El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-13
= TAsHINGTON. b. d. q =

w TAohlNGIONs D. C., Oct IA
w The Navy department has
never been regarded as a
repository Of secrets-save. Of course
IN cases where new and undeveloped
ideas for ships and guns were con-
cerued But in one point, which re-
lates TO its naturalization system, it
is OF secrecy a veritable graveyard.
Every enlisted man and officer in
the service is represented in the Navy
department by a docket. containing a
record OF MS physical history-Which.
OF course, begins with his birth The
dockets are alphabetically filed. so
mat any one Of them can be found at
a moments notice.
The steel cases that hold the files
OF dockets in series Of drawers occupy
a great room. About the latter there
IS nothlng extra ordinarily private n
visitor may walk through it. If es-
corted by an officer. But to pull out
one Of the steel drawers and look into
lt-ah, that IS privilege no ordinary
person may enjoy.
The physical history Of a man is
MS most intimate private history. If
ne be in the naval service Of the
United States, il must be known TO the
government in every detail But no
body else is entitled TO any informa-
ton on the subject. Whence the care
Iul guard maintained over these filed
dockets.
Nays system Complete.
The individual man-o' -varsman
Cllke any other human being) has no
exact duplicate. Twins resemble each
other. So-called identical twins"
declared by the psychologists and
psychologists 70 share a common iden-
tity) may be hard 10 tell apart, as
viewed by the casual eye But the
Navy departments Identification sys-
tenn can distinguish any man from all
other men.
Take the. mere matter of moIes and
other blrthma rkS-DOt TO mention
scars resulting from accidental in,
Juries- How many Of these do you
suppose YOU have on various parts Of
your BODY At least ten. and very
likely Is or more This represents an
ordinary average
Wen. then. how much trouble is
ERE going to be in distinguishing
votfaz.-..l your twin brother at any
time in your joint lives. If there eX-
lists an exact descriptive record OF
such marks and scars for each Of
7-ou2 Even birthmarks are not du-
plicated in twins.
Why, it may be asked. should the
Navy department be so anxious TO
preserve Identification records OF en-
listed men and Officers number
Of reasons might be mentioned-as.
for instance, the determining OF the
identify Of a sailor found drowned.
But most important Of all Is the
necessity OF keeping watch on de
serters. Often 70 happen that de-
serters try to re-enlist. or. in case
of their capture, there must be proof
Of their identity, If they are TO be
punished
Tattoo Marks Are Valuable
Where sailOrmen are concerned
tattoo marks duly recorded In the
secret cabinet) are specially valuable
II IS said apparently on good author
ity. that % per cent Of our man-o-
vvarsmen are tattooed- Sailors, since
time immemOrial. have had weak
ness for decorating their bodies with
picturesque designs. which for pur-
poses Of naturalization are highly
satisfactory
on every fighting ship there is /
usually a sailor who specializes in this
kind OF work. earning extra money by /
e in his leisure hours HIS paint .
brush $50 70 call IT'D is ordinarily a r
short stick with three or four needles 4
stuck in one end For red ne uses
cochiueal and for black indla-lnk I
but III is in the Orient that the man ,
o'-warsman acquire the really beauti- :
full and elaborate skin-pictures- the
Tauauese tartoOer being most higniY .
skilled in the production Of butter
flies. dragons. and Erotesque mons
Relies Upon Finger Print.
It IS obvious. however. that two or
several sailors might have themselves
adorned with similar pictures eX-
ecuted BY the same artist what the !
p1syv- ie1srtment absolutely relies up
on as a fundamental for the determ- 7
nation Of identity is the finger-print- Z
There are no two finger-prints alike I
not even those Of identical twins 4
Every man in our naval service has /
his finger-prints on record IN the I
secret cabinet
man IS born. He grows up His I
record Of physical efficiency has be- /
eun with his birth From one cause /
or another il may have suffered more J
or less mpairment-as, for example, /
by loss Of some OF his teeth. On /
enlistinE. he is required TO state any /
maladies from which he has suffered. J
even though they may have been no