The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-08-02
finger PRINTS
ONLY SURE WAY
OF IDENTIFICATION
Time Doesn't Change This
Clue-Case of Famous
Mona Lisa Painting Solved
Many Crimes.
written for the International News
Service.)
BY MAHGERV aEx

N"eh ior tne international News
Service
49, ~ MARGERY rex. -.
NEW YORK, Aug. 2.-In Norristown,
Pn'' the brave mother of baby Blakeley
Coughlln, recently kidnaped Is keennp
up her spirits and saying she believes
her child will eventually be found.
&out meanwhile, whenever a clew is
discovered. whenever eaSv whose de-
scription tallies with that of her lost
son is found, Mrs. Cougn IN must take
trip to some distant place, expensive
ana disappointing at Irs end.
y Each day that passas is chanp,nr
spakeieys little features In A few
y ne were TO De found VI is doubt =
hM MS own mother would rccosI ize
There is only one means II Identified
ton that time doesn't change-the fin
ger prints. 'i0 In
Il Blakeley's tiny finger pyints had
zen taken, cards with facsimiles Of the
fMnorls and grooves lite eat on ev cry
n,l ne neingncould lave been forward
gu 70 authorities all over che country to
ftompare with any baby thought 10 lie
ehe chlld kidnapped from Norristown.
Inc finger print mas s.ived many
cftnnes. traced many murderers.
ru nome interested investigators CT the
VNf-
OF EWelis eyes had been photographed
q picture of the marderer might have
pscn found there. This theory was ia rt
o. statement WITH intent 10 prove
uarls more expert IN detecting crime
The idea of taking pictures of
dsad mems eyes is an ingenious theme
81 detective Stories said Frederick
huhhe, for many years attached to the
bureau Of criminal Identification of the
in nff ,x,l,z
ringer print expert.
But the finger print is the most
son. e "1' POI
Think of the endless trips and trou-
bic in store for Mrs. Coughlin, whose
Httie son has been stolen. No mother
could hear of any clew without looking
II up. And each trip that is fruitless
means sickening disappointment for
III mothers had children finger
prevented"
thought of a magazine story writ
ten a Few years ago by a clever young
woman In which she told of babies
pitfalls. Curious as it seems, brand new
mites OF humanity with the same col
oring of hair ana eyes could be very
easily mixed up. This writer recon-
mended at that time. 1 recall, the fin
ihAilb III DdDleS lTlHleQ1aIelY after
birth to avoid heart breaking mis-
sakes. Imagine the mental turmoil of
a young mother watching a child grow
up, never knowing if the little one she
sheltered elt were really her own.
,r children change rapidly when grow
characteristics become more definite.
But the tips of the fingers never change
except to grow larger, but in expand
ing the design Of the lines remains un-
"The idea of taking prints of fin
gers Is associated in most minds with
crime continued Mr., Kuhne. but il
should not be thought of in that respect,
IN view of the help it can render in
many any other exigencies Of life,
man making will. He may name a
relative for a beneficiary. But there
may be two men of the same name in
me family, After the signer of the win
Is delad, VINO can say To- which relative
finger print IF the object OF his benevo-
greatly.
"often. in severe accidents. people
are. so helplessly injured that their
bodies cannot be claimed by relatives.
In fires and other disasters II we had
flnger prints OF victims many a person
would not go to an unknown grave.
In the theft of the famous painting
u
thief.
Before that time the French did not
want to use finger prints. That would
mean the throwing out of the Bertilon
system The French are a very con-
sentative people in such cases,
Yet Tor long time prints had been
made secretly of the fingers of crimi-
nails and were kept in the archives of
, the Paris police.
>-j'Vincenzo Pernugio, while he was
working in the Louvre. stole the picture
because, according to his own state
ment he wanted his own country,
work of her son, Leonardo da Vinci.
But he left finger prints on the
glass and frame that had inclosed Mona
Idsa's famous smile. Later it was
found those marks were identical with
the prints Of Pernugio's digts taken on
previous occasion, when he had been
convicted Of carrying firearms without
In the Caruso gem robbery the
strong box that contained the jewels
should not have been touched after
the loss was discovered. But everyone
about handled 1t and the traces of fin
gers must have been oblterated.
Crime, nevertheless, IL pretty skill
fully studied and traced here in Amer-
ca, 1t is unfair to compare our methods
with those used in Paris, for a police
man in that city may take a man to
Jail and detain him there several days
or longer without bringing him into
court. In this land, II court IS in ses-
sion, a man arrested must be taken
there Immediately Aud false arrest is
dangerous business here.
I'm America a man is innocent until
he can be proved guilty. Abroad the
opposite is true"