The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-01-18
Chinese First Used the
System in Keeping
Up With Slaves.
HISTORY INTERESTING
Evolution Of World Wide
Method of Caecbing
Crooks Gradual.

one OF the older sciences. and yet
one that Is considered now, because
its workings are SO fun OF myster!-
Gus details, Is that of finger printing
prisoners.
This was vividly recalled 10 Okla
homans on Wednesday OF this week
whep jury in the Rogers county
district court, sitting at Claremoro,
found Otis Wright. negro. guilty
II grand larceny, and sentencing him
TO five years IN the state peniten-
tiary at McAlcster. The crime that
Wright committed was the theft OF a
Buick automobile. owned by NJ. Il.
Taylor OF Claremore.
Finger print Impressions that
Wright made upon the glass window
OF Taylor's garage when he broke
into the building were found to COM
pare to the most minute details TO
finger print Impressions that Joseph
y, Durand, finger print expert OF
the Tulsa police department, took of
him when he was taken into custody
here by Sheriff Jim Wooucy.
When Durand began explaining TO
the court and jury me finger print
system, telling how the Chinese
monarchs used It many centuries be-
fore Christ In keeping tab on their
subjects, and Of its use In the Mo-
hammedan states OF India. and even
in Egypt, then Of its modern rccov-
cry and development until today no
model police or sheriffs department
is working without IL.
Upon the jury were three former
soldiers, and they sat mp aud began
70 listen attentiVely to the calm and
collected manner Of the detective.
Each recalled how Uncle Sam used
The finger prints to keep track Of his
soldiers, sailors and marines, and OF
us success in capturing desertcrs and
A. w. q. l.. men and I'm detecting
criminals elsewhere. and when he
told OF the recent convictions secured
IN this and European countries on
the basis OF the finger prints, they
were convinced.
Then when the defense made an
effort to attack the accuracy of the
finger prints, but appeared to quit,
the other members Of the Jury were
too Impressed. Durand said that
there were no two finger prints alike,
no matter how similar the measure
ments taken by the Rertillon system
appeared, and that he was positive
that the prints made on the Taylor
garage were the same as made by
Wright, the negro defendant
The jury pondered on the case ius,
long enough to elect foreman and
return a verdict OF guilty and the
sentence fixed.
The first attempt 10 classify finger
print impressions or patterns so that
others might learn how to use them
was by Professor J. r. Purkinie. in
Breslau, Prussia, In 1923. He estab-
lished nine types for the prints
Some time afterwards Sir William
Herschel, executive officer OF courts
In the Hoogly district, in Bengal
India. adopted a method Of identifi-
cation by means OF finger prints and
required that All public documents
he stamped with the thumb print Of
the applicant In 1885 Sir Francis
Galton originated an improved sys-
tenn OF Identification by tracing the
ridges, separating designated pat
terms into standard types, and orig
mating n new system entirely OF
classification.
His system was further improved
by Sir Edward Richard Henry Of
Scotland Yards, England, and finger
print exports all over the word to-
day are using iIenry's system Of
classification.
Mr.. Durand says that one OF the
most remarkable instances in which
the value of the finger print system
was proven took place in 1908 az the
United States civil peniton tiary IN
Leave enworth, Kan. william Nc
Claughry, then in charge OF IN"
Identification bureau there. was
checking up some prisoners one day
when negro from Indian Territory