ROBERT H. SMITH, M.D.
 

	With the exception of the time he spent in the military service dur-
ing the Great war, Dr. Robert H. Smith has been practicing medicine in
Moose Jaw since he came here in 1910, during which period he has won
for himself an enviable place in the ranks of his profession. He is also
entitled to mention in a work of this nature as a man who has been
prominent in public affairs and has been honored by election to the office
of mayor of the city. He was born on a farm~in Lincoln county, Ontario,
on the 6th of February, 1871, and is a son of William David and Sarah
M. (Duck) Smith, both of whom were natives of that province, the mother
born at Saint Catharines and the father on a farm three miles west of
that place.  The father and mother died in Ontario, in 1918, and are
survived by two of their three children: Dr. Smith and a sister, Mrs.
Mitchell, the wife of a practicing physician of Macoun, Saskatchewan
William David Smith's father was Peter Smith, also a native of Ontario,
who was born in the old family home, which is still standing. His father,
Joseph, was a United Empire Loyalist who came to Canada after the
Revolutionary war.  He was the father of thirteen sons, every one of
whom lived in Ontario.  William David Smith engaged in farming all
of his active life. He was a Conservative in politics and adhered to the
teachings of the Methodist church, in which he and his wife were active
members.  Mrs. Smith was the daughter of William Duck, a tailor by
trade, who eventually turned to agricultural pursuits. He was an Eng-
lishman by birth and came to Canada in 1835.
	Robert H. Smith was sent to Saint Catharines Collegiate Institute as
a boy, there preparing for entrance to the University of Toronto, where
he obtained his medical training and graduated with the M. D. degree,
in the class of 1898.  The young physician started to practice in Saint
Catharines and remained there for five years.  In 1903 he came west to
Weyburn, Saskatchewan, in which place he built up a successful practice.
As he increased in professional skill and experience, the Doctor became
desirous of a larger field of activity and accordingly, in 1910, came to
Moose Jaw to establish a practice here.  He specializes in surgery, in
which he has done a great deal of graduate work as he has had the
opportunity. Not long after he obtained his medical degree, in 1898 and
1899, he was fortunate in being able to study in London, where he came
into contact with the work of some of the most famous physicians and
surgeons of the world.  Since then he has gone to Chicago, one of the
great medical centers of the United States, for graduate courses that have
kept him in touch with the latest developments in his field. He is widely
read in his subject, of course, and maintains membership in the various
medical societies which have for their aim the advancement of the pro-
fession.
	Another experience that has been of direct value to Dr. Smith in his
work was that of a surgeon in the Canadian army during the Great war.
On the 10th of August, 1914, just six days after a state of war between
Great Britain and Germany was declared, Dr. Smith enlisted in the
Medical Corps of the Canadian army and was stationed at Stationary
Hospital No. 2 and General Hospital No. 2.  He sailed for France in
March, 1915, and for three years was on active duty in that country as
a major in the Canadian Army Medical Corps.  In the summer of 1918
he was ordered back to Canada, where he had charge of the military
hospital at Regina from July 1 until the following February. He received
his honorable discharge from the service on the 15th of February, 1919,
and returned to Moose Jaw to pick up his practice where he had left it
four years and a half before.
	Dr. Smith and Miss Gertrude May Corbin, who was born in Saint
Catharines, Ontario, were united in marriage on the 21st of August, 1899.
Mrs. Smith was educated in her birthplace and taught school before her
marriage. Two daughters have been born to this union: Ruth M. Smith,
a student in the University of Toronto; and Dorothy Gertrude, who is
attending the Collegiate Institute in Moose Jaw.
	Mrs. Smith is included in the group of women who are active mem-
bers of the Methodist church and leaders in its women's organizations.
Much of her attention has been given to the Women's Missionary Society
of which she has been president for a number of years.   Mr. Smith
has been a prominent member of several societies, including the Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and
the Masons. In the latter he is identified with the Royal Arch chapter,
the commandery, the Scottish Rite, in which he has taken fourteen de-
grees, and he is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. While in politics he ranks
as an independent, this does not mean that the Doctor takes a merely
nominal interest in public affairs.  His lack of strong party associates
indicates no lack of enthusiasm for political contests and he has been a
conspicuous figure in the political field on more than one occasion. While
he was living in Weyburn, in 1909, he served as mayor of the city and
filled a similar position in Moose Jaw as recently as 1921. His adminis-
tration was marked by a considerable progress in the development of
civic affairs, although the aftermath of the war was still a handicap to
him and all of his associates. In dealing with the complicated adminis-
trative problems that came to his attention Dr. Smith showed himself a
capable executive and a man of sound business judgment, so that he left
the office with the respect and goodwill of all parties, even though they
(lid not always agree with him in matters of public policy.



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