The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1915-04-09
JUDGE LINDSEY AND
BEAST BATTLE ANEW

Denver, April .9.-Picture a little
man about five feet, three inches tall
and weighing about 10 pounds. In
repose he is soft spoken. He is a
Judge. A few years ago he began
to expound the theory that7b boys and
girls who violated the laws never
theless had souls. He believed that
a boy in short trousers, or still in
his teens who went astray was not
necessarily damned for the rest OF
ibis life. Then he put these theories
into practice. Things that he said
began to carry weight. People list
ened to him, and this quiet, little
judge, whose heart went out to boys
and girls, began to talk. It devel-
oped that the same tongue which
spoke only words of encouragement,
advice and cheer for wayward young
folks, had a veritable saw-edge for
certain grown-ups.
The little judge wrote a book.
It was called "The Beast and the Jun
GLE" It exposed one of the worst
conditions of political corruption in
the country. The corruption was
right in the judges home town
Denver.
A terrible wall went up. And for
twelve years now Judge Ben B.
Lindsey, of the Denver juvenile court
for that is who this little judge
is-has been fighting.
In twelve years Judge Lindsey has
been forced to run for election seven
times; made fights for appointment
three times, and has faced the pros
pect of two recall elections. Neither
of these, however, progressed to the
point of coming to a vote. But that
isn't all. Every legislature since
1905 has brought forth some sort of
"anti-Lindsey" bill. This year is no
exception.
Each new attack upon Judge Lind
sey attracts attention, but they are
really only. incidents in the general
assault which, as Judge Lindsey will
tell you, is designed to "wear me
out and impoverish me, physically as
we'll as financially"
The harrassing part of the thing
from the standpoint of "The Beast
has been that Lindsey has kept
right on talking, and every time he
talked he hit something. The cry
was taken up that the judge was CIV
ing Denver 'unfavorable publicity"
BY exposing corruption and hitting
at the grafters he was said to be Civ
ing the city an unsavory reputation.
So the fight has been conducted on
the theory that if they could remove
Judge Lindsey from the juvenile
bench where he first attracted atten-
ton, what he had to say would cease
to attract attention.
The recall was first tried in the
fall of 1913. Judge Lindsey had
just been confined for three months
in the hospital. Public meetings
were held and recall petitions were
circulated, but "The Beast could
not get enough signatures.
When the judge went east with the
wives of striking miners in the
spring of 1914 to plead their cause,
the recall endeavor was revived. It
failed again:
In addition to being elected seven
times, the judge has also been ap-
pointed three times, twice by hostile
boards of city commissioners and
once by Mayor Robert w. Speer, one
of his political enemies.
Two years ago Judge Lindsey was
elected by $4,000 majority out of
1000 votes cast for the office.
The bills introduced by the leg
islature directed against Lindsey have
been as varied in character as the
different angles of the fight against