Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-01

then the ballistic expert claims there
can be no doubt that both bullets were
fired from the same barrel.
1T is not necessary that all of these
scratches merge" Col. Goddard ex-
planned. Sometimes it happens that
two bullets fired from the same gun dc
not tally with respect to all the lines
first bullet left behind it in the barrel
of the gun small particles of lead, which
Smeared or obliterated certain Of the
scratches on the second bullet.
No Set Rule for Study.
"There is no set rule that can be ad-
hered to. Each case must be studied
individually. The expert is not fooled
by these discrepancies, however. If a
he knows the bullets had the same
| origin.
! Gun and bullet identification no
longer is matter of an experts opin-
ion. 1t is science as dependable in
criminology as Bertillon measurements
and finger printing. The ballistic ex-
! pert supports his findings nowadays
with Photographic plates that show
facts as they are. Any intelligent lay
man can see for himself what the
microscope reveals to the examiner"
demonstrates Use.
Col. Goddard demonstrated the use
OF his microscope for the benefit of The
Stars correspondent. He took from the
| drawer Of his desk one of q number of
pill boxes containing fatal and test bull
lets, removed the two lead objects and
placed them under the lenses.
See those curving grooves?" ne said.
You will notice the grooves fit quite
well. But the little lines in between do
not match each other at all. That is
because We have the wrong groves end
to end. Now I'll turn this bullet
| around until the correct groove comes
up. There you are. See how beauti-
fully those situations on the test bullet
| coincide with those on the fatal bullet?
That bullet killed a man. and those
little lines pointed the way to capture
OF the murderer"
Looks at Inside Of Barrel.
The expert was asked what caused
the scratches For an answer he took
a revolver barrel. inserted it in a de-
vice resembling somewhat small lathe,
and showed into the barrel long, mar
row tube, fitted with an eyepiece.
Take a look in there" the profess
SCR said. The reporter looked into the
eyepiece and was amazed to see a great
Tor view OF the barrel The rifiing grooves.
rust marks, scratches and other blem-
1shes easily were distinguishable. The
long tube contained at the other end
miniature electric bulb and a pow-
erful microscope lens. The barrel
could be rotated and moved Longitude
naliy, so that every part of the interior
could be Scrutinized.
Those marks on the barrel" God
dard explained, SHOW you why no two
guns possibly can be exactly Identical
Every stroke Of the rifling tool leaves
different impression on the barrel.
Several years ago / had six guns made
at the Springfield Arsenal and they
were supposed to be absolutely alike
-Four OF the barrels were made on the
same machine and two on another. Bull
let's were fired from each of the bar
rels and secretly marked so that q dis
interested party could tell from which
gun each was shot. . n the bullets
and guns were scramble up and given
to me, for study.
Check Proved He Was Right.
''Under the microscope it was an easy
matter to unscramble them, and soon
from which 1t had emerged. A check
of the secret marks by the referee
showed that I had identified the bull
lets correctly. Similarly convincing
tests have been made by other authori-
ties, including DR.. Souder. Gun-and-
bullet Identification is not hit-and-
miss proposition. It Is an exact science
that Is proving of inestimable value in
society'S war on crime"
Col. Goddard Is not by nature of
boastful disposition. On the contrary,