He then formed the Thomas B. Smith Company, which bonded post office, municipal and county employees.

He was appointed postmaster for the city of Philadelphia in 1911 by President William Howard Taft and served for more than two years.

[1] In 1916, the Evening Ledger reported that Smith had given jobs in his mayoral cabinet to several members of his family, including his brother and brother-in-laws.

[4] During the 1917 primary election, Smith, who was allied with William Scott Vare's political machine, supported Issac Deutsch in for the Republican nomination.

Jim McNichol, who was part of the Boies Penrose machine, supported James Carey.

[5][6][7] The District Attorney, Samuel Rotan, who was a Penrose ally, indicted Mayor Smith for 'conspiracy to commit murder' as well as impeding a free and fair election.