Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/252

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Judge himself blamed them for a long while, and he ought to have known better. One of his first political services was to help Governor Thomas destroy the power of Boss Thomas J. Mahoney, famous in Denver politics. And they did destroy Mahoney’s power. But that made no difference. Only the man was down and out; the boss lived. Who was the boss of the political boss ? For whom was blackmail collected from the saloon-keepers in return for which they were permitted to break the law, sell liquor to boys, and keep wine-rooms where girls might be ruined ? The parties ? For whom did the parties work ? The parties worked for the big business interests of Denver and Colorado, as the Judge found out.

You hear in Denver that “the trouble with Ben Lindsey is that he ‘butts into’ everything.” He does and he must. His critics mean that Judge Lindsey might solve the problem of the children, if, for their sake, he would not inter- fere with other evils. Many good men and women adopt that policy. Temperance reformers, to get their prohibition laws through, trade vptes with the railroads; and charities and churches, colleges and all sorts of benevolent and reform groups, to say nothing of businesses, professions, and interests generally — we, all of us, are