The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-01-30
Organization Is interested
In the Reports
VIEWS OF THE EXPERTS
Nature Has Placed Seals On the
Hands; They Should Be Put ,
To Good Use
ASSOCIATED Press Dispatch.l


New York, January 23.-Officials
of The International Association for
Personal Identification here" an
organization having for its object
the finger printing" of every man,
woman and child in the United States
and Canada, have started an inquiry
into the charge made by Milton
Carlson, Los Angeles handwriting
expert, that finger prints can be
forged.
Carlson says he forged" the finger
prints of convicted murderer in
New Jersey in human blood on a
butcher knife, making perfect thumb
impression of a man 5000 miles away.
Experts. it is said, pronounced it
perfect So far as known, the Cali
fornian is the first man to announce
successful duplication of finger
prints, used for the past 1000 years
as an infallitle means of identific-
alton.
Possible But Ineffective.
Forged finger prints are possible
hut ineffective it is said by officials
OF the International Association f"?
Personal Identification here. "a
criminal" said the secretary of the
association, would not have one
chance in a million of success in
fastening a crime upon an innocent
person by means of a forged finger
print. Our researchers show that in
every case of a reproduced print the
lines are too palpably false to deceive
a skilled eye. They show up under a
strong magnifying glass like
rubber stamp or wood engraving and
not like the original finger lines
which, by reason of perspiration and
oil, are clear and sharply defined.
Hand writing experts may at
tempt to discredit fingerprints be-
cause their use detracts from their
business but the fact remains that
human seals, as the finger prints
are called, are an unfailing test SO
far as identity is concerned. They
have practically superseded the
Bertillion system in New York State
but, antil the law IS changed, the
Bertillion must be used in the peni-
tentiaries. When the lines are burr
ed, as often happens. finger print
is worthless but if they are clear it
is unfalable evidence. 1t has been
shown that if the finger ridges were
shaved off or sandpapered they came
back
Leave Print on Everything Touched.
at is popularity supposed that
fingerprints usually are only shown
in blood The fact is that you leave
a finger print upon everything you
touch. 1t is quite invisible to the
naked eve. The expert, however, will
take a bit of POWDER dark powder
on light surface or a light powder
on dark surface-and will quickly
develop the print The powders
used are lampblack, graphite, chime
bar, red and mecurious sulphide and
drason's blood.
Mature has carved on our fingers
these seals and they should be put
to civilian as well as police use.
Undoubtedly they have been the
means of detecting thousands Of
criminals. Hundreds of individuals
who come to New York and are
swallowed up in this great city,
their bodies finally landing in the
morgue, might never be buried in
the potter's field if we had a nation
al finger print registry of civilians"
The New York finger print organ
ization officials say that despite Mr..
Carlson's charge, genuine finger
prints are an invaluable aid to iden-
tify victims of train wrecks, or other
disasters and for ascertaining the
the identity of persons who have tenn
porarily "lost" themselves.