Evening star., 1933-10-29
BY MARJORIE TAN DE WATER.

= p IDNAPING IS no longer considered q
local crime With big gangs operating
X widely distant localities the prob
n lem is not Just one for local police,
or for the States to handle alone.
Uncle Sam Is himself actively inter-
ested in tracking down these most dreaded Of
all criminal offenders.
And all the aids that science can provide for
the tracking down. identifying. capturing and
Furnishing of the kidnaper and racketeer are
available in Washington
In the identification unit of the Department
of Justices division of investigation Is a new
weapon, most dreaded by the kidnaper. 1t is
not bomb a guillotine-it is just file
in the same sort of freproof cabinet that you
may have in your Office. But it means certain
avenging justice to many a kidnaper
It is a new special file of f1ngerprints
In the big regular file of the Identification
unit there are 100000 records, and 1900
records are being received there daily. or
these about As per cent are identified as being
already in the fes-that is, they are Of per-
sons who have previous criminal records. The
Others are new and are added to the collection.
This big regular file is classified under the
famous Henry system, using all 10 digits in the
classification. When the new record is re-
ceived, the prints are classified according to
the patterns present in the prints
The technical expert handling it can then
take the print directly to the correct drawer In
the file, take out some Is or 20 records under
the correct classification. and look through
these for the identical match to the new set.
The whole operation takes only about four or
five minutes
DUT suppose the 10 fngerprints not avail
- able. 1t is seldom that a criminal is so
considerate as to leave so complete an iden-
tihcation behind him. Often it is merely a
single print that is obtained from the deadly
weapon ransom note, the furniture at the scene
of the crime. window or an automobile.
What an impossible task it would be to look
through millions of fingerprints for the match
to that one isolated but important little print.
But Uncle Sam has found the solution to
even that knotty problem. 1t is in this new
file in a little side room in the Identification
unit offices. The file contains the fngerprints
of known organized criminals, gangsters, kid
naperS and extorti0niStS-l0 for each individ.
ual each classified and each one filed singly.
Now suppose the police find print re-
volver discovered near the scene of the crime.
or ransom note. If there is just single
print on one side Of the sheet although room
on the paper for more the first assumption IS
that the print is of thumb. When you pick
up sheet of paper, you usually have your
thumb on one side and your fingers on the
other.
The first file searched in such a case is there,
fore the right thumb file. These right thumbs
are subdivided according to pattern, whether
they are loops whorls or arches; according to
the number of ridges and other distinguishing
characteristics.
If the print is not found among the right
thumbs, of course, further search IS made.
Eventually. if the man who made the print has
been connected with previous crimes included
in the selected group, that print will come 10
Light and he will be certainly identified.
Then there is auxiliary to this racketeers'
hle which is kept on punch cards such as those
used in Hollereth statistical machines. These
cards are punched with holes to indicate a full
description of each criminal.
In many crimes, there is some contact with
at least one member of the gang, when the
ransom is paid, the bank robbed, when threats
are made, or when the crime is actually COM
mitted.
THE wife of one kidnapped victim met one Of
] the gang for the purpose of turning over
the money. She reported that he was about
3 feet inches tall, had dark hair and