[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16550-16551]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO MR. WILLIAM BARTLEY CRAWLEY UPON THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF 
                               HIS DEATH

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 2005

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to William 
Bartley Crawley, a prominent Alabama farmer, agricultural leader, and 
conservationist, on the fiftieth anniversary of his death.
  In the heart of Pike County near Banks, Alabama, lies State Road 201, 
a nondescript mile-and-a-half stretch of blacktop one would use if 
traveling from Brundidge to Monticello and points beyond. The pastoral 
setting along State Road 201 understates the legacy and the prominence 
of the man who lived in the white farmhouse along that highway among 
the rolling fields of peanuts and cotton. By an act of the Alabama 
Legislature, State Road 201 now bears that man's name: the William 
Bartley Crawley Highway.
  The legacy of Mr. Crawley is as deep and rich as the red dirt road 
that ran due east from the white farmhouse into the heart of the 3,000 
acre Crawley farm.
  William Bartley Crawley was born August 21, 1893, the fifth of six 
children of John Henry Crawley and Laura Jane Stokes. John Henry was a 
respected farmer in the Banks community and passed his love for farming 
to his children. William Bartley, or W.B., married Willie T. Brantley 
in 1913 and spent the years 1915 to 1932 not as a farmer, but as a road 
contractor, building many of the farm-to-market and butter-and-egg 
roads on which agriculture in the South had come to depend.
  Mr. Crawley ultimately yielded to his passion to farm full-time, and 
was soon thereafter called on to speak for all the farmers in the 
community. Thus began what would become a lifetime of service as a 
leading voice in agriculture in Alabama and the Nation.
  Mr. Crawley's first leadership role began in 1933 when he was named 
Pike County, Alabama's committeeman to the Agricultural Adjustment 
Administration (AAA). The AAA, the forerunner of the Production and 
Marketing Administration (PMA), was established within the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture to raise farm prices by limiting and 
diversifying crop production, and to protect the long-term viability of 
farming by introducing soil conservation methods. Mr. Crawley quickly 
rose to prominence in the AAA becoming Alabama state committeeman in 
1935 and serving as Chairman of Alabama's State committee from 1938 to 
1948.
  During the same period, Mr. Crawley founded, in 1937, the Georgia, 
Florida, Alabama Peanut Association (GFA) to represent the collective 
interests of all peanut growers in the region. He served as president 
of the association from 1937 to 1951 during which time GFA became a 
political juggernaut with over 93,000 members across six States and 
wielded significant influence in national agriculture policy.
  As president of GFA, Mr. Crawley was called to Washington, D.C., by 
the Secretary of Agriculture, in December, 1940, to consult on 
legislation regarding peanut farming. In March, 1941, again in 
Washington, Mr. Crawley testified before the Senate Agriculture 
Committee, and one month later the landmark ``Pace Peanut Bill'' became 
law. Among other things, the 1941 Peanut Bill set up marketing quotas 
that guaranteed peanut farmers a fair price on peanuts grown on their 
allotted acres. Ultimately, GFA initiatives raised the price of peanuts 
from $30 per ton in 1937 to $240 per ton in 1948, while at the same 
time increasing per-acre yields and introducing important soil 
conservation measures.
  Of course, during his years of public service Mr. Crawley continued 
to manage a large productive farm in Banks as well as help Willie T. 
rear a large active family: their sons, Thomas Marion, born in 1914, 
William Douglas, born in 1915, William Brantley, born in 1919; and 
James Beard (Corky), born in 1928; and their daughters, Annie Lester, 
born in 1921, and Jane Carolyn, born in 1924. The concept of service-
above-self ran strong in the next generation of Crawleys, and during 
World War II Mr. Crawley had to call on German prisoners of war 
interned in nearby camps to work his farm while his own sons and many 
of his tenants were at war. The husband of one of his daughters was, in 
fact, himself, a prisoner of war of the Germans.
  In 1948, Mr. Crawley was once again called to service in Washington, 
D.C., this time by President Truman and Secretary of Agriculture 
Charles F. Brannan, for a full-time leadership position in the 
Production and Marketing Administration (PMA).
  Mr. Crawley was reluctant to move to Washington, as the GFA News 
reported, because, ``frankly . . . leaving his home, his family, his 
friends, his farm, and last but not least, his fish pond, is a very 
unhappy task.'' However, as the paper went on to report about Mr. 
Crawley, ``But fifteen years spent in working with and for farmers in 
every county in his state . . . have so channeled his thoughts and 
formulated his actions . . . he has answered the call to Washington 
with the same understanding for the needs of American agriculture and 
the same deep sense of loyalty . . . which characterized his long years 
of public service.''

[[Page 16551]]

  In Washington, Mr. Crawley served as assistant administrator of PMA 
and was responsible for all agricultural conservation programs 
nationwide. In 1949, Mr. Crawley was confirmed by the Senate for the 
additional responsibility of serving as one of six members on the Board 
of Directors of the influential Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). His 
service on the national stage brought to the Nation the same positive 
benefits he had earlier delivered for Alabama: higher crop prices, 
improved per-acre yields, and major improvements in soil conservation 
methods.
  In 1953, Mr. Crawley returned to his farm in Banks and, on July 23, 
1955, died at the age of 61. During his life he had never viewed 
farmers in shades of black and white, but rather fought relentlessly to 
improve the plight of all farmers. As a testament to his lifetime of 
inclusion his funeral was officiated by ministers both black and white.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to pay tribute to the outstanding 
service and the lasting legacy of Mr. William Bartley Crawley, and I 
ask my colleagues to join with me in recognizing the work and 
achievements of this native son of Alabama.

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