The Newtown bee., 1906-08-24
WASHINGTON.
THE LATE FRANCIS sMITR.

Stanley G. Fowler, in communi- Smith to the Washington (D. C.,) cumstances to light. He writes:,'I was greatly surprised and pained to see the portrait and read of the sudden death of my old friend in your columns. Indeed I was just about to reply to his last letter from Washington, Conn.,, where he was visiting and presumably been enjoying himself the past few weeks at his old parental home amid the scenes of his childhood. In his first letter, of July 21, he wrote:
 "sDear Stanley G.: l am glad to see your paper concerning the late Orville G. Platt, in The Newtown Conn Bee. l think you and are the only ones left of that coterie (of boys and playmates), and it is worth while to bring back old times once in while just for look at them. Dan Nettleton is little older, but seemed quite gay and festive when l met him the other day. I made visit to the cemetery day or two since and seemed quite at home reading the names of our old friends. This is a great place to come to after a year 1n our wilderness in the Capital City. 1 always succeed in making one visit to the old town and would be sorry to miss it. It will not be long before the next generation will be fnquiring, when they visit the cemetery, who Fowler and Smith (whOSe names they read were and where they lived, etc. Such is life. l hope it will be some time yet before you offer them an opportunity for such an inquiry. etc. ''
 "ln reply to letter from me, in which l had informed him of my dis charge from the postal service, on the grounds of lack of sufficient Congress reason, he wrote under date of July 3l:
 My dear friend: I was surprised and shocked to learn of your sudden separation from the government Serv- ice without your consent. If had been in Washington (D. C.,) I would cer- ta1nly have made personal appear ance in your behalf before the author it1eS and have given my views in the line of the traditional Dutch uncle, and will any way on my return. l mean to hunt you up if you are still there and talk over the situation. Per sonally, am beginning to break down from old age, and have turned over the uOUdllO LII uJ UuSllCSS UU UuC uOAU kcu- eration. l am still, however, good for any amount of advance. I am laying off here for a while at my fath- CT s old place and getting rested up. ,
 "Under date of August he says (omitting much of private nature) as follows:
 "'I am still on the old place laying off and getting rested. If l continue the occupation 1 will soon be looking for patent breathing machine. You and are about the same age,I believe, and it discOurages me to see the vigor with which you tackle business, liter ature, etc., like young man. I am keeping my eyes open for that appoint ment or opening in business that would suit you for an occupation and living
 "I have mislaid another letter of still more recent date from my es- teemed, now lamented, friend, but it is of the same general tenor as the foregoing. I quote as I have done from our correspondence of only few days or weeks old, for the reason that in connection with your editorial of a recent date many will read these ex- cerpts with interest, and because they illustrate much better than l can his kindly nature and loyal friendships.
 STANLEY FOWLER
 July 31, 1906.