The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-12
SMITH FAMILY To
II HAVE BIG REUNION
Smiths of Nine States Invited
to Celebration
JOHN AND MARY TO WE'D
smith Family Are Expected to As
semble In Spokane In Latter
Part of April

Spokane, Wash, April 11.-(Special y
Members of the Smith family in Wash
ington. Idaho, Utah, northern California.
Oregon, Montana, Colorado, the Dakotas
and the provinces OF British Columbia
and Alberta have been invited to the
Smith day celebration in Spokane on April
10, when John Smith and Mary Smith,
both of this city. will be married in the
state arnory. Attendants, flower girls
and the ring bearer have been chosen
from the house of Smith, the officiating
clergyman being the Rev. Robert A.
Smith, pastor of Bethel Presbyterian
church. philadelphia Tom Smith, 70
years of age, a scion of Delaware Indian
stock. will lead the grand march over
a broad path. strewn with spring blooms
and evergreen.
I'VE expect to have not less than 5000
Smiths at the celebration and We will
give them the time of their lives" said
Tom Smith, who has been appointed
master of ceremonies of the festive oc
casion. LAS this is to be the first genu-
inc Smith day celebration in the north
west we hope to make a showing of
forces, so that April 10 will go down in
the annals as an epoch-maklng event.
at is not unlikely there will be three or
four other weddings among the Smiths
on that day. W. p. Edris. postmaster of
Spokane, whose forebears were Smiths,
who has been named chairman of the
general committee of the festival, adj
vises me that it is likely the states Of
Montana, Idaho and Oregon will have
candidates and we are also looking for
ward to an announcement from Canada.
Some one with a liking for statistics
has made a compilation showing more
than $1,000 Smiths in the northwest, in
Guiding the Canadian provinces, and that
of these not less than 1000 are residents
of Spokane At that rate there should
be about a million Of them on the con-
tinent, OF one for every 100 inhabitants"
Bruce Steinmetz, who claims records for
two rides from St. Louis to Chicago and
return and l.. E. Blakesly, who is cred
tied with a ride from Oklahoma City,
Okla, to Mexico City, Mex. have com
Spokane to New York, leaving here at II
o. clock noon, on May 10, the journey
covering 1000 miles. The men are under
taking the ride for the pleasure of being |
in the open. They will carry greetings
from Gov. Marion e. Hay of Washington |
and Mayor Nelson s. Pratt to the execu-
tive officials of New York. They expect |
to reach the office of the New York World
not later than August 10 with the mounts
1f Cpo ar
has had long experience as horseman
In Oklahoma, Texas and throughout the
southwest, also on the ranges in Montana
and the Dakotas, while Blakesley served
as a lieutenant of volunteers during the
panish-American war, seeing much serv-
Ice in the saddle in the Philippines No
attempts will be made to break records
or win wagers.
Natural gas of commercial quality and
quantity was discovered near Hope, |
Idaho, IS miles northeast of Spokane, by
laborers In the employ of the Northern
Pacific Railway company and campers,
and, as a result, every acre OF unoccupied
land for distance OF five miles has been
staked out by prospectors and specula-
tors. The discovery was by accident.
One of the men, stopping to get drink Of
water in a small stream, saw an oily skim
CATION traced the odor of gas to Lake
Pend Oreille. On the way the laborers
met a party of campers and they Joined
In the search. Options were at once Sc
cured on the land in the immediate vi
cinity and some of the gas was sent to
a laboratory for analysis. The chemist
reported that the gas is of good CONNER
cial quality, testing from IS to 80 per cent
pure. Several syndicates are being or
ganized to explore the district for oil and
gas with a view to developing the de-
posits.
Union labor promises to be a factor in
politics in the state of Washington this
year and in the future. A convention has
been called by the State Federation Of
Labor to meet in Spokane on July 4, for
the purpose of organizing new party,
separate and distinct fro mthe republican
and democratic parties. and, as 1t is
stated In the resolutions adopted by re-
cent refere sydum vote, without fusion or
trading with them. 1t is given out Off
cialiy by D. c. Coates of Spokane, ex-
lieutenant governor of Colorado. that can
didates for congressional, state, district
and county offices will be put in the field
next fall A. w. Swenson, member of
the Spokane Biographical union. who is
credited with originating the plan at the
annual meeting of the state federation at
Hoquiam last January, said in an inter-
view that the break between the wage
earners and the old parties has been i'm
pending for the last two or three years,
and it is now up to the workers them
selves to nominate their candidates and
| elect them.
| George E. Kingsley, a local chemist
claims to have perfected process of
manufacturing white lead direct from ore
| thus eliminating smelling with its wastes
and expense. He has interested capital
| here in a 81 100000 corporation called the
Kingsley Chemical Reduction company,
and will erect plant of 80 tons capacity,
costing $500, 900, at Atlas, Idaho, 81 miles
east of Spokane. Kingsley says his pro-
cess will revolutionlze the paint-making
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