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BEN B. LINDSEY By Thomas Le Grand Habbis SOCIAL progress at first was like the motion of a glacier — too slow to be perceived at all except by observation and comparison after long intervals of time. The move- ment is now much more rapid and is due to causes wholly different. One of the most potent of these is the genius of really great men whose efforts are directed toward making the world better. He who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is a benefactor to mankind. Like- wise he who solves a difficult social problem has made a gen- uine contribution to the progress and happiness of his fel- lows. Among the Americans of this class is Judge Benjamin Barr Lindsey, born in Tennessee in 1869. His father was a Confederate army officer who served on the staff of General Chalmers in aid of the Lost Cause. The family fortune hav- ing been lost in the war, the Lindseys came North where the father, who had been bred a Southern gentleman, died from overwork in a few years. The widow was left to face the world with four little children and very scanty means. The subject of this sketch, being the eldest, had many of the trials and experiences which naturally come to a fatherless lad under such circumstances. At the age of twelve he be- came a messenger boy and also managed a newspaper route. He attended night school and made the most of such advan- tages as were within his reach. In due time he won his way to a bachelor's degree in a Western state university, after which he prepared for the profession of law and was duly admitted to the bar in 1894. His profession naturally leads the way to political life. Being a man with a normal amount of honorable ambition, he soon made a beginning in politics. He hoped to become district attorney but was unsuccessful. As matters turned out it was probably very fortunate for him and for the hundreds of boys who have been influenced by him that he did not realize his ambition in this instance. He was,