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Henry Louis Smith (1859-1951) was the son of Rev. Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897), as well as the brother of Rev. Egbert Watson Smith (1862-1944) and Charles Alphonso Smith (1864-1924), a noted educator. Henry was also a Presbyterian ruling elder, and a scientist. He served at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina as a professor of natural science (physics and astronomy), where he pioneered the development of x-rays, before becoming the institution’s ninth president in 1901. From 1912 to 1930, Henry served as president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Nicknamed “Project” for his many creative ideas, one in particular perhaps saved many lives.
In 1918, the National Security League offered a reward for the best method of distributing Allied propaganda over Germany to reach the people directly with the message that the World War was being waged by Allies not for conquest but for freedom. Dr. Henry L. Smith’s studies of gas-filled balloons and wind currents lead him to propose that such a message could be attached by string to many colored paper and rubber balloons filled with coal gas and hydrogen which, when released at the right time and place, would travel behind enemy lines to achieve the desired objective. Millions of such balloons were released into the air — with attached leaflets containing President Woodrow Wilson’s speeches, news from America and statements about the causes of the conflict from the American perspective — and did in fact reach their goal, as it was reported that when German soldiers surrendered, eight out of ten carried those messages with them. The President later credited Dr. Smith with substantially shortening the war. Dr. Smith told others later with a smile that he used the reward money to purchase his first car, not as a college student, but as a college president.
Dr. Smith’s scientific studies in this matter served the interests of diplomacy, and although not well-known today, deserve to be remembered as a contribution to world peace. His brother Egbert wrote in 1915 of the world-wide obligation that Christians have to promote the interests of the gospel.
The Bible declares over and over again that we are put in trust with the gospel for the world. The unsearchable riches of Christ we do not hold as a piece of private property, but as a trust fund for the benefit of all nations. The Bible calls us not owners, but trustees, stewards, of the grace of God. To neglect a task is one thing, to betray a trust is a far darker thing, whose punishment is that of the unfaithful steward whom his lord put out of the stewardship.
We don’t always know what sort of mark we will leave on the world, but we do well to remember the words of Samuel Davies, who wrote,
Whatever, I say, be your Place, permit me, my dear Youth, to inculcate upon you this important instruction, IMBIBE AND CHERISH A PUBLIC SPIRIT. Serve your Generation. Live not for yourselves, but the Publick. Be the Servants of the Church; the servants of your Country; the Servants of all. Extend the Arms of your Benevolence to embrace your Friends, your Neighbors, your Country, your Nation, the whole Race of mankind, even your Enemies. Let it be the vigorous unremitted Effort of your whole Life, to leave the World wiser and better than you found it at your Entrance.
