Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-14
War Against Organized Crime in America

vestigated the Clark street massacre, the for
ner serving as foreman.
1T was the consensus that the laboratory
should be set up as a part of a university. Ar
rangements eventually were made with North
western for the establishment not alone of the
Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, but of
q chair of forensic ballistics, with Goddard oc-
cupying the latter Much of the credit for
bringing these things about must be given to
Mr. Massee and Mr. Olson, who have assisted
literally in the financial plans"
A VISIT to the universitys unique depart
ment of criminology is a novel expert
ence. There is nothing quite like the labora-
tory this side of the Atlantic. and few, il
any places comparable to it abroad. Goddard
has visited most of the European laboratories
and has patterned his own establishment after
their good points. He has incorporated in the
Chicago laboratory not only the advanced ideas
of an experienced Old World technique but
the several archaeological arts in which. be-
Neve it or not, the United States is beginning
20 show the way to others.
The laboratory is rather exclusive. One is
admitted by invitation Here is one place
where the gate-crasher will meet his Waterloo.
One either enters through approved channels,
or one brings down upon his head all sorts OF
disaster. The burglar who succeeds in break
ing into this place must perform miracles.
Every square foot of the walls, windows and
with concealed wires, the least disturbance of
which spreads a general alarm. Even though
an intruder should, somehow, gain entrance,
he would stumble into other traps-trip wires
and the like-that would announce his presence
to guards and police. sr.s4
Why all these precautions? Because within
the confines OF the laboratory there are today
and there will continue to be from time to
time, grim bits of evidence that criminals
would risk their lives to obtain. Evidence that
tbp lives of certain underworld fig
ures when the time comes for dispensing justice
A tiny, misshapen leaden slug bearing telltale
"fngerprints' of a suspected gangster's gun.
An innocent-looking letter with an incriminat-
ing double message in invisible ink.
smudge of dust piece of clothing, ready
to proclaim to the microscopic a marvellous
record of its owners recent movements A place
of caked mud from a suspects shoe-as valu-
able to the modern scientific detective as it
was to Sherlock Holmes.
August Vollmer, special police expert of
President Hoover's Commission on Law En-
forcement and Law Observance and professor
of police administration at the University Of
Chicago, who is an associate member of the
staff of the Scientific Crime Detection Labora-
tory, tells this story to illustrate how science is
out-Sherlockng the great Sherlock:
0CEVERAL years ago a number of sticks OF
dynamite were found close to a residence
IN Berkeley Calf The explosive was deliv-
cred intact to DR.. Albert Schneider, director
of the Berkeley police laboratory, who care
fully removed the burlap and paper in which
the dynamite inclosed. piece of cotton
Irvine bound the second layer of paper. The
Irvine was removed, immersed in distilled water
and shaken violently. Later the water
syphoned out of the vial and the precipitated
material subjected to careful microscopic ex-
animation
THE scientist reported. as near I can
call from memory, that the Irvine had come
from a farm upon which would be found
swift stream of water, pine trees, several
rieties of designated shrubs, black and white