The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-07-27
sMUDGING -1E auz. PRINTS.
Destroying or goncealing Evidence in
a Criminal Case


Destroying or coneealing evidence In q
criminal case is itself criminal when dono
purposely. 1t is no less effective in pre-
venting justice when it is done in blind
erlng ignorance. Evidence is frequently
destroyed in this way by persons who
unwlttlngly ''smudge' fingerprints. we
are told by George A. Fargher, managing
editor. Of The Finger Print Magazine
lCmcago). \ smudged fngerprint is rem
dered valueless, Of course land the trouble
Is that many valuable finger-prints are
invisible until brought out by special
treatment. An invisible fingcr-print can
be smudgcd as well as IA visible
one, and Mr.. Fargher says that the only
rule to be followed is hands Off" when
the material objects near the scene of A
crime are concerned. Any of these may
bear upon 1t tingerprint that will con
wet the criminal unless previously
smudged by some amateur sleuth. Mr.
Fargher entities his editorial, "Smudgers
the Destroyers of Evidence" He
writes:
A 'smudge' in fnger-print work is an
unreliable, useless print. 1t is, as has
been aptly put, an abomination
On Friday, in September, at Northome,
Lake Mlnnetonka, there occurred the
most cold-blooded murder ever heard of
IN that part of the country.
girl bride only sixteen years old was
found murdered in a cottage. She had
been stabbed with butcher-knife. The
murderer, not being satisfied that the
victim was dead, had taken baseball bat
and beaten her.
The best clew which might have been
used were the inger-prints on the knife
handle and those on the baseball bat.
There were also few bloody prints
found on one Of the door castings.
Before the fngcr-print expert arrived
from town land we are informed that he
did not get ON the job until the next day,
for some reason or other), so many peo-
pie had handled the knife and bat that
the prints found were Of no use The
iinger-print experts were unable to de-
velop the bloody prints, and so was de-
stroyed positive evidence which would
have brought to justice at once the per-
retrators Of this horrible crime
This is the same old terrible story. It
is the story of the Smudgcrs- generally
brainless, inquisitive, morbid neighbors.
Sometimes it is an inexperienced police
othcer-more shame to him! But, any
how, it is the Smudgers who rush in upon
Lue SCENE OF u crime sucn az. TINS. Ihey
grab up the bloodstained knife and the
baseball bat, both with the indisputable
evidence of the murderers finser-printsl
on them. They smudge these over
They simply must handle everything so
they can tell the other neghbors that
they held in their own hands the imple-
ments of the crime They consider it
something to be proud of. They are
Smudgers They care not about the days
end even years of agony and Suffering
That their actions, in destroying the best
evidence against the murderer, will cause
The Smudgers grab up everything I'M
sight before the police officers arrive. BY
handling everything connected with the
crime. the Smudgers NAV be sending an
innocent man to the gallows or to spend
his life in penitentiary Cireumstantial
evidence is often 80 strong that an limo
cent man suffers the penalty Of the real
murderer. because the finger-prints can
not be developed
The Smudgers care nothing about the
results they are GREETING by their de
structive work. They do not think Of
the immense sums Of money the city. the
state or someone, pays out before the
mysterr is cleared ND and the right per-
son brought to Justice They think not