ABSTRACT
New York voters elected a reform mayor, agreed to a Greater New York, and approved a new state constitution in 1894, providing additional authority to the State Board of Charities. Public health advances encouraged acceptance of scientific government, the Progressive Era ideal. Smith was a cheerleader for the Progressives’ urban reform agenda, authoring popular articles showing how far public health and women medical professionals had come, but he was also an active participant. He used the Board of Charities’ authority to control the overbuilding of hospitals in the state. He picked up a physician-led campaign to halt the spread of free dispensaries because he feared that excessive free medical care could lead to permanent pauperism. He argued that coroners should be medical professionals, not elected politicians. The mayor appointed him to head the New York City Department of Public Charities in 1897; however, a new Tammany Hall mayor quickly fired him a few months later.
