The Washington herald., 1909-06-15

teenth annual convention In Buffalo TO-
day. It had been intended 10 hold the
convention In Los Angeles. but owing 10
the recent police scandal there. the
change to Buffalo was made The asso-
cation meets as a sort Of clearing-hou
for ideas IN the prevention of crime. and
aims 10 get a fresh hold on that growing
band OF men and women who live by
their wits. setting their faces against the
law In the modern days OF quick trans
portation that police department must
fail which does not cooperate with its
neighbors for the criminal may be a
thousand miles away from the scene or
his crime with twenty-four hours. It
was TO bring about that cooperation and
70 transform the police forces OF the
world into one great organization, each
part aiding the other In Its work. each
part looking for the law breakers Of all
that the International Association Of Po-
lice Chiefs was formed.
Along with It was formed the Interna-
tonal Bureau OF Identification. now To-
Gated in Washington. This bureau has
the records Of nearly $1,000 criminals. OF
course, some Of them have died and 9TH
ers have reformed. but It Is still compre-
hensive enough to embrace about every
notorious individual in the United States
and Canada, and most Of the great inter-
national criminals as we'll So far as the
past is concerned, IT'S records are very
full. But II Is not the old offenders that
give the police departments the most
trouble They are aware that the photo
graphs Of these. their Bertillon measure
ments, and their finger prints perhaps
are accessible 10 the police everywhere.
But not so with the new crop Of crimi-
nails, which amounts 10 hundreds every
year. It is In an effort TO acquaint the
police OF North America with them that
most Of the energy Of the bureau is ex-
srcised.
Every now and then Maj. Richard Syl-
vester. superintendent Of the Washington
police force. and president Of the IN
ternational Association. whose work at
inauguration times always commands na-
tional commendation. issues a little book
that the public at large never sees II
goes TO police headquarters n the various
cities OF the country. and contains the
pictures and descriptions OF about 200 re-
eruits 70 the ranks OF notorious and dan
gerous criminals. This album Is care
are the names Of those whom il will be
profitable for the whole police world TO
watch during many coming years.
There is no other point In human ex-
istest where the battle Of wit IS so sharp
as where meet the criminal and the
guardians Of the law. For every repres-
sive measure that society is able 10
adopt. the forger, the bank robber. and
the porch climber has a Roland for its
Oliver. When effectively shut OF in one
direction they have been able to break
through the precautions against them in
another, so that to-day II is as much OF
a nip-and-tuck race between the thief
and those who would suppress him as
ever It was.
It has been estimated by criminal
expert who had his satisfies printed by
Congressional authority. that crime costs
the people Of the United States S6O0OOO.O 900
a year. The way he arrives az this con-
olusion is interesting He starts out by
estimating that the cities and counties
OF the country spend N5O.OOO.O00 a year
in the prevention and punishment Of
crime. The State and national govern
ments spend S50OO0.0OO more. He reckons
that there are 10000 criminals IN the
United States. and that their stealings
when at liberty, and loss OF time in
prison, have an aggregate value OF S4O0,-
10000 He places about one half OF all
the criminals on the list OF habItuals.
His estimate OF the number Of criminals
Is probably under the mark. According
20 census returns there are approximate
" $1,000 prisoners in the penal institutions
OF the country, and that takes no account
OF those in the reformatories and other
crimes which go unpublished IS almost
as great as the number for which justice
IS meted out. so that II the per capita
figures Of the expert be correct. the
whole cost Of crime in the United States
Is considerably above the figure given
aoove. Add TO this the proportionate
cost in Canada and Mexico. and the
total for North America would not be
FAR from q billion dollars a year.
There are now about one hundred cities
OF the United States and Canada which
use the Bertillon method Of criminal
Identification. This constitutes photo
graphs IN three positions, measurements
Of a number Of Unchanging characters
tics Of the body. notation OF all scars.
deformites. and other peculiarities. There
are seventy police organizations belong
ing 70 the international Association OF
Police Chiefs. and they all send these
identifcations 10 the Identification bu-
reau at Washington. More than 1000
photographs are received there each
year. and over 400 identihcations OF GRIM
inals result from its activities
The Bertillon method is the child OF
the brain OF a French ethnologIst now
attached TO the Paris police service. It
is the most widely used Of all methods OF
Identification. But it's value extends only
from the twentieth year upward. To
remedy this defect and 10 make assurance
more certain IN Identification work. the
finger print method has been growing in
favor. Dip the finger or thumb in ordi-
nary printers ink and then press Il on
white paper, and you have an impression
that cannot be duplicated IN all the
world. 1t is an impression that would be
made az any period from the cradle 10
the grave Some take the thumb only
Others take the thumb and the four
fingers Of the left hand, because II is the
least used and least liable to injury
Some have the fat impression. simply
pressing the thumb fat. Others make
the person TO be identified place his
thumb In a position so that the nail is
vertical, and then roll the member around
on the paper until Il is vertical on the
other side.
The army. the navy. and the Marine
Corps have all adopted the fnger-print
method OF Identification. When II comes
10 Identification by one OF these prints
the print or the suspect IS compared with
That on nle. Under a microscope 1t is
easy TO count every little line and to note
its direction and character with infinite
precision But modern ingenuity cannot
Law claim 70 credit for evolving this