Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-08

Much interest has been aroused in
police circles by the Identification Of
Daniel Nolan or Henry Johnson, or
James Jones, a wen known English
Crook" by the detectives Of Scotland
Yard, London, from a print Of one Of
his thumbs taken here by Detective
Sergeant Faurot OF the Bertillon bu-
reau and mailed across the Atlantic
without any other particulars. Nolan
robbed the Waldorf-Astoria, and has
been sentenced to seven years.
While IN various European cities the
method of Identifying criminals by their
finger prints has been known and
practiced for years, on this side of the
ocean the art Is I'm its infancy, the case
mentioned being the first actual prac-
tical application. Some time ago the
head OF the local detective bureau be-
came interested I'm the system and sent
Sergeant Faurot to Scotland Yard to in-
vestlgate and see If Il were adaptable
to New Yorks needs. Since then the
sergeant has been carrying on his ex-
periments and he and Inspector Nc
Laughlin were only waiting for an op-
portunity when the Nolan case came up.
An impression of the criminals 3
thumb was taken and dispatched to
London without any other means of
Identification whatever, and yesterday,
almost by return mail, arrived a long
official envelope from the convict SUI
pervision office, New Scotland Yard,
London, containing set of photographs
of the fingers of Nolans two hands,
a face photograph and description and
a list of his aliases, several OF the
new to the New York police together
with the crimes for which he had been
committed and positively Identifying
l. I'll Ill. l..
lieved to have robbed the wife of a
prominent novelist of GS00 and
then escaped to New York. All this
simply by means of n black smudge
of mans thumb on piece Of paper.
Use in India
Although the system of Identification
by finger prints has been In use in
Europe for number of years, 1t is not
a European invention. AS a matter of
fact, 1t Is one of those cherished west
ern institutions that the Chinese have
calmly claimed for their own and those
who doubt this may be convinced by
actual history showing it to have been
employed in the police courts of British
India for a general ton or so back. Just
who was responsible for its adoption
there is not certain, but Sir John Hers
chel, at one time connected with the
Indian civil service, Is usually mem
toned in this regard. The British po-
lice experienced a great deal of trouble
in keeping track of even the most no
torious native criminals, and it was a
great deal more difficult to arrest
first offender, for the reason that all
the natives looked so much alike and
were such apt liars.
Ordinary methods, even the Bertillop
system, were fruitless, and finally the
finger print scheme was tried. 1t worked
like charm. Where before arrests had
been the exception, they now became
the rule, and, the power of the law be-
gan to merit respect. In case after
case the police were enabled to track
the crime solely by the chance print
of mans finger or thumb on an odd
piece of paper, on the dusty Intel of
a doorway or a dirty window pane.
Some of the stories told Of their ac-
complishments in this line rival the
most thrilling detective stories.
In one case, that of the murder of a
manager of tea garden on the Bhupal
frontier, half a dozen or more persons
were at first suspected, among them
the real murderer, who was, however,
later regarded as innocent because he
was supposed to have been away from
the district at the time the crime was
committed. Investigations and ques-
tionings did no good, and at last the
local inspector decided to take the
thumb prints of all concerned, and re-
fer them to the central office of the
province. After the records had been
searched, messenger came with orders
to arrest the discharged servant of the
manager, who had been first suspected,
and then exonerated, for his finger
prints tailed exactly with those of a
bad character just discharged from
prison. He was later convicted of
burglary by court of appeal, to which
the case was carried, the court refusing
to condemn a man for murder on such
slight basis when the actual crime had
not been observed.
Sealing of Wills
At the present time in India the
papers taken in the civil service exam
nations must be certified by the thumb
print of the competitor, and wills must
likewise be sealed in the same way.
The success the plan met with in
India, led to a trial and speedy adoption