Few men in the U.S. have been as loved and hated by the voters in their home state as a former North Dakota governor and U.S. senator. The people who loved "Wild Bill" Langer elected him attorney general two times, governor two times and U.S. senator four times.

Those who hated him had Langer removed from office as governor and almost had him removed from the U.S. Senate. Many of those who loved Langer continued to vote for him long after he died, and those who hated him helped convict Langer of illegally soliciting money for political purposes and conspiring to obstruct an act of Congress, charges that resulted in an 18-month prison sentence.

William Langer was born Sept. 30, 1886, to Frank J. and Mary (Weber) Langer, on a farm near Casselton.

Langer attended a parochial school where the classes were taught in German. His fluency in German later proved to be a tremendous asset when he entered politics.

His high school education took place in Casselton, where he was active in debate, track and football.

During the summer months, he helped out at his father's farm and was also named supervisor on a neighbor's farm. When he was 16, his uncle, Joseph Langer, became ill, and William took over managing his uncle's farming operation.

He graduated from Casselton High School in 1904.

In the fall of 1904, Langer enrolled in the two-year law program at the University of North Dakota. William Lemke and Lynn Frazier were one year ahead of Langer in law school, two people who would have direct involvement with him later in his political career.

He was only 19 when he received his law degree, but, since he needed to be 21 to practice law in North Dakota, Langer decided to continue his education.

Langer was accepted at Columbia University in New York City and enrolled in the fall of 1906. It did not take long for him to make a name for himself.

He also found time to engage in an active social life, much of it involving a New York socialite named Lydia Cady. She was the daughter of a prominent architect, J. Cleveland Cady.

After graduation, Langer returned to North Dakota to become a partner with a Mandan lawyer, H. R. Bitzing, state's attorney for Morton County. Soon after arriving, the Morton County Commissioners appointed Langer as assistant state's attorney.

In 1914, Langer got his first taste of running for office when Bitzing decided not to seek re-election. Langer squared off against three strong Republican candidates in the primary. However, none of the three were of German origin, and Langer's fluency in the language put him in a good position to solicit votes from the heavy concentration of Germans in the southern and western sections of Morton County.

In the four-way primary, Langer won. In the general election, the Morton County Republican establishment threw their support behind John F. Sullivan, a Democrat. Before the election, Langer sent out more than 1,400 letters, written in German, to the voters in the German communities. In the November election, Langer received the majority votes and became state's attorney.

Langer's first objective was the enforcement of the prohibition laws. On Jan. 1, 1915, his first day in office, Langer swore out 167 warrants for the arrest of liquor dealers and vice operators in Morton County. Within 10 days, the county jail was full with "five and six prisoners to each cell."

Langer's reputation as a no-nonsense state's attorney spread rapidly beyond Morton County. In 1916, he sought the office of attorney general.

The Nonpartisan League was a new powerful division of the Republican Party and the "king maker" of the NPL was Langer's long-time friend William Lemke. At its first nominating convention on March 29, 1916, the NPL endorsed Langer for attorney general and Lynn Frazier for governor.

In the Republican primary, Langer defeated the incumbent, Henry Linde, by nearly 20,000 votes. In the general election, Langer won by nearly 60,000 votes.

As attorney general, Langer again tackled prohibition violations with the full force of his office. On May 7, 1917, his office coordinated "the greatest raid in the history of North Dakota" when they arrested 156 individuals in Minot.

The year 1918 was very good for Langer. On Feb. 26, he married his long-time sweetheart, Lydia Cady, and, in November, he was easily re-elected attorney general. With his support of the powerful NPL, it appeared nothing could stop Langer in his quest for higher office.

All of the NPL candidates, except Neil Macdonald, were elected or re-elected. Macdonald was defeated by Minnie Nielsen in his bid to be reelected superintendent of public instruction. Macdonald claimed that Nielsen was not properly qualified and refused to surrender his office.

The NPL expected Langer to uphold Macdonald's claim. Instead, Langer filed action with the North Dakota Supreme Court, requiring Macdonald to surrender his office. In retaliation, Frazier greatly reduced the appropriation for Langer's office, and the attorney general was forced to reduce his staff.

Next week, we will look at Langer in his bids, successful and unsuccessful, to become governor of North Dakota.

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens by e-mail at cjeriksmoen@;cableone.net.)