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Rh His long term of service in the house has given him unusual influence in that body, and for many years he has been one of its earnest workers. He is chairman of the committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, a member of the committee on Insular Affairs, and on Pacific railroads, and was one of the leading advocates, on the floor of congress, of the Nicaraguan interoceanic ship canal. He is a public speaker of unusual power and eloquence as well as an able debater. Among his best published speeches are those on the isthmian canal, and on civil service reform. Incidental to his congressional career, he was a delegate from Iowa to the Republican national conventions of 1860, 1888, and 1896; while, during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, he served as solicitor of the treasury.

On October 7, 1855, Colonel Hepburn was married, at Iowa City, Iowa, to Melvina Annette Morseman, daughter of Doctor Moses Jenerz Morseman. They have five children, three daughters and two sons.