The Tucson citizen., 1901-12-30
MARKS THAT BETRAY
1T IS RATHER HARD FOR ONE TO
CONCEAL ONES IDENTITY.

Detectives Helped by Trivial Diatin-
Guishins signs 90 Your Eye, Your
Fin@er Nails, Y0ur Clothes or Your
Bulid May Reveal You.
Everybody carries about with him
many trivial distinguishing marks by
means OF which shrewd detective can
discover his Identity. Take the matter
OF clothes. Most men get all their cloth
Ing from the same tailor. but whether
one does or not ana however careful he
may be to cut Off every tag and mark
the tailor who made the clothes can
identify them. Thread. stitching, but
tons. linings-all tell their own tale.
More especially do those extras which
the tailors call specials" These are the
extra pockets, fountain pen or pencil
pockets, eyeglass pockets. watch pock-
cts lined with wash leather. cigar. tick
ct. flask and inner waistcoat pockets.
1t will be remembered that 1t was by
means of trousers button that the
identity of Norcross the man who tried
to blow up Russell Sage, was discov.
cred
Then your finger nails are liable TO
betray you. Any manicure will tell you
that 1t takes between 105 and 1870 days
for new finger nail TO grow upon the
hand of maa In ordinary health, ac.
cording to his age, the nall growing
quicker on the young and slower on the
old. So any bruise or other mark re
ceived ON the white crescent at the base
OF the nall will take nearly four months
to disappear.
1t was knowledge OF this fact that
enabled "A detective to arrest the forger
Simpson In Paris some time ago. He
learned from Simpsons landlord In
Bristol that window had fallen upon
the mans hnnd and bruised his thumb
some time In the first week OF March,
n few days before he disappeared.
Four months later when tho detcc-
tive met Simpson In Paris. the black
spot was just disappearing from the tip
of the thumb mail. 1t was the only
means Of Identification, for Simpson, by
shaving his head and dressing like q
priest. had absolutely changed his ap
pearance.
Some time ago a criminal was brought
to justice by the testimony OF his own
watch. one which he had carried for
years. He was charged with murder
and his defense was an aiibi, which be
nearly proved. He said that he had not
been near the scene OF the murder for
three months, and no testimony could
be produced that he was not telling the
truth until one OF the detectives who AT
one time had been jewelers. appren-
tice happened to look at the mans
watch.
Inside the watch case, written In
signs that only matchmaker could
read. was the evidence that the time
piece had been In the hands OF q re.
pairer Of watches the day before the
murder. With the watch in his hands
the detective visited the town near
which the murder had been committed
and went around from one jewelers.
shop to another until he found watch
maker who recognized the timepiece as
one In which he had put new main
spring on the day preceding the muir.
der. Thus the alibi was broken down,
and the prisoner finally made full con.
fession.
Again. only one man In 215 Ia not
lopsIded and badly put together. Many
n man who Is fine athlete and In
splendid physical health would be
amazed to find how unevenly he IL
made up II he should undergo the test
of a measuring tape. Either one arm
or one leg In longer than the other, one
shoulder higher than the other, or. still
more frequently. the eyes are not the
same or placed In the head in exactly
the same way.
People have been Identified by the
fact that the pupil Of one eye was lar
ger than that of the other. The nose ls
very seldom Aexactly straight, but
swerves little to the right or left.
though the defect ID not noticeable to
the ordinary observer. Above all. n man
who IL starting out on criminal career
should never go 10 dentist. The filling
OF the teeth IL q sure record, aud even
IL the criminal has all his teeth pulled
his false teeth will be as sure n means
of identification. "~