue silver certificates against all silver held by the government which did
not already have certificates against it. The Order was needed due to the passage of Public Law 88-36 which repealed the Silver
Purchase Act and other related monetary measures. One result was that after the repeals, only the President could issue new
silver certificates. The Federal Reserve System could replace the certificates, but only in larger denominations. The thrust of the Order returned the authority to issue new silver certificates (and specify
denominations) back to the U.S. Treasury.
This theory was further explored by U.S.
Marine sniper and veteran police officer Craig Roberts in the 1994 book, Kill Zone.[28] Roberts theorized that the Executive Order was the beginning of a plan by Kennedy whose ultimate goal was to permanently
do away with the United States Federal Reserve, and that Kennedy was murdered by a cabal of international bankers determined
to foil this plan. [jk finds this the most plausible of a dozen theories. Kennedy had expressed extreme frustration of the Bay of Pigs
failure and other issues with the CIA. But
it is hard to believe that the CIA would on its own, for to protect its power structure,
kill the President.]
This executive order allowed for the Federal Reserve System to distribute and exchange
currency at lower denominations that met the growing economic need. The authoritative basis for the Order was substantially
nullified in 1982 with the passage of Public Law 97-258. The Order was never directly reversed, but in 1987, Executive Order
12608 [by Ronald Reagan] revoked the section that added by Executive Order 11110[1], essentially nullifying it.
Kennedy was killed by more than one shooter, and from 2 directions.
See Wikipedia Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories.
1) Former U.S. Marine sniper Craig Roberts and Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, who was the senior instructor for the U.S. Marine Corps Sniper Instructor School at
Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia, both said it could not be done as described by the FBI investigators. “Let
me tell you what we did at Quantico,” Hathcock said. “We reconstructed
the whole thing: the angle, the range, the moving target, the time limit, the obstacles, everything. I don’t know how
many times we tried it, but we couldn’t duplicate what the Warren Commission said Oswald did. Now if I can’t do
it, how in the world could a guy who was a non-qual on the rifle range and later only qualified 'marksman' do it?”[13]
2) Robert McClelland, a physician in the
emergency room who observed the head wound, testified that the back right part of the head was blown out with posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue was missing. The size of the back head wound, according to his description,
indicated it was an exit wound, and that a second shooter from the front delivered the fatal head shot.[11]
3) Kennedy's death certificate located
the bullet at the third thoracic vertebra — which is too low to have exited his throat.[14] Moreover, the bullet was traveling downward, since the shooter was by a sixth floor window. The autopsy cover sheet
had a diagram of a body showing this same low placement at the third thoracic vertebra. The hole in back of Kennedy's shirt
and jacket are also claimed to support a wound too low to be consistent with the Single Bullet Theory.[15][16]
These three facts are sufficient to prove that the Warren commission was a high-level cover-up
For the
best account of the Federal Reserve (http://www.freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=214). One cannot understand U.S. politics, U.S. foreign
policy, or the world-wide economic crisis unless one understands the role of the Federal Reserve Bank and its role in the
financialization phenomena. The same sort of national-banking relationships as
in our country also exists in Japan and most of Europe.
A democracy exists whenever those who are free and poor are in sovereign
control of the government; an oligarchy when the control lies in the hands of the rich and better born.”—Aristotle
“All for ourselves, and nothing for anybody else,” Adam Smith called this the vile maximum of the
masters of mankind. Neoliberals call it, “trickle-down
economics.”
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In 1963,
John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11110 which would have removed the power of money creation from all US private
banks, including the privately-owned Federal Reserve, and invested that power in the US Government. Unfortunately, Kennedy
died suddenly a few weeks later and his plans died with him.
***
The Problems of Debt
In the USA 100% of the money supply is created by the private banks.
In Britain the figure is over 97%. In the rest of the
world, the figure is estimated to be over 95%. All this money is created as a debt. It is created when people borrow money,
as banks do not lend existing money; they just create new money out of thin air to lend.
