William Peters Hepburn William Peters Hepburn ( November 4 , 1833 – February 7 , 1916 ) was an American Civil War officer and an eleven - term Republican congressman from Iowa ' s now - obsolete 8th congressional district , serving from 1881 to 1887 , and from 1893 to 1909 . According to historian Edmund Morris , " Hepburn was the House ' s best debater , admired for his strength of character and legal acumen . " As chair of one of the most powerful committees in Congress , he guided or sponsored many statutes regulating businesses , including most notably the Hepburn Act of 1906 . The Hepburn Act authorized the U . S . Interstate Commerce Commission to require railroads to charge " just and reasonable " rates . Background . Hepburn was born in Wellsville , Columbiana County , Ohio and raised from the age of seven in Iowa City , Iowa . His schooling was confined to a few months in an Iowa City academy . The great - grandson of Revolutionary War officer , printer , and congressman Matthew Lyon , and the great - great - grandson of Thomas Chittenden , the first Governor of Vermont , he was first engaged as an apprentice printer , before studying law . He became prosecuting attorney of Marshall County in 1856 as well as serving as district attorney for the eleventh judicial district from 1856 to 1861 . He was also the clerk to the Iowa House of Representatives . In May 1860 , Hepburn was one of two delegates representing counties in the eleventh judicial district at the 1860 Republican National Convention , where Abraham Lincoln was nominated . The following March , when serving a brief term as a lobbyist for those counties in Washington D . C . , Hepburn attended Lincoln ' s presidential inauguration . Civil War service . During the Civil War , he served as an officer in the 2nd Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry . He was promoted from Captain of Company B to Major of the First Battalion on September 13 , 1861 , then to Lieutenant Colonel in 1862 . He participated in the final stage of the Battle of Island Number Ten near New Madrid , Missouri , and saw combat during the Siege of Corinth , the Battle of Iuka in northeastern Mississippi , and the Battle of Collierville , Tennessee . From time to time he was also assigned as an inspector of cavalry for the Army of the Cumberland and , due to his legal experience , served as an acting inspector general and court martial president or judge advocate for troops in the lower Mississippi River theatre . He was mustered out on October 3 , 1864 , upon the expiration of his term of service . He moved his family to Memphis , Tennessee before returning to Iowa in 1867 , to a home in Clarinda . First service in Congress . Soon after Hepburn established his legal practice in Clarinda , Iowa he again became active in Republican politics . In 1880 , Hepburn was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Iowa ' s 8th congressional district , after defeating incumbent William F . Sapp in the district convention on the 346th ballot . He was re - elected in 1882 and 1884 , but was defeated in the 1886 general election by Independent Republican Albert R . Anderson . Anderson , a former state railroad commissioner , had run on an anti - monopolist , anti - corporate platform , and " specialized in the unfairness and excesses of the prevailing railroad rates . " Historians have viewed Hepburn ' s defeat as a catalyst for authorization of a federal Interstate Commerce Commission , which became a higher priority for other congressman who hoped to avoid Hepburn ' s fate . In 1888 , two years after his defeat , he was the principal opponent to James F . Wilson for the Republican nomination for U . S . Senate . However , when it became apparent that he lacked the votes among the Iowa General Assembly to defeat Wilson , his supporters withdrew his name from consideration . After the election of President Benjamin Harrison returned the White House to Republican hands in 1889 , Hepburn served as Solicitor of the Treasury . Return to Congress . In 1892 , after three terms away from Congress , Hepburn ran again for his former seat after Anderson ' s successor , Republican James Patton Flick , declined to run for a third term . Hepburn won his party ' s nomination and the general election , and was re - elected seven more times . During this period he served as Chairman of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce . In 1894 , Hepburn finished a distant second in the Republican caucus to nominate a successor to retiring U . S . Senator Wilson . In 1899 , Hepburn briefly became a candidate for election as Speaker of the House , but soon deferred to the successful candidacy of fellow Iowan and Civil War veteran David B . Henderson . Hepburn became notorious for his disdainful treatment on the House floor of newer members , prompting the " New York Times " to refer to him as the " House Terror . " However , Hepburn was also an enduring but outspoken advocate to reform House rules that vested autocratic powers in Speakers of the House . Even before the publication of Upton Sinclair ' s expose " The Jungle , " Hepburn led efforts to adopt federal laws regulating food quality . In 1902 the Hepburn Pure Food Act passed the House ( but not the Senate ) . When such a bill finally passed both houses as the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 ( following the publication of Sinclair ' s book ) , Hepburn was the bill ' s floor manager . Hepburn was also instrumental in appropriating funds for a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans . Hepburn initially preferred a route through Nicaragua over a route through Panama , but ultimately became a key House sponsor of appropriations measures necessary for completion of the canal through Panama . Hepburn Act of 1906 . He also sponsored the Hepburn Act of 1906 , a major priority in the second term of President Theodore Roosevelt . The Act gave the Interstate Commerce Commission ( ICC ) the power to set maximum railroad rates and led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers . Scholars consider the Hepburn Act the most important piece of legislation regarding railroads in the first half of the 20th century , while economists debate whether it went too far , and if its passage contributed to the Panic of 1907 . Surprise defeat , and success at House reform . When running for his twelfth term in 1908 , Hepburn was upset in the general election by his Democratic opponent , William D . Jamieson . In a year of strong Republican victories in Iowa ( led by Presidential candidate William Howard Taft ) , Jamieson won majorities in eight of the district ' s eleven counties . Hepburn ' s loss was attributed to " purely local conditions and local strife , " such as anger over bank failures and Hepburn ' s choices for local postmasters . After his defeat but before his final term ended , he became the chairman of a 25 - member group seeking once again to reform House rules that allowed Speaker Joe Cannon to amass even greater powers . This time , Hepburn ' s reform efforts succeeded ; Speaker Cannon was forced to surrender the power to block bills he did not like from coming to the floor once they received committee support . After Congress . Hepburn returned to the practice of law , first in Washington , D . C . , then in Clarinda . He died on February 7 , 1916 . Honors . The small town of Hepburn , Iowa , a few miles north of Clarinda , was named in his honor . His home in Clarinda , known as the William P . Hepburn House , is on the National Register of Historic Places .