Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-12-16

an enemy of capital When convinced that
the representatives, real or alleged of either
labor or capital have been guilty of crime
he has not hestated to fight them, and
number of crooks now serving prison SEN
fences would probably be willing to testify
that he is some fighter"
i do not say" Mr.. Burns observed, that
there are hundreds or thousands who would
Stay me- but do know of those who tried
their best to eliminate me. So far as I am
concerned they have failed, but these same
people have taken the lives of more than a
h ar bred other human beings 1 have brought
number Of them to justice, and am still
awe and watchful for my own safety My
name IS William j.. Burns, and my address
IS W2shington New York, London, Paris,
Montreal, Chicago, San Francisco. Los
-Sr.geles, Seattle, New Orleans, Boston Phila-
delphia, Cleveland, and wherever else a law
abiding citizen may find need of men who
know how to go quietly about throwing out
or ambush hidden assassin or drawing
from cover criminals who prey upon those
who walk straight"
One of the most important phases of the
reorganization work which Mr.. Burns is un-
dertaking in the Department of Justice has
to do with the establishment of a central
nnger print record bureau. This bureau Is
to be located In Washington, and in its
~~N"N~NN"NAs>aShs
cooperate with the police departments of
practically every city in America, as well as
the various private protective associations
throughout the country
f'or years a small finger print bureau has
been maintained by the Federal Government
at Leavenworth, Kan. and while 1t has been
useful, 1t has never attempted to operate on
anything like the scale contemplated for the
new central establishment. The records of
the Leavenworth bureau, however will be
brought to Washington and incorporated into
the new establishment,
Central Finger Printing
Bureau to Be Formed
The records of this central bureau will
constitute "rogues' gallery" more exact and
more valuable than any which might be filled
with photographs of the most desperate
criminals in the country
The discovery that there is peculiar sig
nificance in finger prints is an ancient one
Mr.. Francis Cation the famous sociologist,
long ago observed that significance, partly
Of a ceremonial and partly of super
stitious nature, was attached to finger prints
by the ancients, and by a series of patient
experiments and observations, established
that the finger prints of an individual re-
main practically unchanged from birth to
death in old age.
His conclusions were based on examination
of many sets of prints taken at different
times, and covering the interval from child
hood to boyhood, from boyhood to early man.
hood, from early manhood to middle age and
from middle to extreme old age
AS there Is no sign except in one case"
he said. of change during any of these four
intervals, which together almost wholly
cover the ordinary life of man. we are justi-
Tod In, inf rtYrr fbaA la4-
death there is absolutely no change in say
500 out Of 700 of the numerous character
istics of the markings of the fingers of the
same person such as can be impressed by
him wherever 1t is desirable to do So Neither
can there be any change after death I'D to
the time when the skin perishes through de-
composition; for example, the marks on the
fingers Of many Egyptian mummies and on
the paws Of stuffed monkeys still remain
legible."
The value Of the collection which Mr..
Burns Is establishing in Washington Is
almost incalculable. AS time goes on and
1t is added to- it will become a perfect ad-
dress book for the Identification of criminals.
If crime is committed in Los Angeles for
example, the police department of that city
VIII as matter Of routine, forward TO the
central bureau In Washington, photographs
or any finger prints which may be left at the
scene OF the crime. These finger prints will
be compared with those on file In the central
bureau and POSSIBLY they will be found to
correspond With those of some criminal
whose name rs known. If they cannot be
identified they will be filed away with care
full notations as to the circumstances of
their being made, and when at some future
cate a crook, apprehended for minor crime
perhaps Is found to have the same finger
prints, 1t Will at once be known that he
also committed the more serious previous
crime.
The Washington central bureau will also
cooperate with the finger print bureau of
the loentlty section Of the War Depart
ment also located In Washington. which has
a collection Of approximately 5000 900 finger
PRINT records of young men who came in
contact with the draft system during the
world war. This great collection has
already proved its value, not only in iden-
Trying criminals but also In Identifying I'M
known dead, and in few cases of identify
ing persons who have become afflicted with
mental aphasia
Mr.. Burns counts upon this central finger
print bureau to play very important part
N ms plan for making the Department of
Justice an instrument for the prevention of
crime He argues that man who knowa
his finger prints and name are on record in
he central bureau will hesitate to engage In
IN undertaking where he Is almost sure to
cave the telltale mprints somewhere about.
1t has been suggested that the Washing
.on central bureau of finger prints might
eventually be given truly national char
lcter, and that fing,- print impressions
would eventually be taken Of every child at
birth and forwarded to the central bureau as
! matter or routine, thus serving as q per-
ect means Of Identification throughout the
lie OF that particular child. This identifca
Ion would prove useful in many other
ways than In the detection of criminals for
t would often establish the innocence of
PERSONS wrongfully accused Of crime might
'ery reasonably prove of use In the estab-
ishment of the identity of persons involved
n cases Of disputed inheritance, and GER
ainly would be useful at times in identifying
'ictims of train wrecks. floods and other
disasters.
Mr.. Burns disclaims any knowledge Of an
ficial movement to get legislation through
congress to establish such national system
tdont ion, hut