Money created as a debt by the banks bears a charge of interest. This increases the amount of money that the economy
owes by an amount greater than the amount in existence. This means that the economy is a saddled with a debt that can never
be paid off, merely passed around like a game of Pass-the-Parcel in a Belfast pub. It
is like a game of musical chairs, where someone has to lose out.
***
A Solution
Money does not have to be based on debt, nor indeed does it have to be based on precious metals. Real wealth is the
goods and services that people create for each other. Money is merely a means of exchange. It could be created by HM Treasury
and spent on providing public services, saving us all a modicum of taxation, and then the economy would not have to be saddled
with large debts.
Executive Order 11110 issued by John F. Kennedy on June 4th 1963,
from Wikipedia
This executive order allows the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to issue $4.29 billion in silver certificates ($2 and $5 Notes) against silver bullion based on authority delegated by the President to the Secretary under the Thomas Amendment
to the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
Silver certificates were printed without
interest. The Order was for the Treasury to issue silver certificates against all silver held by the government which did
not already have certificates against it. The Order was needed due to the passage of Public Law 88-36 which repealed the Silver
Purchase Act and other related monetary measures. One result was that after the repeals, only the President could issue new
silver certificates. The Federal Reserve System could replace the certificates, but only in larger denominations. The thrust of the Order returned the authority to issue new silver certificates (and specify
denominations) back to the U.S. Treasury.
This theory was further explored by U.S.
Marine sniper and veteran police officer Craig Roberts in the 1994 book, Kill Zone.[28] Roberts theorized that the Executive Order was the beginning of a plan by Kennedy whose ultimate goal was to permanently
do away with the United States Federal Reserve, and that Kennedy was murdered by a cabal of international bankers determined
to foil this plan. [jk finds this the most plausible of a dozen theories. Kennedy had expressed extreme frustration of the Bay of Pigs
failure and other issues with the CIA. But
it is hard to believe that the CIA would on its own, for to protect its power structure,
kill the President.]
This executive order allowed for the Federal Reserve System to distribute and exchange
currency at lower denominations that met the growing economic need. The authoritative basis for the Order was substantially
nullified in 1982 with the passage of Public Law 97-258. The Order was never directly reversed, but in 1987, Executive Order
12608 [by Ronald Reagan] revoked the section that added by Executive Order 11110[1], essentially nullifying it.
Kennedy was killed by more than one shooter, and from 2 directions.
See Wikipedia Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories.
1) Former U.S. Marine sniper Craig Roberts and Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, who was the senior instructor for the U.S. Marine Corps Sniper Instructor School at
Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia, both said it could not be done as described by the FBI investigators. “Let
me tell you what we did at Quantico,” Hathcock said. “We reconstructed
the whole thing: the angle, the range, the moving target, the time limit, the obstacles, everything. I don’t know how
many times we tried it, but we couldn’t duplicate what the Warren Commission said Oswald did. Now if I can’t do
it, how in the world could a guy who was a non-qual on the rifle range and later only qualified 'marksman' do it?”[13]
2) Robert McClelland, a physician in the
emergency room who observed the head wound, testified that the back right part of the head was blown out with posterior cerebral tissue and some of the cerebellar tissue was missing. The size of the back head wound, according to his description,
indicated it was an exit wound, and that a second shooter from the front delivered the fatal head shot.[11]
3) Kennedy's death certificate located
the bullet at the third thoracic vertebra — which is too low to have exited his throat.[14] Moreover, the bullet was traveling downward, since the shooter was by a sixth floor window. The autopsy cover sheet
had a diagram of a body showing this same low placement at the third thoracic vertebra. The hole in back of Kennedy's shirt
and jacket are also claimed to support a wound too low to be consistent with the Single Bullet Theory.[15][16]
These three facts are sufficient to prove that the Warren commission was a high-level cover-up
Books
Articles
Teddy Roosevelt's advice that, "We must drive the special interests out of politics.
The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have themselves called
into being. There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains."
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