[1] He attended the local schools and graduated from Mount Pleasant's Howe's Academy.

[1] Smith relocated to Seward, Nebraska, in the summer of 1885, and established a law practice that specialized in interstate commerce.

[1] In addition, Smith was vice president of the Omaha Cooperage Company, and served on its board of directors.

[1] A Democrat,[1] Smith ran for mayor in 1918 and beat incumbent Mayor "Cowboy" Jim Dahlman on a reform ticket aiming to defeat Tom Dennison's political machine, which at that point had run Omaha for at least 15 years.

Dennison's displeasure with Smith's morality stance was frequently voiced, and took shape in the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.