The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-03-16
TO PROTECT CHECKS
WITH FINGER PRINTS
slack" Morley, Former Valley City
Boy, Plans To Teach Business
Men How To Protect Checks
With Finger Prints. (
By JACK HORNER

by JAIN k1tSNI< Ell
Enactment of an ordinance requir-
ing that all bank checks be endorsed
with the thumb prints of the writers
as we'll as with their signatures, may
result from an organized campaign
which Detective j. B. Morley, head
of the police check squad, is waging
against bogus check operators in this
city.
The protection which such a law
would give local business men and
the advantage it would afford the po-
lice in experimenting and convicting
the check operators or "paper hang
ers" as they are known in the under
world, were outlined last week by
Detective Worley to Ray O. Baldwin,
secretary of the Long Beach Mer-
chants association
The idea impressed Secretary Bald
win very favorably and he is making
arrangements to have Detective Wor-
ley lay his plan before the Merchants
association in the near future.
Weekly Bulletins
Establishment of a check school to
educate merchants and their employees
how to detect worthless checks, and
publication of a bulletin containing
the pictures of notorious check op-
orators and Photographic copies Of
the types of checks they are passing,
are also being planned by. Detective
Morley. The bulletin would be pub
lished weekly and a copy of it would
be placed in the hands of every bus
mess man in Long Beach. =
Detective Worley, who formerly
was connected with the Royal North
west Mounted Police, was placed in
charge of the check bureau two
months ago by Police Chief McLen-
don. Since his appointment to that
position, Detective Worley has estab
lished an enviable record, capturing
80 per cent of the check passers who
have operated here during that time.
The average persons signature is
very easily forged, especially by the
professional check operator, but the
finger print, written in natures own
intricate pennlanship, is absolutely
enforceable. Morley explained today
in discussing his plan. -
Can't Duplicate Prints
According to figures compiled by
experts at the National Bureau of
Identification there is only one chance
in 28,147,5O4, 070,656 of any two per-
sons having identical prints.
In an illustration accompanying
this story, it is plainly seen how easy
it would be to trace the signature;
but to duplicate the finger print
would be an impossibility.
In many large eastern city banks
the finger print system already is be-
ing used extensively to identify de-
positors. A depositor in the govern
ment postal savings bank are required
to place their finger print on file with
the post office department and before
either interest or principal or the de-
posts are paid, the payee's prints
are taken again and compared with
the original ones.
Not only do the finger prints insure
conviction of the guilty, but they like
wise protect the innocent. Worley de-
clared yesterday in answering a ques
ton as to whether he did not expect
the public would be opposed to hav-
ing tiki, prints taken.
PH:.s::,,css Men Invited -'
Wit. ne thumb print of the writer
on eve. neck, it would also be an
easy ,:7rt+.cr for the police to keep
track Ct clc>'l operators after they
have ses,cd their terms and are re-
leased. If there was any suspicion
that worthless check had been pass
ed by some one arrested previously,
it would only be necessary to COM
pare the print on the check with those
on file at police headquarters, Worley
..
In order that local business men
may learn more about his method
of apprehending checks operators, he
has extended an open invitation to
them to visit lis office at any time.
He has scores C pictures of check
operators and sample checks from
which many identifications have been
Beach Telegram.