The Beast

Judge Benjamin Barr Lindseys expos of big businesss influence on Colorado and Denver politics, a best seller when it was originally published in 1911, is now back in print. The Beast reveals the plight of working-class Denver citizensin particular those Denver youths who ended up in Lindseys court day after day. These encounters led him to create the juvenile court, one of the first courts in the country set up to deal specifically with young delinquents. In addition, Lindsey exposes the darker side of many well-known figures in Colorado history, including Mayor Robert W. Speer, Governor Henry Augustus Buchtel, Will Evans, and many others. When first published, The Beast was considered every bit the equal Upton Sinclairs The Jungle and sold over 500,000 copies. More than just a fascinating slice of Denver history, this bookand Lindseys court offered widespread social change in the United States.