[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO RENAME THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT CONSERVATION 
    RESEARCH CENTER AS THE J. PHIL CAMPBELL SENIOR NATURAL RESOURCE 
                          CONSERVATION CENTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. McInnis]. Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 7, 1997, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Norwood] is 
recognized for the balance of the time as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Today, Mr. Speaker, I again rise to introduce 
legislation to rename the Southern Piedmont Conservation Research 
Center in Watkinsville, GA, after a great pioneer in Georgia 
agriculture, J. Phil Campbell, Sr.
  When I introduced this legislation in the 104th Congress, my good 
friend, the honorable gentleman from Georgia [John Linder] was the only 
cosponsor, but today I introduced this legislation with the support of 
eight of my Georgia colleagues, in hopes of recognizing Mr. Campbell 
for his many contributions to Georgia farmers.
  I want to thank my colleagues, as well as Mr. Coverdell and Mr. 
Cleland in the Senate, for introducing this legislation in that body.
  J. Phil Campbell, Sr. lived for only 66 years, but in that time he 
gave more to men and women of this country than can be measured. His 
contributions to agriculture, not only in the Southeast but throughout 
the Nation, are well known and widely recognized. James Philander 
Campbell was born in Dallas, GA, just northeast of Atlanta, on March 2, 
1878.
  He grew up on a farm, and at the age of 17, began teaching school. At 
a young age, J. Phil Campbell, Sr. fought for and helped to secure 
legislation to authorize agricultural instruction in Georgia's rural 
schools. In 1907 he spent 6 months traveling throughout our State, 
advocating for the creation of district agricultural schools and a 
State college of agriculture.
  All of this was done before he turned 30. Between 1908 and 1910, Mr. 
Campbell served as the first farm extension supervisor to the Southeast 
region. This was done before the passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 
1915, which created the Federal Extension Service.
  In 1910, he began a career as the Georgia State agent for the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture. He also served on the staff of Georgia State 
University's College of Agriculture.
  During his tenure, he organized nearly 13,000 children in corn and 
canning clubs, and 5,000 Georgia farmers into farming demonstration 
work. These efforts were done under the supervision of Dr. Seaman Knapp 
at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

                              {time}  1600

  During this time, Mr. Campbell also served as the director of 
extension work in agriculture and home economics. In 1933, he took a 
leave of absence to assist the Agriculture Adjustment Administration in 
its cotton belt crop replenishment division. After 1935, he was 
elevated to a Federal position in the Roosevelt Administration as 
assistant chief of the Soil Conservation Service in USDA. He served in 
that capacity until he died in December, 1944.
  In addition to his clear record of accomplishments in education, Mr. 
Campbell was also extremely interested in agricultural research and 
maintained close ties with the agriculture experiment stations in 
Georgia. He was integral in the creation of the Southern Piedmont 
Conservation Research Center and in choosing its site just outside of 
Athens and the University of Georgia.
  When funding for the center was threatened in its first year, Phil 
Campbell fought to keep the center open and secure its line of funding. 
It exists to this day on Experimental Station Road in Watkinsville, GA.
  I again introduce this legislation to recognize Mr. Campbell's 
contributions to agriculture and to the communities and the Nation he 
served so ably.
  Fortunately, Mr. Campbell's contributions were also recognized during 
his lifetime. Mr. Campbell was recognized in the Who's Who in America 
collection in the 1940s. Likewise in the mid 1930s, Dean Paul Chapman, 
the first dean of the University of Georgia's College of Agriculture 
said and I quote, ``J. Phil Campbell and I were pioneers in promoting 
professional agricultural work and in the establishing of agencies to 
carry on such work. With little professional training ourselves, we 
were plowing new ground to create such training.''
  Later in a ceremony honoring Mr. Campbell after he had departed 
Washington, Dean Chapman stated that ``no one had as many friends in 
Georgia as did J. Phil Campbell.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to again introduce this legislation. In a 
1996 letter from the USDA, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman stated 
that while the USDA generally discourages the naming of its 
laboratories after any one individual, given the department's 
admiration and appreciation of ``the great service Mr. Campbell has 
rendered to agriculture and the Nation,'' the USDA has no objection to 
the enactment of this legislation.
  I also received assurances from CBO that enactment of this bill will 
result in no significant cost to the Federal Government and does not 
include any intergovernmental or private sector mandates.
  Given this, I again urge my colleagues to join with me this year to 
recognize Mr. Campbell's many contributions in supporting passage of 
this legislation.
  I would like to say that my friend J. Campbell, III, we know that he 
is recuperating in the hospital and we wish him a hasty recovery. And 
we and all Georgians are very proud of his grandfather.
  Mr. Speaker, I include a statement by the gentleman from Georgia 
[John Linder] in the Record:
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, as a Georgian, I am proud to cosponsor this 
bill to rename the Southern Piedmont Conservation Research Center in 
Watkinsville, GA as the J. Phil Campbell, Senior Natural Resource 
Conservation Center.
  For those who may not be familiar with Mr. Campbell and his 
contributions to Georgia and the Nation, let me give you a brief 
history of this great man. Born in Dallas, GA in 1878, J. Phil Campbell 
became a teacher of men at the early age of 17. By age 26, he had 
worked his way up to assistant superintendent at the first 
demonstration school in Georgia.
  In 1913, Mr. Campbell began working with the Department of 
Agriculture's Extension Service Demonstration Projects. Demonstrating 
his zeal for teaching and his enthusiasm for agriculture, J. Phil 
Campbell, in 1915, became Georgia's first Farm Extension Service 
Director, a position that he maintained until the 1930's.
  He then gave his educational efforts a national focus. After serving 
as a consultant to President Roosevelt's Department of Agriculture, Mr. 
Campbell was appointed as the Assistant Chief of the Soil Conservation 
Service, a position in which he proudly served until his death in 1944.
  Not only did J. Phil Campbell act as a catalyst to begin and sustain 
the farm education effort in Georgia, he focused the Nation's attention 
in this direction. Among other accomplishments, his efforts resulted in 
the establishment of the Southern Piedmont Conservation Center in 
Watkinsville. Though only a small gesture in comparison to Mr. 
Campbell's life work, renaming the Conservation Center to honor him is 
an act that I am proud to support.
  Though his work ended just over 50 years ago, the impact that J. Phil 
Campbell had on Georgia and the Nation is everlasting. Let the J. Phil 
Campbell, Senior Natural Resource Conservation Center be a constant 
reminder of our gratitude.

                          ____________________