Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-01-17
CAMERA rs AN
aid TO JUSTICE
HOW CRIMINALS ARE CAUGHT BY
PHOTOGRAPHY AND CON-
VICTED.
MORE ACCURATE THAN EYE
Colors and Light and Shade Are Repro.
duced-Finger Prints on Doors
and Footprints, Etc.
FLAsHLIGHT, TOO, is VALUABLE.

IL is now number of years since l
first began the use of the camera for
the purpose of assisting in the further
ance of justice. Since then photography
has become well-nigh Indispensable ad-
Junct of the police department, and
every well-equipped bureau should pos
sess its own facilities in this line. The
principal reason of the cameras useful
ness in this direction is its unfailing ac-
curacy. A photograph has come to be
looked upon as an unquestionable fac
slmlle of whatever it purports TO repre-
sent, and the question of authenticity is
thus at once established beyond all ques-
tlonlng when photograph is brought
into evidence. The camera has earned
itself the distinction of being considered
an unimpeachable witness.
The next most important faculty about
the camera is its power of penetrating
beyond the limits of human vision, and
what is almost equally important, pho
Biography is not color blind, but detects
many things that should legitimately be
within the range of ordinary eyesight,
were there such a thing in existence as
a perfect human eye
The eye will sometimes fail, even with
the highest magnifying powers. to see
line shades or tints of color, such as
often exist in old manuscripts and docu-
ments. Inks will apparently fade out,
and so blend with the yellow tints
with which time stains old paper that
| the lines are lost to the eye But a
faint difference does exist, which the
camera will elucidate. The skillful pho
tographer will, by chemical treatment of
his negative, intensity the slight differ
ences to such degree that when the
ordinary autograph or signature. is en-
larget to, say, three or four feet in
length, the image is rendered very strong
and unmistakable. 1t is the same in
the case of tracing or forgery.
Photography in Bank Notes
Photography became such a successful
counterfeiter of black-and-white draw
ings, engravings, bank notes, ETC., that
it is now some years since methods were
sought to thwart the eyil-disposed in this
direction, and the use of color was adopt-
ed to overcome the difficulty. | think it
| is now some twenty-five years since a
| representative of one of the great bank
note engraving companies called on me
for suggestions in this line, and | made
a series of experiments in photographing
| colors, with a view to show how each
color and its tint was interpreted by the
| camera, Of course, their question bore
| upon the possibility of printing bank
notes in such colors as would defy the
efforts of even the Photographic process
! to copy.
| The special application of the matter
was with relation to. some bonds and
| bank notes for one of the South Ameri-
can republics. A drawing board about
| "a inches square, covered with white
paper, was divided like a checkerboard,
and the primary colors, with their tints
and combinations, were carefully drawn
on it with water colors, each small
! square being covered with q color. The
| blues, yellows and reds were put in
parallel columns, with their primary or
nearest possible simple color, and with as
nearly equal visual value as possible.
The results were surprising and valu-
| able in regard to the counterfeiting of
! bonds, checks and bank notes. Colors
were introduced which made it then and
now impossible to photograph them. To
give simple illustration; If blue ink
was used on a yellow-toned paper, the
| blue would come light drab and the yell
| low would appear black. If the blue
were blended with any of the non-actinic
! colors, such as red, yellow, or their tints,
/ but faint image could be reproduced,
and one not possible to reproduce in a
printing plate. In one series of bank
notes a word was first printed in orange
color on the paper, and then upon it
were superimposed various colors, de-
signs and tints, which completely OBJ
! scured the first word printed: one OF
these prints was placed before the came
ra, and when | developed the plate,
reaching almost across the bill, appeared
| in large, distinct characters the word,
| Counterfeit
Chemical Value of Color
/ To make the above statement clearer
it is necessary to state briefly that light
and color have a visual and active or
chemical value quite distinct from each
other; that is to say: colors which would
appear to have a certain monochrematic
value TO the eye in the scale from black
to white give entirely different results or
effects to the Photographic plate. For in
| stance a fair shade of blue or yellow
would be the equivalent of a neutral
gray in the monoehromatic black to
whitel scale of color. To the photo
| graphic plate the TWO eolorS named
would be interpreted in surprisingly
| opposite value; the blue would be nearly
white, the yellow would appear nearly
| black.
1t is the blending of these tonal colors
/ in the pigments used in oil paintings
which often presents such strange. ap-
parent distortions in the Photographic re-
productions of famous works of art The
painting which is smooth. charming and
| harmonious to the natural eye is made to
appear in grotesque erudenesS by the
presence of the shadows OF warm or cool
pigments blended with ever so much
skill.
/ In tile discussion of serious questions
| in art or science there often crops up a
grotesque element. Such we may call
| the detective camera, with the aid of
which till-tappers and thieves are now
being surprised.
Catching a Burglar.
| What cqn be more realistic and con-
elusive than photograph of a thief or
| burglar in the very act of his crime? A
case of this kind. one of a number that
have been reported, occurred in Grand
| Rapids. Mich. and was brought before
| Judge Haggerty. of the criminal court in
tnat city. The details were as follows.
| For some time the cashier of a large
store had been aware that the cash
drawer was being robbed. Investigation
| showed that while the night watchman
was making his rounds. several boys.
| known to him, had been in the habit o.
entering the store, and suspicion fasteneS