Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-04
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Margaret Cermond.
SCIENCE VERSUS CRIME. BY Henry
Morton Robinson. indianapolis:

MOItUu ItOuiAoOh. AA3AessF~AAo'
The BobbS- Merrill Co.
Civilization and science have for ages
been meeting each other at some i'm
portant cross-road along the ever-widen-
ing highway OF achievement, but the
process of becoming companionable has
invariably been difficult and slow. For
civilization-and especially the Amer
lean brands peculiarly provincial
despite its Unsuitable mania Tor en-
cheney and speed. Limitless heights and
breadths are demanded for the develop
ment of the masses and the expansion
of individual opportunity. Yet when
science has appeared at the crossroads
with its offerings for the furtherment OF
these ideals civilization has acknoWl-
edged the proffered friendship with a
curt nod and attempted to push onward
alone. That it has invariably been COM
PEELED to admit its lack Of wisdom seems
to have made little impression upon
either the body polite or its great lead
ers Lukewarm interest and doubtful
Judgment are still grudgingly meted out
to the "new-fangled" ideas conceived by
superior brains.
1t Is therefore not surprising that
scientific criminology has never ceased
to be new tangled" even though 1t has
been several centuries in the making, and
some OF the most efficient methods OF
detection in modern use originated with
the ancient Chinese. Every so often an
nouncement is made Of the invention OF
some extraordinary device calculated to
trap OF to free some human being caught
in the tolls of the law. Whether or not
these contraptions ever come into prac-
tical use are matters in which American
civilization takes little interest until they
are brought into the limelight in an
effort to solve some particularly atrocious
crime. Judges and juries, grounded in
centuries Of dogma concerning the courts,
are reluctant to permit the weighing
Of scientific fact against human faill-
bility, and uniformed public opinion
gives them its support.
But what q change there would be IN
public opinion and what revolution
would take place in judicial procedure
IL every honest and thoughtful citizen
in this country made it his or her bust
ness to read Mr.. RobinSon's book and
then set about to act upon the convic-
tons formed by its powerful appeal TO
| righteousness! A great hue and cry has
been raised in all quarters for the sup
preston of the wholesale crime wave
| that has swept the country from border
| to border in recent years. 1t is frankly
| admitted that the arrest and punish
ment of professional criminals is but a
| palliative and that a major operation Is
| necessary to remove the cancerous root
| from which the evil draws its strength.
But where and when will the operation
take place?
Science has furnished the laboratory
and the equipment In this abSorbingly
interesting book Mr.. RobinSon'S citation
of cases and description of methods and
equipment give convincing proof that
there is no escape for the criminal, no
matter how notorious or how obscure,
| provided the public does not want him
| to escape A drop of sweat. Seeping
| through the finger of glove, leaves its
| telltale mark upon whatever 1t touches
and can be traced to the glands that
| produced it. A bit of wax removed from
| the ear of a suspect will reveal where
| he has been, how long he remained in
| the given location, whether he walked or
rode and where he slept. The dust from
hair holds the story of occupational pur-
| suits, and a broken pine needle or a
split thread can be matched and
| proved when the missing counterpart
| is found. The faintest dust print can
| be lifted and the nature OF the object
| that made it proved. The knee print OF
| burglar tells the story Of the cloth,
the weave and the wear of his trousers
A bullet fired from any gun Identifies
| the make, the number and, eventually
the possessor Of the firearm. Finger
| prints and the most minute pore prints
| are traceable to the skin that made
them. Photography will reveal the exact
contents OF heavily wrapped and sealed
| package. Wood contains clues that
appall the layman. The lie detector and
| the truth serum have proved infallible in
| common as we'll as in extraordinary tests
All of these methods and devices and
many others are described by Mr.. Rob-
inson in this history of the development
! Of scientific sriminology. through the
| medium of a series of true stories that
make the most thrilling Of detective
| novels seem tame. 1t is related in an
| easy, picturesque style that Is both
| fascinating and convincing.
The highest of tributes is paid to the
| Division of Investigation Of the Depart
| ment of Justice and its chief, Mr.. j
| Edgar Hoover: also to the Scientlf1C
| Crime Detection Laboratory afnliateo
| with Northwestern University, Colone
| Calvin H. Goddard. who organized II,
| August Vollmer. Arthur Koehler ano
others whose names are synonymous
with outstanding achievement in this
most important field of scientific research
as applied to the problems OF today.
| The book was probably not INTENDED
| to arouse the public from its apathetie
| attitude toward the crime problem, but II
| will have that effect upon every thought
| full man and woman who reads 1t, and II
| is to be hoped that it will serve as
substantial beginning in definite, intel
| ligent crusade for cooperation between
Federal, State and local authorities 1oi
the prevention as we'll as the detection
of crime. When that happy day arrives
the country will no longer be treated te
such exhibitions of inexcuSable blunder-
ing as that which took place on the
night of March /, 1882, at Sour Noun
tain, New Jersey.
SUDDEN DEATH. By Lee Thayer. New
York: Dodd, Mead & Co.
| A thin. well-dressed, taut-nerved man
appears at the desk of Captain of De-
tectiyes Kerrigan and announces thai
he has killed Marvin Hayden. Thai
atrociously infamous gentleman hac
been murdered two days before and his
son arrested and jailed as the most
| logical suspect The confession OF Mr.
| Douglas EvareSt, man OF good FAMILY
a dabbler. in science and friend OF
| ,,o,,or Topoac HAYDEN sounds unm1S-