The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-10

the city to purchase the system. The
request was granted and the system
will be installed as soon as possible.
The Bertillon system has not been
used in the United States many years.
1t was originally introduced here In
1887 by Major r. W. McClaughry war
den of the Illinois state penitentiary at
Joliet. The introduction Of the system
here did not mean its immediate adop-
ton throughout the country not be-
cause of the failure Of all prison au-
thorities to appreciate its value, but
because of the fact that a complete
exposition of the system in English
did not exist 1t is only in recent years
that the system was explained in de-
tail in the English language, and 1t
was then that 1t began to be used
generally throughout the country.
The system was invented in 1882 by
DIR. Alphonse Bertillon, at that time
chief of the identification bureau at
Paris. He used it with great success.
The principal measurements taken of a
criminal are his height, reach, trunk.
length of head width OF head, right
ear, left foot, left middle finger and
left forearm. There are in every per-
son certain points in the above men
toned parts of the body that never
change in measurement. and no matter
how much a criminal may change IN
features these points will always re-
main the same.
BY taking a uniform and accurate
measurement of the height it is possi-
BILE to classify collection Of descrip-
lions. For example, all men measur-
ing below feet inches can be placed
in what is known as the Small Glass,
men measuring between feet s. and 5
feet s, in the Medium Glass, and those
above 5 feet s in the Large Glass.
To take 10000 descriptions and thus
classify them would place on an aver
age about 1900 in the small class, $500
in the middle class, and $500 In the
large class, and all of the latter would
be above feet inches tall. By this
classification it saves Just two-thirds
of the amount of work in searching for
a criminals record and picture, II he
is under arrest and refuses to divulge
his past.
BY taking the measurement of a
mans head length it gives still another
classification and divides the 10000 pic
lures into nine parts, giving about HOO
in each part in a collection of 10000
Each part with 1900 heights Is divided
into three parts by head measurements.
or small heads, medium heads and
large heads. Each measurement taken
enables the police to divide a collec-
ton of descriptions by three. Dividing
HOO heads by the middle finger meas
urement reduces it to about 800 In the
division Of small, medium and large
finger measurements.
Dividing 800 finger measurements by
the foot measurements reduces them to
100 each, small, medium and large feet
Dividing 100 foot measurements by the
forearm measurements reduces the
number to 40 each small, medium and
large forearms. Dividing 40 forearms
by the little finger measurements re-
duces the number to an average of IL
each, small, medium and large little
fingers.
To the average person studying the
system this would be complex matter,
and may be more clearly understood
by taking as an example q rogue's al
bum containing 10000 pictures. In the
album are 200 leaves, with 80 pictures
on each leaf. From page ] to 10 would
| be placed all men of small height from
| page 70 to $40 all men Of medium
| height, and from page 140 to 200 al
men Of large height. If mans heigh
was 4 feet inches he would only b'
found in pages ranging from to 10
| and If . man or this height was sough
1t would eliminate from the search 660t
| pictures. If he had a large head ht
would be located between pages 46 ant
| TO- If he possessed a large middle
finger of the left hand he would be
| found between pages 81 and TO- If he
! had "a large foot he would be located
! between pages 81 and 10, and If he had
| a large forearm he would be found only
| on page 20.
BY the use Of these I'VE measure
ments it would be possible In an Instant
to determine on what page to locate a
man, no matter what name he gave OF
how much his appearance may have
| changed in two different photographs.
| The advantage of this classification OF
| descriptions can be best appreciated
when applied to a large number of pho
| tographs. say 100000. One measure =
| ment reduces the collection to 100000;
two measurements to $4,000. three
measurements to 11,000; four measure
ments to 1000; five measurements to
], 500; six measurements to 500; seven
measurements to $50. eight measure
ments to 30; nine measurements TO
about 15 and 10 measurements to about
five, and in this five the picture of the
criminal wanted must be found.
When Chief of Police Stone landed
Oscar William Nelson at Station l he
Immediately had him photographed and
his measurements taken on the Bertil-
lon system. Nelson gave not the
slightest inkling Of his past career.
Pictures and measurements were sent
to the prisons mentioned. At Auburn
Prison in New York the picture with
measurements was taken and in 10
minutes the Bertillon measurer at the
prison had Nelson's record. He could
have informed Chief Stone then and
there, as he did, that Nelson had been
in jail about six years out of six years
and a half he had spent In the country.
The same was the case at Weathers-
field Prison in Connecticut at Sing
Sing, N. Y, and at BlackwelPs Island.
The Bertillon man at Auburn hurried
ly mailed the description to assist the
Worcester police, but almost the same
mail brought Chief Stone four pictures,
four records Of the man, and all gave
complete history Of his prison life.
The measurements taken under the
Bertillon system were identically the
same in all received, but the pictures
varied so much that In some, while
there was a slight resemblance. ii
would have been probably impossible,
in showing them 70 jury at trial,
to convince every man beyond a rea-
sonable doubt that they were all Of the
same man.
l. IL. Mil n--L