Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-11-11

y
They send their Bertillion card to
me to lem whether the man It's
ever passct through INV bands
| look o;on my files aet:1ding t,
key, which tells nle where tic zen.
eral collection of measurements mo1e
or less similar tot those sent me from
the inland town OUGHT to Do.
can fnd no dupli 'ac which fits
the case
Why? Because my measurements
OF the man are in anadhef Sic. ard
rightly because they do not CORE
spond or fall within the same class
as those sent me from tht interior.
Beauties of the System.
rake another case. Let us say tia
the police in San Francisco measure
a youthful thief found in the company
CT known professional offenders, and.
consequently believed to be either
a regular or prospective one, whom
ii is coed thing to keep track If.
They measure the boy. he card is
filled in its proper place, and moth.
ing more is seen Of the youngster for
/ ten years
Again he is in San Francisco He
has developed into a fnll-grown man
with beard. and has merely been
arrested on suspicion The same
Bertillien officer measures him again
and looks over his files to see wheth-
er he has had the man before. He
can find no duplicates, Why? Be
cause ten years before he measured
boy and the second time a man.
The old measurements are PRACTICAL
|, worthless
The main criticism 10 be made Of
the anthropome1rjc system. however.
is that to many different kinds of
men do measuring. Regular courses
in anthropometfis instruction have
been tried in the hope that uniform.
ity Of measurements and deEcatcness
in touch would result but. although
they doubtless did some good, the
criminal investigation department If
Scotland Yard decided about two
years ago to give up the antropomet-
rlc SYSTEM. They gave it a fair
trial, but they have discovered, or
rather accepted, a system which they
consider much more useful Today
head ears, feet. fingers, etc, they
note down his name, age, complexion,
color OF hair and eyes, his height
remarks about his crime. and then
they take impressions of his fingers.
The finger prints are the secret of
'iiNAI oUNNCSo, oHd tilS NduSS VI lilS
criminals identification.
Those who have read Mark TWains
"Pudd'nhead Wilson, > will remember
that finger prints played very i'm
pOrtant role in p1lice and criminal
life in England, that it is impossible
of u-h mr. c
have been once taken to escape being
recognized if be is again brought in
to the finger-print room in Scotland
Yard. Yet, '.Pudd nhead Wilson
was not the discoverer OF their use
fulness and infslihility According
to rumor the Chinese were the first
to use finger prints FIR means of iden-
tification. According to fact. Purk-
enje. professor Of physiology and
pathology. read before the university
in Breslau. in Germany, in 1928, Lat
in thesis on finger impressions. I'm
the attention it deserved
Cations Investigations.
In more recent times Mr.. Francis
Galton has probably written more on
the subject than any other investi-
| gator. He is indebted, however t.
Sir William Herschel of the Indian
| civil service. for many Of the ma
terials out Of which he has been able
/, to build up practically science. OF
police officials, Mr.. E. X. Henry, for
merly inspector general of police in
the lower provinces in India, and at