Walter Ellsworth Brehm (May 25, 1892 – August 24, 1971) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Biography

Born in

Somerset, Ohio Somerset is a village in Perry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,481 at the 2010 census. It is located 9.5 miles north of the county seat New Lexington and has a dedicated historical district. Saint Joseph Church, the oldest Cat ...

, Brehm attended the public schools and worked in steel mills, rubber factories, and oil fields after graduation from high school. He graduated from the

Ohio State University College of Dentistry The Ohio State University College of Dentistry is one of the graduate and professional schools of The Ohio State University. The college is the fourth largest public dental school in the U.S. and consists of nine academic divisions representing al ...

in Columbus in 1917 and attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, and Ohio Wesleyan University at

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio ...

. Brehm was a private in Company D, Seventh Regiment, Ohio Infantry from 1908 to 1913.Form 1 Registration Card (World War I Draft Registration Card), dated June 4, 1917. He engaged in the practice of dentistry in

Logan, Ohio Logan is a city in Hocking. The population was 7,152 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hocking County. Logan is located in southeast Ohio, on the Hocking River 48 miles southeast of Columbus. The current mayor of Logan ...

, from 1921 to 1942.

Politics

He served as the Treasurer of the Republican Executive Committee of Hocking County, Logan City Council from 1936 to 1938 and served then in the State House of Representatives 1938–1942. Brehm was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Seventy-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1953).

Conviction

On December 20, 1950, Grossman 2003 : 410 Brehm was indicted by a federal grand jury in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on charges that he accepted campaign contributions of $1000 from his clerk, Emma Craven, and from another clerk, Clara Soliday. Grossman 2003 : 33, 34 On April 30, 1951, Brehm was convicted of taking the contribution from Craven, and acquitted of taking money from Soliday. On June 11, 1951, Federal Judge Burnita Shelton Matthews sentenced Brehm to five to fifteen months in prison, and fined him $5000. She suspended the sentence, saying that Brehm had led an exemplary life before the incident. He never served any time in prison.

Later years

Brehm was not a candidate for reelection in 1952 to the Eighty-third Congress. He resumed the practice of dentistry and affiliated with a dental supply company after retirement from active practice. He resided in Columbus, Ohio, until his death there August 24, 1971.

Notes

References