Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-07-21
i. S. Guards Payroll
By Fingerprinting
To Keep Off Crooks

parison with the records of the CEN
trail fingerprint register Of the de-
partment Of justice.
Concrete Re
Thus far the results have more
than justified the expense involved.
For example, the losses Of the New
York City post office were reduced
so per cent duri--g a Christmas hol-
iday rush by fingerprinting all ap-
pllcantS for temp airy employment.
"A man who had embeZzled funds
from the Cleveland post office and
served three years at Leavenworth
applied under another name for a
position in the Detroit post office,
but was caught through finger
prints.
An application f. employment in
the Philadelphia post office was
found through f~ingerprintS to be
under indictment in Los Angeles for
a holdup.
Nearly a hundred cases such as
these have been brought to light
in the civil SC ice commissions
central finge-print office in Wash
ington during the past three
months alone.
Fingerprint records taken by the
civil service commissions agents
throughout the COUNTRY are first
c1c---ed locally, but the keystone Of
the whole system is the central
fingerprint register Of the depart
ment Of justice. After the local
checking. the records are sent to
the commissions office in Wash
ington anC areS 0mpared with the
department Of Justices register,
which is made Up Of reports from
penal institutions al over the coun-
try. The commission now main
tains expert f~ingerprint classifiers
in its main office and in several OF
its district offices.
In addition, the police depart
mentS Of most cities send to the
commission the f~ingerprint records
photographs, and other descriptions
Of wanted persons, that is, those
who have escaped penal institutions
or are wanted for other reasons
These reports r a valuable aux
iliary to the reg e the depart
me- Of justice.
Prints Cannot Fail
1t has been said that nothing
human IS infallible, but finger
prints a. an exception. They are
infallible. TIE r. IS depe-l -cr
q popularity q n the ar
hand, and to some ex.clt in the
human foot. The skin is traversec
in all directions by crc--es anC
r----s which are -leradicable and
show no cha from childhood tc
extreme old c. The persistence
Of the markings of the bulbs Of the
fingers has len proved --ond al
question. and this universally &C.
{ tied quail is lie ba1. of the
present syste Of Identification.
A study of the records collected
thus far by the civil service com
mission reveals the fact that a con.
siderable number Of those whose
fingerprints are recorded are ole
and frequent offenders and art
what might be called specialists
in particular crimes or misdemean.
ors. They have established a ben
for a certain kind of wrong-doing
One who has been convicted O
criminal assault may be expected TX
repeat that offense. Men who have
specialized in stealing automobile
parts have continued that particu'
lar kind of larceny after employ
ment by the government. How
ever, a grand larceny expert" sci.
dom "stoops" to petty larceny.
The United States civil servic'
commission feels that the numbe,
of criminals caught" will not be
correct index Of the value Of fin
gerprinting in its work. 1t is sig
nificant that in some examination
a large number of thos- who pas
the mental tests fail to report TO
fingerprinting. When 1t is general
ly known that ~fingerprints of al
| appointees will be taken, it IS onl,
to be expected that the crimina
element will absent itself from
among the applicants for fedora
employment