The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-10-04
TRACED BY
BEATING
Of PULSE
NEW DISCOVERY USED IN
RUNNINGrD0WN
FoRGERS
| ENGLISH SCIENTIST HAS
INTERESTING THEORY
Contends That a Persons
Pulse Beats are
individual
fBy Leased Wire)

London, october 4.-ln the midst Of
the discussion on the value of the
evidence OF expert witnesses in hand.
writing, startling theory with re-
gard to individuality in writing has
Just bten elaborated BY DR. Lindsay
johnson, the wei known ophthalmic
surgeon and author Of many scientific
works
Briefly, II may be said to depend
upon the fact that in a considerable
number OF diseases a persons pulse
beats are Individual, and that no one
suffering from any such diseases can
control, even for brief space Of time
the frequency or peculiar iregulari-
ties of his hearts action, as shown by
chart recording his pulsation.
Such chart Is obtained for medi-
cal purposes by means of a sphygmo.
graph, an instrument fitted TO a pa
tient's wrist and supplied with a
needle which automatically records
on prepared sheet Of paper the pc.
culiar force and frequency of the pull
sation.
Experiments With Patients.
Now, Or. Lindsay Johnson main
ians that the pen in the hand OF O
writer serves in modified degree the
same end as the sphymograph, and
that in a persons handwriting one
can see by projecting the letters,
greatly magnified on a screen, the
scarcely percepube turns and quiyers
made in the lines by the spontaneous
action Of that persons peculiar pulsa-
ton
ITO prove this said the doctor
IAN experiment was made by me al
Charing Cross hospital At my re
quest number of patients SUFFERING
from heart and kidney diseases wrote
out the Lords prayer in their ordi
nary handwriting. The different man
uscripts were then taken and exam
ined microscopically and by throwing
item, highly magnified on a screen
When this was done the scarcely per
ceptible jerks or involuntary motions
due 10 the patients peculiar pulsa
tions were distinctly visible
The Handwriting Of persons In nor
NAL health does not always show
their pulse beats. what one can say
however, is that w5en a document
purporting to be written by a certain
person contains the traces OF pulse
beats and the normal handwriting oi
that person does not show them. ,len
clearly the document is a forgery
Will Detect Forgeries.
Il consider that when the pulse
beats are visible in a manuscript the
theory is OF the greatest possible
value in detecting forgeries.F con
tinued the Doctor Tor by means oi
IL one can tell the speed at which any
-docunent was written. $& sllce
when man copies another persons
writing he is almost bound to write
slowly, the finding of large mum
Der of pulse beats in signature il
prima facie evidence that ii is forg'
cry. the ordinary man always writ
ing his name at top speed
Apart from ais scientific researches
necessary for writing his ramous
work on the Mammalian Eye Dr
Lindsay Johnson has found time to
interest himself in criminology. 1t
may be remembered that he did i'm
portant work at the time of the Cap
tain Dreyfus trial, and again in the
case Of Mr. Edalji On the latter oc-
casoin he received a letter of con-
graduation from Sir A. Conan Doyle,
VINO expressed the warmest admira-
tion Of his methods, and admitted
that but for the theories Or. Lindsay
Johnson had advanced, Edalji might
never have secured Justice.