Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-07-10
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DETECTING CRIMINALS,
A st. Louis Detective Tells How 1t ID
Done by Means of Photographs.

06 ES buNS S0b"JlNAI0s
A st. Louis Detective Tells How 1t ID
Done by Means of Photographs.
Photographs are very useful in the
detection of criminals, but considera-
bic practice has to be acquired before
they can he used to any gleat advan-
tage. Criminals resort to all sorts of
tricks in changing their appearance
besides change of dress, clipping hair,
shaving off the beard or altering it's
style, etc. The process of shaving off
the mustache and beard and clipping
the hair by a criminal is known in
the parlance OF detectives as "ring-
ing" But there is one unmistakable
manner of scrutinizing the counte-
nance OF man or in studying his pict-
ure. There is one portion of the face
that criminals can not change in their
methods of 'ringing." Draw circle
over the face taking in the eyes, eye-
brows, lower part of the fore
head, the nose and that part
of the cheeks on each side OF
the nasal organ and just beneath the
eyes. This portion of the face always
remains the same. A man can shave
long beard off, clip his hair, and
leave or shave his mustache, but that
portion of the face within the circle
described above will remain the same
Dissipation and consumption will
sometimes make decided hollow ap-
pearance of the eyes, and the cheek
will become sunken, but an expert
enced detective will identify the man
nine times out of ten, nevertheless.
The manner in which detective fixes
an impression of the features of a
criminal in his mind is very simple.
A small magnifying glass the size of a
half dollar is held over that portion of
the photo described in the circle,
which enlarges the impression of the
eyes and other marks of Identification
until the detective very easily gets a
clear conception of that portion of the
criminals face. This conception he
carries in his mind, and is, of course,
aided by full description,
which attends, of course, the
photo of every criminal in rogues'
gallery, and any marks on the body or
any peculiar witch of muscles or gait
of walking, and in fact, all peculiari'
ties noticeable, are mentioned, and
when these full mental notes of &
criminal are before the detective't
minds eye it is not so strange that he
can pick his man out of a large crow6
and rarely make a mistake. Detective:
often identify criminals from picture:
which look but very little like the
originals, and persons who do not un
derstand the art of scrutinizing {
physiognomy would declare that {
mistake had been made. One of the
most successful criminals in ''ringing'
in this country is James Carroll, thu
noted bank sneak, who is now serv
ing a term of eight years a
the Joliet penitentiary for rob
bing the safe of q bank in Gales
burg, Ill. His picture, taken over tel
years ago, adorns almost every rogues
gallery in the United States. It rep
resents him with a long flowing BEAR
and long hair with a higl forehead
and no mustache. One night severa
years ago the police brought in a ma
on suspicion, and he was lodged in tn
holdover, at the Four Courts. Chic
ONeil of theS St. Louis detective fore
was passing through the holdover O.
his regular rounds to identity an
criminals that might be there. H
came to prisoner whose face at one
struck him as being the original of
photo in the rogue's gallery. He stel
ped upstairs to the gallery, and i
a few minutes found the picture of III
prisoner. 1t was Jimmy Carroll, tn
bank-robber. But nobody but an expt
rienced defective would have ever ide1
titled the prisoner by the photo W
had, and which have been describe
above. Carroll had his hair cut shol
and combed it down on his forehead
his beard was clipped very short, an
the greatest change of all was that h
wore a mustache. He looked yer
much younger than the picture W
had, which was taken nine years PR
vious. His mouth dropped at the col
ners, his under lip showed plainl,
while the upper lip was covered, whic
was directly opposite to our picture
But Mr.. O'Neil's Identification was n
mistake. The features of the robber
face within the circle that had bee
described were the same as nine year
before, and by that circle he wa
identified. Louis Globe-Democra
The Dog Called the Servant.