Evening star., 1925-11-22
BY ELLIOTT THURSTON.


are buried each year in
the United States. Many
who die without having
on their person any
means Of identification are not crimi-
mails. Some of them are insured. and
II their death were proven their in
surance would redeem their families
from the misery Of utter poverty.
But there is no proof of death, not
even knowledge of it, The ear of
love continues Ia listen year after
year for step II will never hear.
In the morgues Of the United States
lie thousands Of unknown dead. kept
for a time in the hope that some one
will identify them. Most Of them are
finally buried. Over rheir graves is
the most tragic of all epitaphs. I'm
known
Thus the recently established Diyi
sion of identification Of the Depart
ment of Justice refers 10 one OF the
most terrible of human dramas. Hid
den in many of these nameless graves
are. secrets to astound the moralist.
the psychologist. the criminologist-
truths To strain the w"irdest imagina
ton.
"Ordinarily one would not look for
the truth that is Stra neer than fiction
among the cold dispassionate formulae
of fngerprint science" relates a re
port of the new division but II IS
To be found there. The Division Of
identification Of the Department of
Justice has made hundreds of identi-
hcationS under unusual conditions. II
has made identifications that would
delight the trained mind of the story
writer. and The mind of the moralist.
for always virtue is protected. always
Hn l..
his anti-social impulses is punished "
And the department narrates one
Illustrative instance that has been A
revelation To many police and students
OF crime. Names are omitted. but the
facts as given are true.
An unknown man was killed at
Bingham, Utah. When his man was
taken Ia the morGue and held for
identification. n mysterious woma n
appeared and claimed that the dea d
man was her husband and that his
name was T.. The officials were
dlscourteous enough tn doubt her
story. The hngerprinls Of the corpse
were sent To the Department Of
Justice. The reply sent back was that
the dead man was W c.. who
had been released from the United
States penitentiary. When these de
tails arrived At Bingham = search
TO- the woman proved futile.
Why did the woman seek Ia have
,he identity of the dead man fixed as
that of her husband? The story sub.
sequently unearthed by the depart
ment. in CO-opera tiun with police.
Shed light on a field Of criminal orig.
inality and daring that may have
been secretly exploited with success
in numerous cases.
IT developed in this case that the
mysterious woman was the con-
'ederate OF one Of the worst criminals
known 20 the authorities He had
hunted and harried him every day of
his life. Years ago he had been FIN
yerprinted." but the record was almost
-orgotten. buried as il was among
countless others in the dun flies of
the record room.
He had conceived the idea of first
insuring his life in favor of the wom-
an accomplice who posed as his wife.
Then he awaited the finding of some
unidentified body. the general descrip-
ton Of which would tally with his
own. Such body chanced to be
found in Utah. Tve woman feigning
anxiety. appealed to the police to ask
if they had heard of her husband or
of his arrest. She affected to know
nothing of the finding of the body
They asked her TO describe her hus-
band and his appearance. She gave
them name that made them regard
her with keen irterest-the name Of
the lonC-sou@ht criminal. And the
description Coincided with that of the
man then lying dead in the morgue
She was taken TO see the body and
with realism creditable to an ac-
complished actress. displayed all the
emotions of shock and grief that
might he expected of n bereaved wife
as she identified the dead man as her
husha nd
Some false tone. some jarring note
aroused the suspicion OF the police
To check UP they forwarded to the De
partment of Justice the fingerprints of
the dead man and asked if he was in
fact Tt. 1t took hut moment s
reference 10 discover that there was
no resemblance between the old finger