The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-20
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

Fred B. Smith was in town Wednes- day. You ask, well what of it. and why
 should it be matter of public interest.
 and who is he?
 He vas here as the guest of the Young Mems Christian Association, and
 while no longer actively connected with
 the organization. for a quarter of a century he was one of it's valued secre- 1889. He entered the work as assistant
 state secretary of Minnesota and Da-
 kota During the next ten years Smith served as secretary at Sioux Falls, state secretary of South Dakota, assistant state secretary of Wisconsin, general secretary at Dubuque. and state secre- tary of Tennessee. At the breaking out of the war with Spain an emergency
 door opened to the associations for bod fly and spiritual welfare work for the
 soldiers of the American army, first in the great rendezvous camps and later
 in the field. Knowing of Smith and his \ work, the international committee picked him as a man of the hour,s and l they were not disappointed. He did yeoman's service throughout the war. ~
 He came into the public eye in the
 south when he was sent to the army camp at Chickamauga, 1898, where he held daily evangelist meetings. later going to Cuba on similar mission among the soldiers. This is why his name is 8 household word in the homes of the Spanish-American heroes. It was per when the great war came on and our boys in the trenches needed a spiritual message from him.
 MT. Smith has been in constant de-
 mand as an evangelistic leader and speaker, and much of his time has been given to systematic tours among the associations, conducting series of meet ings and conferences in the interests of the religious welfare of the associations and the training of leaders. MT. Smith has made several official trips abroad. In 1904-5 he visited Great Britain, the Continent, India and Australia, and in 190S-s he visited South Africa; on both of these trips he combined evangelistic work with conferences and institutes for instruction and training.
 I am afraid the local Y. M. c. A. failed to give him days work, for here is | the measly schedule they made out for him on Wednesday,
 To speak at Howard and Birmingham 1 colleges in the morning on The In- vestment of Life' At 1 o'clock he will address the Rotarians at their lunch con at the Tutwiler on The Business Man and Success" In the afternoon at l 4:S0 o'clock in the private dining room on the second floor of the Tutwiler hotel he will speak to the pastors of the city, and many prominent laymen on, "The New Emphasis in Religion At 7:30 D. m. he speaks at a great evangelistic meeting at the First Meth l odist Church. His subject being,
 "Americas Greatest Sin"
 Now, I am some lover of, speaking going to hear others, when am not al Fit myself. but I confess that in spite of Fred Smiths reputation, I contented myself with hearing him only three times At the Rotary Club, at the spe-
 cial meeting for the pastors of the Bir-
 mingham district, and at the great evangelistic service at the First Meth odist Church at night. I felt that was
 at least sampling him as an orator. |
 1 It takes man of ability to talk to
 the Rotarians and really get away with ! it, for they have had the picked men 1 of America to address them in the past few years, but he more than made good l Ed Rowe introduced him in a most flattering way. He stated that he was
 the greatest living speaker to men 1T the world. I wondered how Fred was going to side step. but it never feazed him. He simply said; Tt being the l general belief in some scientific circles that other planets are inhabited. I an sorry that my kind friend merely linn ited my reputation to this earth o1
 ours"
 | He was introduced as business man for during the past five years he ha: been assistant to the president of thu
 Johns- Vaudeville Company, but his re lationship has been such that he ha: been able to keep up much of his re iligious work. He humorously remarked that generally during week days hi: line was selling asbestos" and that i ,I some of the Rotarians did not ment i their ways they had better leave theil cards with him so that he could cal on them later. Sol Caheen. however pulled a good one on him by saying "Oh, I'll just buy one of Johns-Mande
 vile's fire extinguishers."
 I haven't room to give even an out iline of his talk to the pastors or to de scribe the great evangelistiic messa g'
 he delivered at the Methodist church.
 Some one has said of Fred Smitl
 that he is a broadsword. made iron
 New England metal, hammered into
 shape in the Mississippi valley. tenn
 pered in the Spanish American war, ant
 burnished in the men and religion cam
 paigr He Is known on both sides O the sea as the great eyangelistic leader