Foster, Charles

Foster, Charles, 1828–1904, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1891–93), b. Seneca co., Ohio. He was long identified with the business interests of Fostoria, Ohio—named for C. W. Foster, his father. A Republican, he served (1871–79) in the U.S. House of Representatives and as a member of the Committee on Ways and Means aided in exposing (1874) fraudulent contracts in connection with the U.S. Treasury Dept. He was twice (1879, 1881) elected governor of Ohio. On the death of William Windom, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Foster, a declared bimetallist, to the Treasury post.

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