Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-05-20
u. S. TO RETAIN
FINGER PRINTS
DRAFT SECURED
Millions of Impressions Kept
When Govt. Establishes
Identification Bureau.
MUCH IN DEMAND

WASHINGTON, May 20.-In the iden-
tifcation section of the War Department
IN the old Ford Theater, where Abraham
Lincoln was shot, there has been col
lected a mass of evidence which is ex-
pected during the years to come to play
an important part in the conviction OF
thousands of criminals, and likewise to
aid IN the generation of perhaps other
thousands of innocent men, who through
force Of circumstances became the OBJ
jects Of suspicion.
The evidence in question is the finger
print records Of more thans 100000
men whose imprints were taken when
<hey came in contact with the machinery
of the selective service organization OF
the War Department during the war.
Scarcely a day passes that the War De
partment is not called upon by the pO-
lice Of various cities and towns through
cut the country to try to identify the
finger prints Of some one who has been
involved in a crime or fatal accident.
HELPED SAVE
WANDERER CASE.
A recent inquiry from Chicago IN con.
nection with the notorious Carl Wonderer
murder case is perhaps typical THE
Ragged Stranger" who is alleged to
have been shot by Lieutenant Wanderer
while the stranger was staging a fake
hOld-up for which Wanderer had paid
him a small sum of money, had never
been satisfactorily identified. The police
believed him to be Earl Keessee of Nil
waukee, and that he had served In the
Army either under the name Of keessee
or that Of Edward Morgan of Texas.
Knowing that the finger print records
Of every man who had served in the
Army since the Identification system was
installed were on file with the War De
partment, they sent the imprints Of the
Ragged Strangers" fingers to Washing
ton for comparison, investigation
showed that q man named Earl Keessee
had enlisted in the Army from Miiwau-
kee, but the finger prints Of Keessee were
different from those OF the Ragged
Stranger" It was found that no less
than six Edward Morgans had served in
the Army, and that two OF them were
from Texas, but the finger prints Of the
man slain in Chicago did not tally with
those OF any OF the Edward Morgans who
had served in the Army.
PRETTY SOFT
FOR sHERIFFs.
So prolific has the Identification section
OF the Army become as a means Of cap
turing criminals that every now and then
the department has to squelch some am
bilious sheriff who tries to make the
Aervice pay him dividends. The method
Ordinarily used is simple. A sheriff
make a collection of notices Of reward
offered for the capture of criminals. Then
he arrests every tramp that comes his
way. takes his finger prints and sends
them to the War Department in Wash
'ngton for Identification. As the War
Department has the finger print records
OF practically every able-bOdied young
man in the United States, It often hap
pens the War Department is able to tell
the sheriff the name Of the man he has
In custody,
Thereupon the sheriff checks over his
list Of rewards offered and IL he finds
the eaptives name among them he i'm
mediately notifies the persons offering
the reward and then proceeds TO collect.
The Identification section OF the War
Department is in charge Of Walter s.
Kaye, who was the organizer Of the first
identity section" in use in the War De-
psrrment. The main purpose Of the iden-
tity section is to identify unknown dead
in time Of war, and to keep undesirable
ex service men from re-enlisting under
assumed names. Lately it has been sup
plying Identification records to soldiers
h necessary in securing discharges, and in
addition has been a source OF great as
stance to the police in Identifying Grim
ais among discharged service men.