Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-12-18
D. L. SMITH DEAD
Was One of Waterbury's Bes
 Known Manufacturers.

Supeflntendent or Inc MdtfrDuTf
 Buckle company. died yesterday af-
 ternoon at tlie family residence, IA
 North Willow street. Last week he
 underwent an operation on the large
 intestines and while it was successful and it was thought he would recover.
 the patient failed to show signs of
 improvement and finally passed away.
 Dwight Lyman Smith was son of
 Lyman P. and Marilla Smith. and was
 born in Waterbury March 4, 1889. Al
 that time the. family resided on East
 Main street. in the neighborhood of
 what is now known as John D's pond and used to take a pride in tell
 ing of the place and the people whom he knew there in the time of his boy
 hood. He was educated in the public schools of this city and was first eni- ployed for the Hotchkiss & Merriman company, which was later merged in- to the Waterbury Buckle company This was in 1855 and with short iI' terruptions he was connected with tue firm from that period until his death. most of the time as superintendent. He was an inventor and took out pat ents of buckles and fastenings of one kind and another which were made by the company and had much to do with giving it the world wide reputatioB ii bears.
 In those days the Waterbury Buckle company was very modest institU- ton, but it kept growing until it fina. ly became one of the largest plants of the kind in the country. Mir Smith came into personal contact with the help and until recently when it ba- came necessary to employ very large numbers of men, women and boys, hs could call every one in the factory by name. He was well liked by the help and the announcement of his death was a rude shock to all of them, es pecially to the older hands who long since learned to look upon him as brother. He wanted fair day ( work from the operatives and i'll re- turn therefore he was willing to give them fair days pay. He took the ground that in order to get the best results from employees 1t was neces- sary to command their respect and as a consequence the concern has always been free from labor troubles. and the fact that it has kept pace with the times demonstrates that Mir Smiths idea, with reference to the handling Of wage earners, was correct.
 Mir Smith joined the First Baptist church when he was seventeen years of age and probably did more to build up that denomination in Waterbury than any other agency that ever was employed. He was superintendent of the Sunday school for thirty-two years. deacon for the past eighteen years. and was active on every committee appointed from time to time with a view to advancing the interests of the church and those who were affiliated with it. In 1874 he organized a ,nis sion church in Simonsville and was it's superintendent for years. The Second Baptist church of that district is line outgrQwth of his labor. He was prom inent in the movement for the organ ization of the Young Mems Christian association, was it's president for three years, held the office of vice-presideut in the Boys club and also assisted in the formation of chapels at 0akville and Mill Plain.
 In 1862 Mir Smith married Helen NJ. Latta of this city, who with two child ren survive him. The children are AL bert Dwight Smith, now engaged in infant supplies at Springfield anu Idella Smith, wife of Attorney James A. Peasley.
 Although m active worker in the Baptist church and an ardent believer in that creed. Mir Smith was by DO means bigoted or narrow minded. On the contrary he had little use for a man who would deny to others in re- llgion or politics rights which he claimed for himself. and this. added to his straightforward method of deal ing with the help. rendered him gen eral favorite with everybody who came in touch with him. For many years practically all the hands were of the Roman Catholic faith and while it was common thing for the super- intendent to discuss religious dues- tiOns with them, he never did so with the spirit of the proselytizer. but rath- CT as he often said, on account of his interest in the subject of religion gen. eralIy
 Tn politics he was a republican. but in this he was as broad as be was in religious matters. so that no man ever lost his position in the shop while Mir Smith was at the helm on account of religion or politics. Personally Mir Smith was a charming gentleman and when his health was good he was something Of bumorist and could tell interesting anecdotes of men whom he had met and things that had come under his dissertation in a way tunt made him a most companionable gem ueman at the banquet table and other social functions where. as a rule. he was toastmaster or if not, one of the principal speakers.
 The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2s50 at the First Baptist church. The body will be in state at the church at II o'clock and may he viewed from that time until the fu- neral takes place. This will give work ing people who desire a last look at the remains of Mr Smith to do so dur Ing the noon hour.
 The active pallbearers who are all foremen at the factory. will be as fol- lows: John Buchanan, John Fl. Gal win. Thomas Halpin, Benjamin Sedg- wick. Theodore Miller, David Hunter. The honorary bearers will be: ]. H. Tripp chorister of the Sunday school. and the deacons of the church; A. T. Shipley. John Littlejohn. William o. SeiI. F. A. Risdon, Edward Ashley, Newton Smith and James Mintie.