Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-23
NIP NAVY FRAUDS
BY IDENTIFICATION
Officials Use Fingerprints to
Protect Living and Dead
In Service.

Fingerprints have enabled the Navy
not only TO establish 100 per cent
record Of Identification Of its dead in
maritime disasters, but have put an
end to Q recruiting racket" that was
defrauding the Government of thou
sands Of dollars.
The enlistment frauds involved a
clever scheme for obtaining transpor-
tation at the expense Of Uncle Sam,
and was being worked with astounding
success until the hngerprint system was
established in naval recruiting stations.
According to J. H. Taylor, chief OF
the identification section Of the Bureau
of Navigation, between $50 and 800 men
;were enlisting In the Navy annually
under the scheme, which called for
desertion after free transportation and
subsistence had been afforded the re
cruit."
Repeaters Are Caught.
"These men enlisted simply for the
purpose Of obtaining transportation
from one city to another" Taylor de-
clared. They had no idea OF report
ing at the training stations Tor duty.
"The only way we found TO aPpre-
bend these men was TO put one'nnger
system of prints In eject at eecn re-
used for the imprint The prints were
classified and the men on duty at the
stations were given instructions re-
Eardinx operation Of the system.
'sThus. every one who enlisted at the
stations had their thumb prints com
pared with those Of descr.ers on file.
In less than six months the culprtts
all had been Appreciated at the re-
cruiting stations to which they came
In an attempt to repeat their opera
lions"
Government Protected.
Thousands of dollars have been saved
the Government since the thumpprtnt
system was established in the recruiting
service, Taylor estimated. The system
cost practically nothing to install, ne
said. Before each recruiting Statlon q.
came q Gngerprint ONCE, the perpe"
traitors Of the graft were able 70 obtain
transportation and subsistence ana
then desert before their nngerprtntS
could be checked on at the Navy De"
partment. The decentralization OF the
system eliminated delays involved In
correspondence and effected prompt
Identification ON the spot.
Other irregularities IN the service
have been detected BY the hngerprtnt
system, -hich now embraces the entire
service. 1ecords Of more than l,AOO,-
600 oficel and men are on ale q the
Navy Depar Int.
Imp0sters Detected.
Prints Of naval heroes mingle with
those of men dishonored for various Gets
calculated to bring disrepute upon the
service. Records Of men lost ct sea rest
beside those of men dismissed for
crimes and disorder.
Those records are the huiwark against
undeairables who apply for enlistment:
against tnpostorS who claim adjusted
homes for soldiers and sailors, and
against thieves within the ranks.
More important than any Of these
uses, however, are the accomplishments
of naval Identification work In connec-
ton with submarine and other disasters
In time OF peace and In Identification
Of the dead In time Of war.
Identification Of every man who lost
his life in the sinking. Of the submarines
work Of naval fngerprint experts, &c.
cording to Taylor.
Fingers Tell Story.
Thirty-three bodies were recovered
from the Inflated S-5l after she was
rammed by the City Of Rome on Sep
TENDER IS. 1928, and 40 were found
In the hulk Of the 81 after she was in
collision with the Coast Guard ship
Paulding on December II, 1927.
It took weeks Of heroic salvage work
20 reclaim the victims from the bot
tom Of the sea, and some of the bodies
might never have been identified but
for the mute story told by the fingers
Of the dead men. Some Of the bodies
had been in the water for from six
to nine months. 50 that Identification
by other means was impossible.
Teeth also have played vital role
points out. Every man in the Navy
has in his personal file a chart Of
his teeth, with all cavities, filings, ex-
fractions and other peculiarities noted
Unknown Dead Traced.
The charts of teeth proved to be in
valuable in determining the Identity
OF Navy men killed In the great ex-
plosion and IRE at the Lake Den
mark, N. j., arsenal in 1928. In that
holocaust the bodies Of nine sailors
were 90 nuttlated that flngerpfint COM
PARSONS were out Of the question. The
mystery Of the identity Of these men
finally was cleared up By examina-
ton of their teeth.
Fingerprints are reducing the an
nual number Of unknown dead and
aphasia victims, Taylor stated.
In cases of the unknown dead who
have had honorable service" he said,
cit means that they are buried with
full military honors. If it were not for
the hngerprints these men would be
buried In unmarked graves and their
identities never would be known.
Prom reports have received, be-
lieve that in few years it will be
impossible for a person to lose his
identity in this country.
las the value Of hngerprints becomes
established and as the bureaus through
out the country grow larger the chances
for persons 70 lose their identity will be
greatly diminished
AT one time there were 10000 I'M
known dead in this country each year.
but fingerprints are helping 10 reduce
this number"