In 1880 Mr. Smith left Albany for Philadelphia, which has since been his place of residence, exchanging the "Journal" for the Philadelphia "Press," of which he has been the editor for the last twenty-five years. The "Press" long made prominent by the forceful pen of its original proprietor and editor, John W. Forney, in 1880 needed fresh vitality; and Mr. Smith proved himself the right man in the right place. The paper was quickly brought back to its old position as the leading Republican organ of eastern Pennsylvania. It took an advanced stand in the presidential campaign of 1880, and in 1884 attained a national position by its aggressive support of Blaine and Logan as the Republican candidates. Since then the "Press" has maintained its standing as a dignified and resolute champion of Republican aims and interests, and has long been outspoken in the cause of municipal reform. Its editor has frequently been called from the sanctum to perform important political duties. In 1887 he was chairman of the Union League committee which was mainly instrumental in selecting a candidate for the first mayor of Philadelphia under its new reform charter. This official, Edwin H. Fitler, was named by Mr. Smith as a candidate for the presidency in the national convention of 1888. In 1890 Mr. Smith was nominated by President Harrison for the important diplomatic post of United States Minister to Russia, the appointment being quickly confirmed by the senate. Two years were spent by him in St. Petersburg, where he maintained with efficiency the interests of the United States. It fell to him to distribute to the famine sufferers in Russia the money and provisions contributed for their relief by the people of the United States; and he made an earnest though ineffective I effort to mitigate the severity of the "May Laws" directed against the Russian Jews. He resigned in 1892 to resume his editorial duties on the "Press," which became very active in the ensuing presidential campaign. In 1895 Mr. Smith extended his labors on the political platform to the West, speaking with Governor William McKinley in Ohio; and in the national convention of the following year a large part of the platform came from his facile pen. On April 21, 1898, President McKinley appointed him to the cabinet position of postmaster-general, which post he held until the death of the president by assassination, and continued to hold under the Roosevelt administration until January 15, 1902, when the demands upon his time of his journal, the "Press," obliged him to resign. During his nearly four
