March 4, 1907. He was subsequently elected on February 6, 1907, to fill the vacancy in the term ending March 3, 1907, caused by the death of Russell A. Alger. He was reelected in 1913 and served from February 9, 1907, to March 3, 1919. He declined to run for renomination in 1918. Smith was chairman of the Committee on Canadian Relations in the 61st Congress, the Committee on Territories in the 62nd Congress, and the Select Committee to Examine Branches of the Civil Service in the 63rd through 65th Congresses. RMS Titanic investigation After the luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, with more than 1,500 lives lost, Smith chaired Senate hearings that began at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City the day after the survivors landed. Senators and spectators heard dramatic testimony from the surviving passengers and crew. Smith's subcommittee issued a report on May 28 that led to significant reforms in international maritime safety. Smith achieved some notoriety for being more colorful than knowledgeable, even being called "Watertight Smith" by the British press for asking whether watertight compartments, actually meant to keep the ship afloat, were meant to shelter passengers. In addition to this, Smith also asked the ship's fifth officer Harold Lowe what an iceberg was made of, which Lowe responded with, "Ice, I suppose sir?". In "The Titanic Chronicles", a 1999 television documentary about the senate hearings, he was voiced by David Garrison. Other activities Smith constructed the Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad in Michigan in 1897 and became owner of the Lowell and Hastings Railroad in 1900. In 1901 he was honored with the degree of Master of Arts by Dartmouth College. He was owner and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald in 1906 and chairman of the board of directors of the Goodrich Company, which owned the Graham and Morton Steamship Line, the largest operator of steamboats from Chicago to various Lake Michigan ports. In 1909 he defended Federal employee and civil rights activist Robert Pelham Jr. who was arrested when gathering information from witnesses after a black woman was beaten by a white police officer who was arresting her. Pelham was acquitted in the case. Smith died in Grand Rapids and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery there. The community of Alden, Michigan is named for him. Smith was married on October 21, 1886, to