The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-12-09
FINGER PRINTS NOT SURE.
Great Identification System Scored by
EXPERTS, Tests Being Made.

HAHCIlSs 1OSIS NVduCs
Officials of the international Asso-
citation for personal Identification in
New cork, an organization having for
it's object the Finger printing Of ev-
cry man, woman and child in the Uni
ted States and Canada, have started
an inquiry into the charge made by
Milton Carlson, a Los Angeles hand
writing expert, that finger prints can
be forged.
Carlson says he forged" the fin
ger prints of a 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, pro-
rsounced it perfect. So far as known
the Californian is the first man to
announce successful duplication Of
finger prints used for the past 1000
years as an infallable means of ideD-
tifcation.
Forged finger prints are possible,
but ineffective, it is said by officials
Of the association. "A criminal" said
the secretary of the association,
would have one chance of success in
million in fastening a crime upon
an innocent person by means of a
forged finger print. Our researches
show that in every case of repro
duced print the lines are palpab]y
false. They show up under strong
magnifying glass like rubber stamp
or wood engraving and not like the
original finger lines, which, by rea"
son of perspiratlOn and Oil, are clear
and sharply Defined
Handwriting experts may attempt
to discredit finger prints because
their use detracts from their business
but the fact remains that human
SEALS as the finger prints are called,
are an unfalla BILE test so far as iden-
tity is concerned. They have prac-
tically superseded the Bertillon sys-
tenn in New York state, but, Until the
law is changed the Bertillon must be
used in the penitentiaries. When
the lines are blurred, as often hap-
pens, finger print is worthless, but
if they are clear it is infallable evi-
dence. 1t has been shown that if the
finger ridges were shaved off OR sand
papered they came back.
1T is popularly supposed that fin
ger prints 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 eye The expert, however, will
take bit of powder-a dark powder
on a light surface or a light powder
on a dark surface-and will quickly
develop the print. The powders US
ed are lampblack, graphite, cinnebar,
red and mercurious sulphide and dra-
CONS blood.
Mature has carved on our fingers
these seals and they should be put
to civilian as well as police use. Un-
doubtedly 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 national 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 identify vic
tins of train wrecks or other disas7
ters, and for ascertaining the identi-
ty of persons who have temporarily
lost themselves.