The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-04-17
F"INCERPRINT EVIDENCE

buckle, charged with manslaughter,
it was sought by the prosecution to
show that Arbuckle had made an at
tack on the young woman in ques-
ton, and in order to prove this, evil
dence of fngerprints on the door be-
tween two rooms was offered in evil
dence. It was contended by the gov
eminent that the fngerprints on the
door were those of Arbuckle and of
the young woman, and that they
showed that they had been made dur
ing a struggle. This the defendant
denied, and much expert evidence
was offered concerning the finger
prints, one set of experts saying they
were those of Arbuckle and Miss
Rappe while the other set of experts
denied this.
This recalls that in this state we
have already approved bloodhound
evidence as a means of proving
crime, and that sooner or later we
shall have cases in our courts where
fngerprint evidence plays a large
part, if indeed we have not already
become acquainted with this kind of
evidence.
In this view it occurs to US that our
readers will be interested in an ar
ticle from Case and Comment, in the
current issue, on this subject. 1t is
as follows:
"The use of finger prints in max
ing personal Identification is said to
have been known to the Chinese be-
fore the birth of Christ. Such prints
r found in the Assyrian clay tab
lets in the British Museum. Finger
print records states Judge Wadhams
in People v. Sallow, 100 Misc. 447,
165 N. Y. Supp. 925, have been con-
stantly used as a basis Of information
for the courts since Sir Francis Gal
ton proved that the papillary ridges
which cover the inner surface of the
hands and the soles Of the feet form
patterns, the main details of which
remain the same from the sixth
month Of the embryonic period until
decomposition sets in after death.
It has been asserted that a finger
print is an enforceable signature,
and the most positive and certain
means of identification known to
men,
"The ~fnger-print system has, not
only been utilized to discover and
identify lawbreakers, but its value
has been recognized by banks and
other corporations and passport bu-
reaus. Perhaps the day is not far
distant when people will sign checks
with their finger prints. On some
railroads it is said freight handlers
are required to leave their finger
prints along with their signatures in
acknowledging the receipt Of goods.
"The unique marking of the finger
tips may save as well as condemn.
Recently, in Chicago, thirty-eight
witnesses positively identified a sus-
pect as being a certain person charg-
ed with swindling. But his finger
prints, when compared with those of
the real culprit, which were on rec
ORD, established his innocence. The
judge who discharged him character,
lied the mistake as the most start
ling proof Of human fallibility' he
had ever seen.
"In contrast with this is the Incl
dent Of the charitable worker who
said to an inmate of the jail3 My
good man, / hope that since you have
come here you have had time for
meditation and have decided to cor
rect your faults
81 have that, num-" replied the
prisoner in heartfelt tones. Believe
me, the next job l pull, this baby
wears gloves
"In the recent Arizona case of
Moon V. State, 1913 Pac. 28S, ammo
tated in 16 A. l.. R. 1862, it is held
that evidence of correspondence of
fnger-print impressions, when intro
duced by qualified fnger-print ex-
perts, is admissible to connect an
accused with a crime committed.