William Alden Smith (May 12, 1859 – October 11, 1932) was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. After the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, Smith chaired the Senate hearings into the disaster. The audience was somewhat amused at his questions, which appeared to reveal great ignorance of the shipping world, though he claimed he was seeking simple answers for the benefit of the public. His report led to major reforms in maritime safety. Early life and early career Smith was born in Dowagiac, Michigan to George Richardson and Leah Margaret (Allen) Smith and attended the common schools. He moved with his parents to Grand Rapids in 1872, where he attended school, sold popcorn, and was a newsboy and messenger boy. He was appointed a page in the Michigan House of Representatives in 1875 (or 1879) at Lansing, Michigan. He studied law in the office of Burch & Montgomery (Marsden C. Burch was a one-time U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan) and was admitted to the bar in 1882. Smith practiced law alone for some time, but later became associated with Fredrick W. Stevens. This firm afterwards became Smiley, Smith & Stevens. He was general counsel of the Chicago and West Michigan Railway and the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. While in this practice, Smith became an expert on railroad law and finance. He was assistant secretary of the Michigan Senate in 1883 and the State Game Warden from 1887 to 1891, reportedly the first salaried state game warden in the nation. He was a member of the Republican State Central Committee from 1888 to 1892. House of Representatives Smith was elected as a Republican from the Michigan's 5th congressional district to the 54th United States Congress and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1895, until his resignation, effective February 9, 1907, having been elected to the U.S. Senate. While in the House of Representatives, Smith was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the State Department in the 56th Congress, the Committee on Pacific Railroads in the 57th and 58th Congresses. While Chairman of the Committee on Pacific Railroads, Smith was a leading advocate for universal safety standards on railroads, attracting the ire of many of the country's railroad executives. Senate Smith was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate on January 15, 1907, for the term beginning