The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-19
|SMOST FAMOUSOF WOMEN DETECTIVES Mrs. Holland Authority on Thumbprint Identification HAS HER OWN SYSTEM European Woman Has Tracked Down Murderers and Other riminals in
 Practically Every Capital of
 the Continent
From Tit Bits.

From Tit Bits.
 Recently the writer had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Mary E. Holland, the best known woman detective of two conti- nents-possibly the most famous female detective of crime in the world. She is- irrespective of sex-arnong the foremost living authorities on the thumbprint sys- tenn of Identification, and has just de- clared. when cross examined by an attor- ney during a murder trial, that the possi- ,b,lities of two thumb prints being identi- ral averaged one in 6s.Ooo.00o. Mrs. Hol- land has her own private collection Of thumb prints and photographs of noted law breakers, which number close upon l5.ooo, the majority of which she has gathered first hand.
 Mrs. Holland showed me her own spe- rial little apparatus for taking a thumb print It is certainly simple enough The entire outfit consists only of small cop per roller, an linked pad and a sheet of white paper. allowed the genial lady she looks absolutely mild and harmless (which possibly accounts for some of her success)-to take my thumb print on her promising not to place it among the collection devoted to men and women who had been arrested for violent acts ranging from murder to common assault
 ''M. Bertillon himself gave me instruc- tion in his unique method of thief catch ang," said Mrs. Holland, "but 1t was some time before I was able to put the Knowledge | thus gained to practical use. However, soon after I had returned to Chicago a terrible murder was committed fr ufn T by the Chicago police and was sent by them to look into the case. The first khing did was to carefully examine the automobile. I went over the machine with strong magnifying glass. and to my intense joy l. discovered the imprint of the murderer's hand. I was also suc- cessful in proving that a double crime had been committed through the discov- cry on the automobile of two distinct shades of blood. This was one of my first big cases, and I succeeded in hand ling it so well that I was constantly em- ployed on important police. mysteries afterward.
 Referring to these thumb impressions" continued Mrs. Holland, T always en- deavor, if possible, to take these myself. Usually a prisoner is a little averse to submitting to this form of identifica- ton, though if he is innocent it is all in. his favor. One prisoner, whose guilt was absolutely proved, .endeavoredi to evade Identification by mutilating his thumb, but he might have saved himself the trouble. for when the wound heals the marks of the thumb remain exactly as before. It is absolutely impossible to change their appearance."
 Mrs. Holland has tracked down rnur- derers and other criminals in every cap ital in Europe, and she Is known to the police in every civilized country of the globe. She has been retained ong eases fin London, Paris, Madrid. Africa, Aus tralia and India. She possesses won derful collection of interesting souvenirs connected with some of the greatest crimes committed during the last 15 years. She hopes some day to open a museum, for she possesses many things that are of distinct value to detectives who are new to the profession.
 When engaged in her work Mrs. Hol land Is as keen as ever Sherlock Holmes was, and she will never give up a case until she, or someone else. has run the quarry to earth. She has spent months on a case which the police have given up as hopeless and has reached success in the end. On many occasions she has only slept for an hour. But aside from her detective work she has literary tall ents, and with her husband, Phil" Hol- land, edits the Detective, the official police magazine of America She is also something of an inventor, having orig mated new helmet for detectives which to the sleuth who Is tracking criminal. contains a small store of articles useful