The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-25
SMITH IS SOUR ON SOCIETY.
SAYS 1T MEASURES PEOPLE BY
THEIR sHEI%ELs.

Takes His Fall with Great Nom
cbaIance and Asks That the CouD-
ty Jail BE Given ms His Address i'm
the Society Coiumn-Did Not In
tend TO Oefraud Anyone when He
Started Out, But Had to Have Cash
TO Keep in the Swim-NO Prospect
of settlement in sight as YET.
Atlanta, Ga. Feb. A.-Ous Smith has
apparently taken up his residence in per
manent form at the county jail, where he
was taken yesterday afternoon, after all
efforts TO effect a settlement of his de-
falcatlons had proven fruitless.
Young Smith takes his fall from the
brilliant social circle in which he moved
with the greatest nonchalance. He ask
ed the newspaper reporters to put a per-
sonal i'm the society column stating that
his address would be the county Jail, Fra
zier street. until further notice.
Smith has not made any arrangements
about securing release on bond, and will
not do so until the exact amount of his
shortage is satisfactorily fixed in the
minds of his employers. Then he does not
expect to have any helping hand from his
erstwhile friends in society. Society
friends, he says, are not the kind to stick
by a fellow when he gets down.
Talking on this line in an interview to-
day, he said: You see, I did not at
first intend 10 defraud any one. was
in the tide l do not like to arraign so
ri At bIf m ton al
when / discuss the real cause of my
downfall ! have been asked why / did
not go along and do the best / could
on my legitimate income which was about
1900 a year. But it takes money to hold
a place in sOciety-in Atlanta. If you do
not put up the stuff you are not appreci-
ated. SO long as you pay for the fSn you
are a King Bee, but the moment you do
not get in the push with the cash
you are nobody. I was in the
push and had to get money to hold my
own. 1t took money to pay for theater
parties, germans, suppers, flowers and
other presents, and | was like the fellow
who had hold of a galvanic battery.
could not let go. After L once started
had TO keep it up or l was lost.
There is nothing real or tangible in
this society business" Smith continued.
There is no genuine friendship. You
are appreciated for what you do in the
way OF entertaining and giving pleasure.
The fellow who comes to the front with
the most in the way of giving the girls
a nice time is the biggest man in the ring
Let him slack up and he is soon in the
background But, as l said, 1 have no
arraignment to make of Atlanta society.
l paid my way and it gave me the best
il had
There is another feature to my case,''
he went on. from a business point of
view l never intended to wrong anybody.
l had real estate holdings and I had to
keep them. l soon saw that it would be
my only way out of the hole. If there
had been no real estate slump and no
falling off in values, 1 believe 1 would
have been able to pay all l owed. When
l was finally told that l was detected l
said that If given a chance I would go
to work and pay back every dollar I had
appropriated. But another method was
taken, and here 1 am in prison. What
/ ought to have done was to stand pat
and made no confession. / am ready tc
| take my just punishment like a man
| Some day l may live 1t down and take
| a new and better start in life."