Binger Hermann

Binger Hermann

Binger Hermann (born February 19, 1843 in Lonaconing , Allegany County , Maryland , † April 15, 1926 in Roseburg , Oregon ) was an American politician . Between 1885 and 1897 and between 1903 and 1907 he represented the first constituency of the state of Oregon in the US House of Representatives .

Early Years and Rise in Oregon

Binger Hermann attended schools in his home town in Maryland and then the Independent Academy in Manchester , which later became Irving College . In 1859 he moved to Oregon with his father and a group of seven families. The family ran a farm in their new home. Binger Hermann founded the first school in the Coquille Valley and taught here as well as in two other communities himself as a teacher.

After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1866, he began to work in this profession in Oakland . He became a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1866 to 1868 . For the next two years until 1870 he was a member of the State Senate . From 1868 to 1871 he was also the deputy head of the revenue department in southern Oregon ( Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue ). From 1871 to 1873 he worked for the federal government's land administration authority. From 1882 to 1884 he was a colonel in the Oregon Militia.

Political career in Washington

In 1884, Hermann was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he succeeded Melvin Clark George on March 4, 1885 . After a few re-elections, he was able to exercise his mandate until March 3, 1897. Until 1893 he was the only Congressman from Oregon. As of that year, there were two Congressional electoral districts, and Hermann represented the first, while William R. Ellis served in Congress for the second district . Hermann was temporarily chairman of the irrigation committee ( Committee on Irrigation ). In 1896 he declined to run again. His seat fell to Thomas H. Tongue . After serving in Congress, Hermann was named head of the land administration agency in Washington, DC by President William McKinley . He held this office from 1897 to 1903. In this capacity, tension soon arose between Hermann and Interior Minister Ethan Hitchcock .

After the death of Congressman Thomas Tongue, Hermann ran again for his old seat in Congress in the by-election. After winning these elections, he was able to move back into the US House of Representatives on June 1, 1903. After a few re-elections, he retained the mandate until March 3, 1907; in 1906 he decided not to run again.

The Oregon Land Scandal

During his last term in Congress, Hermann was accused of being involved in the so-called Oregon Land Fraud Scandal . This involved embezzlement and misappropriation of funds in connection with land administration. Interior Minister Hitchcock also accused Hermann of having removed evidence. Hermann was charged and acquitted in 1907 of the charge of destruction of evidence. The illegal machinations trial was dropped in 1910 because the jury could not come to an agreement. Hermann worked as a lawyer in the following years until his death in 1926.

Web links

• Binger Hermann in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Binger Hermann in the database of Find a Grave (English)