Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-03
NJ. BERTILLON, THE INVENTOR OF
THE FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL
SYSTEM FOR MEASURING
CRIMINALS.

is employed upon private cases and makes
his living just like a lawyer, or any other
professional man.
Private detectives are often employed
by the government to render a service.
in which case they are paid for the work.
The government gradually adopted the
Bertillon until now it IS used in nearly ali
parts of the country-and to some extent
in every section of the United States.
NJ. Bertillon at the time of his discovery
in 1883, declared that his system would be
of little use unless it could be adopted by
all countries as an international method
of identification His system was found
ed upon the physical pecullarities of tho
criminal. He mad many measurements
of the head. hands, height and physical
pecullaritles OF the man. all of which We're
recorded under the proper classification. II
the prisoner disappeared. a record of his
measurement was to be forwarded to
every foreign country in the world. AS
soon as a suspected person appeared he
was to be measured by the same system
and If the figures agreed there could be no
doubt Of his identity.
Bertillon admitted that he was guided
to this scheme by the works of Peter Paul
Rubens and Sir Joshua Reynolds. who
made anthropometry a study. These two
great painters found a close survey of
the family traits of the utmost import
ance IN painting family portraits. Both
Rubens and Reynolds observed the shape
of the ear, the tip of the nose, the height
of the check bone, the size of the chin and
the development of the forehead. They
also looked closely at the length of the
head. which in families, is strikingly alike
They found that the more they studied
the general shape Of the family head the
better they could paint pictures.
From beng a student of a~nthropometry
Rertillon gradually began to adapt his
knowledge to the Identification of Grim
mails. He found that he could measure the
human head So accurately that mistokes
We're out of the question:: and having con.
vInced the police department of France OF
the accuracy of his discovery he had thu
{ pleasure of seeing it adopted in his owr
, country.
There is no class of criminal mo,
whom the Bertillon system works a.
Wen as upon the anarchists. These m II
have we'll developed heads from a az.
tillon standpoint: With very pointed
characteristics; and it is easy 20 apply the
measurement to them.
Another business which might H.
benefited by the Bertillon system i, H.,
of life Insurance.. One of the chief Off.
Gals of the criminaI department of III,
United States suggests that if life insur.
anCe companies would ADOPT the Bcrtil
go - - 80 49, NNtliliiIdllpllS lItN
would never be deceived by the boeu,
deaths which often disturb life insur
ance companies.
The system could be used in man,
ways where identification is desirable
a gentleman travelling in a strane,
country such as Russia, where a pass
port is so necessary, could take aion.
his Bcrtillon measurements, which il
case of arrest as an unknown stranger
would be found To correspond with til,
measurements held by the government.
DR.. Bcrtillon in explaining his sys
tenn to a reporter of this newspaper said
In the other branches of human &c
tiVity, especially in electricity, con
crosses have, in proportion to the neccs
Sity, supplied this want of n uni"eI sd
understanding IT is thus that the clec
trical unitS-Watt, ampere, volt. ETC.
have been created and unanimotisI
adopted. Why should not the police q
civilized Cor policed. for 1t is all one