The Washington herald., 1912-03-24
MAJ SYLVESTER, WASHINGTON'S CHIEF
OF POLICE, BEGAN AS NEWS CHASER
Thieves Are Afraid of Nations Capital, He
Says, Because Judges Are Appointed, Not
Elected, and Shadow of Penitentiary
Is in Plain View.
By JAMES b. MORROW.

Every criminal, SO Burns, the great
detective, has told me, leaves some physi-
cal sign behind. 1t may only be the
print of his fingers against a pane OF
glass or in the dust on the top Of table
or a desk But that is enough.
A sign is sure to be seen, either at the
place OF the crime or somefhere else.
The trick is to find 1t. Not every de-
tective, however. has the eye that his
business demands. Nor the head. It is
the rule of some detectives to call at
the pawnshops two or three times a
day, look over the watches and tewelry,
and then go home. Blind horses In a
bark mill, simply. Whereas a good de-
tective must be at once a poet and a
fox. Burns says nothing is needed but
common sense. Ulysses S. Grant, per-
haps, would have given the same defini-
tion to generalship. All success depends
on common sense-plus q special gift
Men of talent, here and there, are now
engaged in working out the problems Of
crime. The elder Pinkerton showed what
could be done in that direction. After
him, slowly at best, came a school Of
sleuths, which reasoned by induction, and
grouping seeming trivialities. built up
a case Next followed cooperation, the
exchange of criminal information, includ-
ing photographs.
Now there is a combination OF chiefs
of police that is worldwide. Richard
Sylvester, of Washington. is president Of
this international association. Years ago
he was a printer and a police reporter
on the Globe-Democrat in ST. Louis. He
was e newspaper correspondent in this
city when Charles Guiteau murdered
James A. Garfield. and he reported the
trial Since then. as chief of police OF
the District OF Columbia, he has seen
an army of cranks trickle into the Ma
tional Capital and has caused them i'm
mediately to trickle out again. Also he
has kept the city clear Of highwaymen,
burglars, and pickpockets.
Thieves Are Afraid of Washington.
Thieves do not come to Washington,
except now and then. Perhaps they are
afraid Of the national government, its
military at the edge, OF the city, its
armed guards in most public buildings,
and its Secret Service. Still. Maj. Syl-
vester. a quiet man, intelligent. of course,
and energetic, has a policy Of his own
with respect to thieves. which. It seems.
might be workable in cities so large even
as Chicago and New York
IF "a known criminal comes to town,
he said, we call call him in and tell
him that We have his biography down
t. date, hat we purpose to watch him
day and night, and that IL he is ever
brought before any of the judges he will
not see daylight again for a good many
years. There is no graft among the
police of Washington. Shysters do not
hang around our criminal courts. Straw
bail is almost impossible. The shadow
OF the penitentiary is always in plain
sight. Our judges are appointed and not
elected. Nobody is playing politics.
Our knowledge concerning criminals
comes from all parts of the world. The
chiefs of police of this country. Canada,
and Cuba are in direct communication
through our central bureau of identifica-
tiOn, and We are cooperating with Scot
land Yard in Great Britain and the high
police officials of Continental Europe. In
this country and Canada we have be-
come so well organized that thief is
in constant danger of arrest. Besides,
most of the chiefs of police are now
personally acquainted with one another,
and that is very helpful II Col. A. P.
Sherwood. chief of police at Ottowa,
Canada, should take James Brown int
custody for housebreaking and be puz-
zled over Browns identity. he would
send the measurements and photograph
of the prisoner to us and we would prob
ably supply him with a full history of
the man, though he were known in
dozen cities by as many different names.
The bureau of identification was es-
tablished by our international associa
tion, and has been maintained with our
own funds. We have many thousands of
photographs and finger prints, and each
year publish an illustrated volume con-
tanning the biographies of all the recent
recruits Of professional crime. For
ag..~1
by DR.. BertflIon, chief OF the depart
ment of identification in Paris. Measure
ments are taken of the heads-length
and breadth-of the ears, of the left
arms, legs. and feet, and of the bodies
from the hips upward.
How Finger Prints Are Taken.
1T is said that the frame of the human
being does not change after the twenty
first birthday. A man may become
heavier, of course. but his body lengths
are supposed TO remain the same. But
some prisoners are no more than boys,
though criminals of a dangerous kind.
Therefore, We not only take photographs
and measurements but finger prints as
we'll Printers ink is spread on tin, glass
or paper. The tips of the fingers of the
prisoner are placed on the ink and then
The impression so made is absolutely
reliable for all future identifications.
Prof Francis Galton, the English scien-
tist and student OF heredity, says there
IS only one chance in s. 600 00O, 900 that the
finger lines of John Smith will be like
the finger lines of any one else. He and
Sir Edward Henry have taken the finger
prints Of the same persons at different
times through a period of forty-five
years. In no case has any change been
found. Ones fingers, so far as the lines
are concerned, remain the same, no mat
ter If one works with his hands at hard
labor or doesn't work at all.
The finger print means of identifca-
tion, therefore, is being adopted all over
the world. There are 5000 sets of prints
at police headquarters in New York. We
shall even have more than that number
at the International Bureau of Identifica-
tion in Washington. But the lines of
the fingers are of more use than a mere
record, being invaluable as a sign for
the police to follow when no other clew
is obtained. Indeed, might say they are
more trustworthy than any other sign.
IF burglar touches a dusty window
sill or an article OF furniture, a powder
of mercury and chalk or lampblack Is
put on the spot made by his hands and
then busted of. The lines of his fingers
are plainly seen and his capture is prob
able. A woman was murdered in New
York. The marks of four fingers were
found on a whisky bottle in her room.
They were like the marks of a print at
police headquarters. The murderer was
arrested and confessed.