Evening star., 1901-10-16
Purpose of the Inventor.

When BertillOn invented his system he
intended, In order that 1t might be success
full, to have the photos and measurements
of ell subjects gathered at central point,
there compared, the repetitions noted and
treated accordingly. Up to the present
time this hope, as far the United States
and Canada are concerned, has not been
realized. Efforts have been made in this
direction, 1t iS true, but there is still lack
ing that concentrated movement upon the
part of the chiefs of police of the United
States and CanSia to bring about as near
a result, upon the lines laid down by Ber-
tillon as is possible.
When we take the Bertillon system,
which is purely foreign in it's origin, and
apply 1t to the United States, we are con-
fronted with a great many obstcles. Where
1t Is possible to do so, these obstacles must
be removed, and where it is impossible to
remove them they must be surmounted.
We must therefore agree upon a central
point for the reception of photographs and
measurements Of subjects. The different
cities represented by the National Asso-
cation are distributed over a vast area
Of territory; so much so that 1t is a diff
cult matter to select a central point for
the classification of photos and measure
ments and do it to the satisfaction of all
concerned. If a thief Is apprehended in
Boston, photographed, measured and
bureau of Chicago, fully four days elapse
before the reply can be received stating
whether the subject Is known or not This
is serious drawback to the city where the
| alleged thief is apprehended. How are the
authorities going to hold him four days
awaiting a return from the central bureau
at Chicago? The same condition of af-
fairs exists not only as far as Boston is
concerned, but likewise affects all Of the
New England states, New York, Philadel-
phia Baltimore. Washington, &C.
Two Bureaus sugg
After giving the matter q great deal Of
consideration, l am of the opinion that
there should be two central bureaus operat-
ed and maintained by this association, one
located in Chicago and the other in New
York. All of the cities east of Buffalo and
| down the Atlantic coast asi far as Florida
should forward their photos and measure
| ments to New York; the remainder of the
country to forward their photos to Chi
| cago. The two bureaus gould exchange
their measurements every week.
The publication Of photosr and measure
ments in any kind Of newspaper or periodi-
| cal should be prohibited. Once a thief's pic
| ture or measurements are published, 1t
permits those outside of the association to
| obtain the associations records and infor
| nation without being q member of same
1t also permits of the thieves being ad-
| vised of what is being done. No photos or
records should be forwarded to any one
not member Of the ASSOCIATE ton.
While not on the lines laid down by Ber-
tillon, / would especially recommend that
| the full-face photo be taken with the. hat
on, it aids the officer in identifying
thieves on the street, and also assists a
| complainant in making a positive identif-
| cation when looking over the rogues' gall
| lery for the thief who robbed him, simply
| because, in nine cases out of ten, when
| the crime was committed the thief had his
| hat on.
Bertillon says the photograph should be
| taken with the hat Off. Where 1T Is the de-
sire of police departments to live up to
this rule they easily do so by taking a
duplicate photo of the thief with his hat
| off for the purpose Of fling the same in
their Bertillon records. The New York