Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-06-09
German Detective System
Rivals sherlock Holmes"

7 me autopsy which Immediately followed
merely verified their earlier Impressions.
The man had been shot twice in the head
with a .3s calibre revolver. He was UNI
known. with nothing on him to Identity
MN directly or indirectly. He was APP
parently a worktngrnan.
was the case allowed to drop? Did the
detectives stop work? Not at all. FRS.
they measured the soles OF the mans
Then they did VIII; t to an outsider might
seem the most absurd thing OF all; they
photographed the burnt stub of the match
which they had so mysteriously taken
with them.
Meanwhile the plain clothes men had
brought IN to headquarters three or iour
suspicious looking characters from the
neighborhood of Potsdaminerstrasse:
Thes, men were searched. but nothing OF
value was found-no weapons of any KIND
merely a few trinkets. some keys, some
odd coins, tobacco. matches, etc. But
there was one thing found in the pocket
OF one OF the prisoners which TO the de
tectives seemed of extraordinary lmpof-
lance: a paper block OF matches. Appar,,
emily they had been looking for II. ana
they did to it what they do TO almost
everything at the Berlin police headquar-
ters-they photographed 1t! This photo
graph they greatly enlarged. Then they
enlarged the photograph of the burnt SUP
until the end OF the match looked as II II
were about S inches broad. Then with
'ine and delicate instruments they meas
ured the decorations in the block of match
es and the ragged ends of the burnt stun.
But this latter step was hardly necessary,
TO- by a glance at the enlarged photo
graphs IA layman could have told That tne
burnt stub found at the scene or the
crime had been torn from the book of
matches discovered in the pocket OF one
of the suspects.
This practically ended the case as far
as the detectives were concerned. Unuer
adroit questioning the man confessed ms
guilt and was sentenced TO a long term
by the court.
The point which the German detectives
make Is that nothing is too trivial to es-
cape examination and analysis: so they
examine chemically the dust in the grooves
OF pocket knives. determining in this way
with the greatest certainty where the
knife has been and for what purpose II
has been used. SO. too. they nalyze the
dust in the leather folds of a purse or
a cardcase. in the outside edge of a
watchcase. or the mud on the soles of a
mans shoes. Microscopic examination is
made of the stains on clothes OF on weap-
ons. Thus. a German army officer was
convicted of murder under the following
circumstances
a citizen was cut down in the garden
of a cafe. evidently by the blow of a saber.
AT the request of the police. all the sabers
or the Dragons who had leave from bar
racks at the time OF the murder were
collected and submitted to microscopes ex-
animation. No trace of blood was found
upon any of them. but one had a tiny lit
tie notch in its cutting edge. in which was
only under the microscope. AS the blade
of grass in the notch had been sufficiently
protected ny tne Sneatn or the Saber TO
prevent 1t from drying. it was possible to
say that 1t could not have been sticking
to the saber for any length Of time. since
1t had preserved its freshness. The dra-
COON to whom the saber belonged must
have. as indeed he afterward confessed.
cleaned his blade upon the wet grass after
having delivered the blow. He had then
wiped it with a cloth. but the fragment
of grass remained In the notch. Begin
ming with this evidence. the police were
able to weave a chain about the officer
which ultimately brought him to justice.
Special study has been made by the
German authorities OF hair and teeth.
Indeed. scientific treatises nave been writ
ten on these subjects in their relation to
the detection of criminals, and some as
tOnishing results have been obtained by
the German detectives. In Leipzig, some
years ago u citizen was assaulted and
gravely wounded on the street one night
by an unknown person. who. after rob-
binE his victim. ran away, dropping his
cap in his flight. The cap was Of a non
descript type. but a careful examination
OF Its interior showed two solitary hairs.
which were subjected to a microscopic
analysis. As a result. the authorities
We're provided with the following descrip-
ton of the criminal. which enabled them
ultimately to apprehend him: "A mar
OF middle age. of robust constitution, black
hair intermingled with gray, recently cut,
commencing to grow bald.