\ ~ IRN, By ELMO SCOTT WATSON FF UNCLE SAM should ever call the roll of all his children, the chances are that more people would respond to “Smith" than any other family name. They'd outnumber the prolific Browns and Williamses by about two to one and the only slightly less prolific Joneses and Johnsons by about three to one. Now, since Smith is such a very common name, it naturally follows that one who bears it has to be con- siderably above the average to lend distinction to it and to be outstand- ing among his fellowmen. The fact is that there have been plenty of just such men, as witness the fact that one standard encyclopoe- dia of American blography contains the names of no less than 202 Smiths who have been famous enough to be included in its list of notables and another 230 such names, From the earliest days of Ameri- can history the Smiths have played an important part in making that history. For it was the doughty Capt. John Smith, an English ad- venturer, who led the little band of colonists to the shores of Vir ginia in 1607 and at Jamestown founded the first permanent Eng. lish settlement’ in America, a settle ment destined to grow that was to give a first President. contains nto a colony new nation its Although we think of Smith pri as a soldier, the fact Is that Vas a treatise on a model of its “A Sea-mans An Acclidence, The Experience necessary or those that to Sea,” published in sea-man, It was not only the first book on seamanship, na book the last nith was the founder every d in seamanship HX) years, Englis i is should be one of immortals ened the Declarati n of In nice and thus bog ‘athers of tho Smith emigrant to > grew up to leader he agitation for freedom from itish rule. He wrote an “On the tional Power of Great B the Colonies in America said to have given become a essay Constitu tain Over which Is “the first strong impulse to the patriot cause in the colony of Pennsylvania.” America’s official national an them. as everybody knows. . js * Star-Spangled Be The ner.” jut there Is another song, an unofficial tional hymn." triotic occasions quite as much as is Key's stirring eon written by a Smit Francis Smith was which Is sung on pa- was CAPT. JOHN SMITH he was born In Boston In 1808. While a student at Andover theo- logical seminary he wrote the words of the song beginning “My Coun- try, "Tis of Thee” and on July 4, 1832, this song, to which has been given the simple title of “Amer. ica,” was sung for the first time at # children’s celebration in the Park Street church in Boston. lefore attending the Andover seminary to prepare himself for his lifework as a Baptist minister, Smith had been graduated from Harvard in 1829, In the same class with Oliver Wendell Holmes, And it was Holmes who, In his class re. union poem, “The Boys,” told in these words how this Smith had lent distinction to that common. place name, “And there's a nice youngster of excellent pith: Fate tried to conceal him by nam. ing him Smith! But he chanted a song for the brave and the free— Just read on his medal, ‘My coun try, of thee" A Smith was the founder of the first permanent English colony in America; a Smith was one of the signers of the Declaration of In. dependence, a Smith wrote our “na. tional hymn” In line with those facts, it would be appropriate if a Smith were elected President of the United States. But so far, no one of that name ever has been Chlef Executive. But that doesn't mean that a Smith never has aspired to the Presidency. On the contrary, no less than four of them have, Perhaps you think that Alfred Emanuel Smith, who won the Dem- ocratic nomination but lost the election in 1028, was the first and only one of the name who ever made a bid for occupancy of the White House. jut he wasn't, Eighty-four years before New York's famous governor had shied his equally famous “Brown Derby” into the Presidential ring, a native of Vermont, was an active candidate for the high office, He was Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion in New York in 1830, who was driven by per secution first to Ohlo, then to Mis sourl, and finally to Illinois, where the “City of was estab lished at Nauvoo, Soon he had such a large following that both the Whigs and the Democrats began bidding for Mormon support and Smith having delusions of grandeur as to his political power. In 1844 he took the bold step of condemning both parties and candidacy for the Presidency of the United States Saints” began publicly announcing his SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH ime at Josep! an eye toward Sinith party x frites futo for the Gerritt Smith, Presidency, He was a New Yorker des tined for ire fame as I thropist, but in those dass an abolitionist. He organ eriy party at Arcade, and in 1848 and its eandid had three othe inim o fame—as John ied with money Hkfated attempt to a backer of gh ol he sup; whom for Brown's i free the slaves, as the man who, with Horace Gree ley, at the close of the Civil war, signed the bail bond of Jefferson Davis, and as the man whose hene factions, duridz his lifetime, totaled close to £85.000.000, The next Smith who aspired to be a President was Green native of Kentucky the Mexican war, elected to the Kentucky legislature and at the Civil war became a colonel in the Unlon army in which he rose to the rank of brigadier general. Elected to congress while still in the field. he resigned from the army, and while serving In congress was appointed second territorial governor of Mon tana by President Johnson. After three years in that office he resigned to enter the Baptist ministry, and in 1876 he was the first candidate