Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-22
F|NGERPR|NTS BAR
CRIMINALS IN Jobs
F. 3. |. Records Guard Po-
sitions of Trust From
Fugitives.
BY REX COLLIER.

An effective hngerprint barrier Is
keeping the Army, police departments,
banks and other institutions free Of
employees having criminal records.
The striking results obtained by the
Civil Service Commission in finger
printing applicants for positions OF
investigative character have led to
widespread adoption of the finger
print system in the realms
of military and police recruiting and
certain lines of private employment.
The Civil Service Commission, by re-
curing fingerprints of would-be in
vestigators, has reduced the ratio OF
criminal applicants from l in Is to
] in 40.
During August, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation found that 447 ap-
plicants for jobs such as soldering,
police work, chauffeuring and hotel
work had committed crimes ranging
from white slavery to murder.
1884 Prints Checked.
A total of 1904 fingerprint cards OF
this type we're received at the Justice
Department last month with the
request that they be checked against
the more than 100000 criminal
fingerprint records on file at the
F. B. I. Division of Identification.
Other crimes which the 447 pros
pective soldiers, policemen or en-
ployes we're found to have committed
included counterfeiting, forgery, lar
ceny, burglary, automobile theft,
highway robbery, embezzlement, viola
ton of the Articles of War, driving
while drunk, grand theft, atrocious
assault and battery, seduction, carry
ing concealed weapons and violation
of the narcotic act.
An escaped convict was caught
while trying to enlist in the Army,
being identified as Charles w. Adams,
who escaped from the Eastern Carolina
Training School, Rocky Mount, N. c.,
last July. He was serving State SEN
tence for forgery. Applying at Fort
Bragg, N. c., on September Is Tor
enlistment in the Army, Adams finger
prints were forwarded to the Justice
Department for examination. The F.
B. I. notified the Army that Adams
was a fugitive from justice and he is
being returned to the reformatory.
Ring of Protection.
The growing surveillance OF appli-
cants for positions Of trust or Of other
lines in which the public or its prop
erty is dealt. with is expected to pro-
tect the public from crooks who, in
the past, have made it a business to
"chisel in" on banks, hotels and other
establishments, with a view to robbing
patrons.
A few years ago one of the notori-
Gus d'Autremont brothers, wanted for
murder and train dynamiting, was
found to have enlisted in the Army
for service in the Philippines. Such
enlistments no longer are possible un-
der the cooperative arrangement be-
tween the War and Justice Depart
ments.
The Coast Guard also has the F. B.
I. check the fingerprintS of its recruits.
The Navy, however, has declined sew
eral invitations of the Justice De-
partment to take advantage of this
fingerprint service Naval officials
have explained that they make care
full investigation of each recruit, but
Justice authorities claim that only a
check of fingerprints can make such
an investigation complete.
PIeaSeS in Army.
The Army last month submitted
6.O9l fingerprint cards to the F. B. l.,
of which number 354 revealed crimi-
nal records. Some of the applicants
had used aliases in an attempt to hide
criminal careers.
Ten out of So applicants for chauf-
feurs' permits in Cleveland, Ohio, had
criminal records, and one was fugi-
tive sought for automobile robbery.
Four out of 70 applicants for the San
Antonio Police Department had been
arrested for crimes up to murder.
Seven out Of 70 applicants for police
jobs in Oakland, Calf, had police
records. Twenty-Five of IS men ap-
plying for chauffeurs' licenses at Kan
sas City, Mo, had criminal back
grounds. Six of 80 men who wanted
to be sheriffs' deputies at San Diego,
Calf, had criminal records.