The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-01
Funeral and Burial Conducted With Marked Sim
 pIici9
HOSTS 0f FRIENDS
 PAY LAST TRIBUTE
Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren Mourn Their Loss.
 Beautiful Floral Tributes
 Sent By Loving Friends.

With simplicity characteristic of him who is now no more, and with troops or l admiring and loving friends following the remains to the grave, the funeral ana burial of the late Dr. Joseph Riley Smith, who died Wednesday and who was in many respects the n1an of amplest in huence" in the Birmingham district, took place yesterday afternoon.
 The brief funeral services, if, indeed, "services" they might be called, were held at the Smith home at Smiths sta- ton. near Elyton, promptly at o'clock. Long before that hour persons were con verging on the Smith homestead from ai- most all points in Jefferson county. Rep resenting, as they did, all classes and all conditions of men and women, they came from far and near all feeling in their hearts an obligation of some personal kindness or some civic duty done them by him who, In more ways than one, had been to them friend, a counselor and a. guide.
 Throngs of Mourners.
 l When the hour set for the funeral ar rived, the Smith residence, the surround ing spacious lawn and the highway near I by were thronged with persons who well represent the intelligence, the conscience and the wealth of the community. The afternoon was one of singular beauty. The valley, illuminated as 1t was with 1 the radiant sunlight, suggested certain strength and grace that are instinctively associated with the character and career of him who has passed away.
 By those who had come to pay the last earthly honors to their friend and bene- factor, 1t was difficult to believe that Dr. Smith was forever lost to them. His fa- miliar figure, his gracious greeting as they had met one another fact to face in many walks of life and the indeflnable combination of qualities called 'charac- ter that linked them lastingly to him sprang freshly up in their memories and awakened feelings of profound sorrow sorrow that vents itself. not in mois- l; tened cheek and unrestrained emotion, but rather in thoughts
 That do often lie too deep for tears"
 Simple and Impressive.
 To all present the scenes incident to the funeral were at once simple and impress sive. Within the house of mourning lay the confined remains of one who as cit izen, neighbor and friend had lived life as he understood it, void of offense to- ward God and Man" It is the custom to | speak only well of the dead, but 1t was in obedience to no mere conventional dic- | tum that led the throngs of men and women who gathered yesterday at the 1 Smith homestead to comment in words of praise on the life and character of their departed friend. "He was a good true man" He had courage, moral as we'll as physical" His intellectual integrity was unimpeached and unimpeachable." "IIe had hand open for charity" He be- lieved in deeds rather than in words, and his whole life illustrated this fine faith of his." ''He helped the poor. He upheld the weak when right. He smote the strong when wrong" His whole life, whether consciously or unconsciously, was shaped by the standard of the Golden Rule" | These and words like these fell from the lips of men and women who had come to Dr. Smiths funeral and burial
 | RedoIent With Flowers.
 The chamber in which the remains lay was redolent with the odor of flowers. Wreaths In large number. sent by loving friends, covered the casket and embower- ed the bay window nearby. Dr. Smiths death chamber was perfumed with flow CTS brought by the hands of those who loved him in this life and will love him | always.
 | Orally, the funeral services were lIm- tied to a single sentence spoken by one who for many years had been neigh bor of Dr. Smiths and a valued friend of the Smith family. A few minutes after o'clock. Judge Samuel F. Greene. of the probate court, stepped to the head of the casket and. in tones of wondrous sympathy, stated that he had been re- quested by the family to say that, out Of respect for the expressed wishes of the dceased, there would be no formal funeral services. Promptly thereafter the casket, preceded by the honorary bearers i and followed by the mourning members of the family, was borne by the active bear CTS from the house to the hearse, and few moments later the long process sion was on It's way to Elmwood
 | At the Grave.
 Elmwood. always beautiful, was sell dom lovlier than 1t was yesterday after noon when the casket containing all that l was mortal of Dr. Smith was lowered into the earth, and the grave covered with simple marble slab. The burial took place on the hillside overlooking the valley and the everlasting hills that Dr. Smith had known since boyhood and since boyhood had loved well. With uncovered heads a host of mourning friends stood by while the remains were committed to the | earth anr the sexton sealed up the hol- lowed grave. No word was spoken, no hymn was sung by human voices, but to l those gathered there on the hillside. 1t heemed that nature sang her requiem
 
 tcointlnusd on Fsahth PaaA-A