Charles Bennett Smith

Charles Bennett Smith

Charles Bennett Smith (born September 14, 1870 in Sardinia , Erie County , New York , †  May 21, 1939 in Wilmington Notch , New York) was an American politician . Between 1911 and 1919 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Charles Smith attended the public schools of his home country and then the Arcade Academy until 1886 . In the following years he worked first in agriculture and then in the telegraph service of the railroad. Then he got into the newspaper business. From 1890 to 1893 he worked as a reporter in Buffalo . After that he published some newspapers in that town. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He became a member and president of the Buffalo School Board for two years.

In the 1910 congressional election , Smith was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the 36th  constituency of New York , where he succeeded Republican De Alva S. Alexander on March 4, 1911 . After three re-elections, he was able to complete four legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1919 . Since 1913 he represented the 41st district of his state. During his tenure as Congressman, the 16th and 17th amendments were ratified. It was about the nationwide introduction of income tax and the direct election of US senators . The First World War also fell during this period . In Congress, Smith was chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee (1911-1913), the Department of Commerce Expenditures Committee (1915-1917) and the Patent Committee (1917-1919).

In 1918, Charles Smith was not re-elected. After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, he worked in Buffalo in trade and industry. From 1935 to 1939 he headed the Standards and Purchases company in Albany . He died in Wilmington Notch on May 21, 1939.

Web links

• Charles Bennett Smith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
De Alva S. Alexander	United States House of Representatives for New York (36th constituency) March 4, 1911 - March 3, 1913	Sereno E. Payne
new constituency	United States House Representative for New York (41st constituency) March 4, 1913 - March 3, 1919	Clarence MacGregor