Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-03
BY REX COLLIER,
Stan Correspondent of The Star.

CLdIl lOAlCOIOBISI. IL NOuld llOI w lOl
the key to fall into the hands of un-
are hazardous enough, but Dr. Muehl-
berger's hobby is the study Of unusua
and mysterious poisons, of insidiou:
drugs known only to the experienced
chemist and the Scientific" criminal
DR.. Muehlberger. a pleasant be-
muStached man in his middle thirties
turned the key in the lock and showed
open the heavy barred door, AS he die
so a large rat scampered across the
floor and disappeared under a steam
radiator in the corner.
That's my pet" the chemist said
with laugh. We're great friends
He helps me in some of my experiments
with drugs"
He motioned toward a small box,
with screened top, under window.
peered in and saw a stable aggrega-
ton Of rodents, evidently quite tame.
Like Other Laboratories.
In general appearance the poison
laboratory did not differ markedly from
the ordinary university chemistry LAB. y
There were the long work benches lit
tered with retortS, test tubes, Bunsen
burners and other paraphernalia; the
shelves of labeled bottles, the sinks and
ObAlCL SqdIPLllClll LII ddOIGLOLl, tllClC
was a large electric refrigerator for
biologicalS
Here DR.. Muehlberger is bringing
into play the latest processes devised
to aid science in outWitting the muir
derer the robber, the forger. the coun-
terfeiter and others who do not take
into account this possibilities of Scien-
tiflc investigation. The doctor che also
holds a PHI. D. degree) is nothing il
not versatile.
DR.. Muehlberger is a native Of Chi
cago, so he is not stranger to North
western University. During the World
War he was in the chemical warfare
service, and now he hold a commission
as captain in the Reserves. Since 1928
he has been State toXicologist of Wis
conSin and since 1924 he has held ar
assistant professorship at the Univer-
Sity of Wisconsin. After joining North
Westerns crime laboratory he was
added to the faculty of that university
also
TIE chemist has an important role
IN the modern archaeological clinic
With the help of his miraculous re-
agents and catalysts he isolateS and
Identifies the rare poiSonS of the cum
ming murderer, he literally reads be-
tween the lines" of a mysterious mes
sage. he diScloses Identification marks
fired from gun or automobile and he
performs a thousand and one other
seemingly impossible feats.
Identified Gun.
An intercepted letter from one con-
spirator to another may appear to be
nothing more than a friendly greeting
but, treated with certain chemicals
there may become visible secret mes
sage of grave import.
A revolver used in recent notable
murder in Chicago was tossed away at
the scene, with the manufacturers
numbers carefully filed from the steel
To filed surface was bathed in acid
and gradually the original numbers
c,clled themselves clearly in relief. The
chemist knew that the stamping of
numbers on the gun by die had
maehed the steel and changed its
physical characteristics so as to resist
acids.
The steel surrounding the number
was eaten away by acid more rapidly
than that which had been compressed
beneath the numbers. The gun was
traced to its owner. who was arrested
and charged with the Staying.
Quite recently, J. Edgar Hoover, d.
rector of the United States Bureau of
Investigation. told me of a case at
Fort Sam Houston. Tex, in which
scrapings from the fingernails of a
dead woman resulted in solution Of a
puzzling crime. The woman's body had
been found, bruised and battered. in
the wreckage of an automobile which
had crashed into a rayine on the mill
tarv reservation.
Apparently 1t was an accident, and
lDccl authorities were prepared to let it
go at thai,
Broke Down Alibi.
Since the accident" had occurred on
Federal territory. the Department of
Justice was called into the investiga-
ton. Some of Hoover's scientifically
trained special agents in the San An
tonic Office Of the Bureau Of Inves.iga-
ton examined the body and grew
suspicious. There was an injury on
the woman's head that did not seem
to have been received in the crash.
The husband a soldier. was ques-
toned and it was noted he had deep
scratches on his neck and chest. But
he produced what appeared to be an
iron-clad alibi. Two other soldiers
testified he had been at the fort about
the time Of the crash.
The Government detectives were not
satisfied. They scraped the debris from
underneath the woman's f1ngernails
and analysed it. They found it to be
bits Of human flesh.
Encouraged by this discovery, the
alibi witnesses were subjected to an
othcr questioning and they admitted
finally they had lied at the urgent re-
quest of the woman's husband.
Confronted with the fingernail EVIL
dence and the collapse of the faxed
alibi the soldier broke down and con-
11n I,al Iii hi Er-ifn y a
wrench and then had driven her body
to the ravine, jumped from the car
and sent the machine and its grue-
some burden into a "cover-up" crash.
Chemical. microscopic and ultra
violet ray analytical research is work.
ing wonders in modern crime detection
Col Goddard of the Northwestern
Crime Laboratory places special en-
phasis. on dust analysis. During a re-
cent tour of European police laborato-
rics he was impressed by the dust
studies conducted by such an eminent
analyst as Edmund Locard of. France.
Traced by Pollen.
Just as Sherlock Holmes was able to
read startling stories in dust, dirt and
mud, so arc the modern Investigators
finding clues OF major Importance in
sand, clay, SCOT, spores, pollen and fine
powder of every description.
August Vollmer, associated with God
dard in the Chicago laboratory. re-
calls an instance in which pollen grains
found in dust on the pocket knife CT
a certain suspect proved he had trav-
eled through a certain mountain sec
4 TKTCDECT