Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1924-12-18
SCIENCE IN
DETECTu)NOF
CRIME: CASES


BY lecture given by Professor J.
Howard Mathews at the regular
luncheon of the Kiwanis club at
the Warren on Wednesday. Pro-
lessor Mathews is director of
course in chemistry at the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin and as a diyer-
sion has devoted considerable time
in investigating crimes in various
parts Of the state.
TO detect criminal by means of
science is simple, is business, and
is accomplished by means of weay-
ing facts together The only thing
necessary is to go about the case
in q scientific way, collect all the
scraps Of evidence together, and
pin them onto the right person.
The first case Professor Mathews
discussed was the Magnuson muir
der in Wood county. There was
drainage proposition and Magnu-
son rot only objected to paying his
share Of the costs but seriously re-
sisted the ditch crossing his land,
In July, 1922, the dredge was
blown up but nothing was done
about it. A short time before
Christmas the same year, county
official received package and
when this was opened in his home
there was terrific explosion which
killed his wife, badly jured the re-
cipient, but caused no i'll effects
TO nephew standing nearby.
Workshop Furnishes cIew
Magnuson was suspected. lie
had a workshop, was of mechani-
cal turn, had been SPY in the war,
and knew about explosives and
bombs. The officers hauled ey-
erything away from his shop and
Professor Mathews and others lent
their aid in solving the mystery.
Pieces Of iron from the package
were found to be the same as those
taken from the shop, this being de-
termined by treating the pieces in
the laboratory.
Capitalization in iron and steel
Is such that no two are exactly
alike, the difference depending up
on the heat and chemical compost
ton
Not only did the pieces of iron
come in as evidence but other parts
Of the bomb were found to cores
pond to substances found in the
workshop.
smother strange incident was that
the ink used in writing the address
on the package was found to be Il
combination of two kinds of ink
us determined by Il Milwaukee ex-
pert. 1t was later found that Mag
nuson had borrowed a fountain pen
from his son, used at school and
then added more ink just before &d-
dressing the package at his home
by means of comparing the muc-
ilage, glue, and other parts OF the
package with materials i'll the Mag
nuson home, it was also decided
that the. internal machine must
have been constructed by the de-
PENDANT i'll the case and his convic-
ton followed
Murder Case
The speaker also showed how
murder was fastened upon man
in Outagamie county by means of
eIoselr examining the ball fired
from d rife. It was a 32-40 bullet
and by marks on the lead it was es-
*ablished that the bullet came from
1 rifle belonging to the defendant
III still another case it was de-
a.ded from the shells found at the
scene of the crime that they came
from a gun owned by the defendant.
The speaker emphasized the fact
that the firing pin always writes
its autograph on the shell, since no
two firing pins are exactly alike.
Preserve The EVIDENCE
Professor Mathews urges that
every scrap of evidence after 9
crime be collected and carefully
preserved. Also that guns and
other objects be not handled as this
leads to much valuable evidence
being destroyed.
The lecture was fully illustrated
the slides being shown by students
of the Baraboo high school on q
new glass screen. This can be
used in the day time.
District Attorney II. j. Bohn,
Sheriff W. H. Ode. and others in
terested in the detection OF crime
were present.
T. F. Risley Rev. E. G. Henke,
and w. e. Baringer. compose. a com.
mittee to submit nominations at the
next meeting.
viii Miller of Portage invited tbs
club to minstrel show given by
the Portage Kiwanis club.
President E. r. Dithmar was i'll
and Vice President George 0. Nc
Arthur presided. Ben Jones LED