of the Prohibition party for Presi. dent. Thus half a century before Alfred E, Smith was a “wet” eandl date for that position, Green Clay Smith was a “dry” candidate. and both to the same result—defeat! The same fate befell the only Smith who was ever a candidate for Vice President. He was Wil liam Smith, a native of North Caro- lina who emigrated to South Caro lina at an early age, became a law. yer andyserved In various state of. fices and In the United States sen. ate. In 1820 Smith received Geor gia's seven electoral votes for Vice President, which was approximate. ly 160 short of enough to elect him. Eight years later he tried again, This time he did a little better. He got 23 electoral votes but one of the only slightly less prolific John. sons got the job-Richard M. John. son of Kentucky, Twice Smith was offered the appointment of as sociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, but both times he declined, thereby de. priving the Smith family of its two known chances of being represented in that august body, Although no Smith has ever yet been President or Vice President, more than one has been an aid to Presidents by serving In thelr cab. inets. They began away back in one who was Smith, a served In outbreak of the 1801 when Samuel Smith, a Pennsyl- vanian, was secretary of the navy for a short time under President Jefferson, serving without eom- pensation, He was succeeded in that post by his brother, Robert Smith, who had a rather remark- able record as a cabinet officer in that he held no less than three port- follos—secretary of the navy from 1802 to 1805 and attorney general from March to December, 1800, both under Jefferson, and secretary of state from 1800 to 1811 under Madison, Next came Caleb Blood Smith of Indiana who was Lincoln's secre tary of the Interior from 1801 to 1863, then Hoke Smith of Georgia who held the same portfollo under Cleveland from 1803 to 1808. An- other member of the family, Charles Emory Smith, was postmaster general under McKinley from 1808 to 1001 and held over In that posl tion under Roosevelt until 1902. An exploring trip through the many pages devoted to the Smiths in any encyclopedia of blography re any number of Interesting and women of this fa y name, There was Charles Henry Smith, the Georgian, who made his pen name of “Bill Arp” famous with his humorous stories of the Confederacy, There was that earlier humorist, Seba 8 h i from Malne, Downing of veals men w ho, as Downingviile” adviser self appointed dent Andrew Jackson, and making some y from t Just one the Texas I named *“Denf PREACHER SMITH petuates the fame of Erastus Smith, a native of New York, whe lived in Mississippl as a boy, then went to Texas while it was still the Lone Star republic, and became one of the heroes of the Battle of San Jacinto. It was he who, upon the orders of Gen, 8am Houston, burned Vince's bridge, the only avenue of escape for the vanquished in that battle, whoever it might be, then dashed up on a foam-covered hors shouting, “I have cut down Vinee bridge. Now fight for your live and remember the Alamo!” There Is no such memorial though there should be) for J diah Strong Smith, a New Yorker who was much more deserving of the title of “The Pathfinder” than was Gen, John CG, Fremont, A mem- ber of the famous Ashley-Henry expedition of 1823 and one of the founders of the Rocky Fur company, he was not only the first American to later became the Oregon Trail, but his wanderings and his ing exploits In the western wilder ness made him truly one of the great est explorers of his day. High up in the pine-clad Hills of South Dakota stands a shaft of white stone which marks place where lenry Weston Smith with in $20 bills king of the Denver When he went to fhe big inderworld Alaska he be man of Skagway, but methods soon got There was talk nte methods to rid the town ut Frank Reid, an en- saved them the trouble. bluff Reid. but A bullet end to this last Cane ito trouble, ~oany' tried to Reid caoniar from his gun put an most famous bad man of the frontier Another Smith, but very different from Soapy's kind, life In the wild days of the old frontier He Smith, lost his was Thomas J River Tom™ Smith. a quiet, mild-spoken young man, but one of the bravest who ever upheld the law in the West, utation for himself as marshal of the town of Kit Carson, Colo.. when it was “end of steel” gas Pacific, known as “Gireen famous Wild Bill Hickok, match, Inst—murdered by whom he tried to arrest peaceably, deputy sherilf “ran out” on him. One other Smith is deserving of mention before this article Is con cluded. He was John T. Smith, fa. mous in the early days of Missouri ns a duelist and land speculator, but the thing which most distinguished hm was the way in which he lent distinction to that name. He real: ized that there are many John T. Smiths, so in order to make his dif. ferent from the rest, he began sign. ing himself John Smith T. and John Smith T. he was known to the day of his death, As to other Smiths who lent dis tinction to the name-—well, there ure several hundred of them listed In the encyclopedias of blography to which the reader of this article is respectfolly referred, © by Western Newspaper Union. { | Jep Department Store Provides Cheap Burials | As a method by which the individ. | unl may bid a last farewell to the | depression In an appropriate manner | and his family be strengthened tor | Its continuance, the Mitsukoshi de | partment store in Osaka has organ. | ized funeral services which will only cost ten yen each (less than £2.40 at current exchange). 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers