The Washington times., 1936-02-29
Mementos
Impress
Visitors

Va WA1 ~N4 Se9eA IA &ANS@N4n~
tion, Department Of Justice
calls it: !
"Dsbunking the bunk from
investigation"
He adds:
'The taxpayers are paying
our salaries. They are en-
titled to see how their money
Is being spent"
With this in mind we will
Join one of the conducted
tours through the beautiful
new Department Of Justice
Building located in the Ma
tion's Capital.
Every day at 1890 q. m. and
again at 2:30 p. m. citizens from
all parts Of the country are led
through the bureaus crime lab
oratories by special agents, who
explain how law breakers are
tracked down.
First the sightseer is asked to
register, while unbeknownst to
him, the tour leader and two
other special agents look him
over Just in case.
Death Mask
That old trick by which Grim.
tnals familiarize themselves with
the faces Of plain-clothes detec-
tives by attending trials in the
police and larger courts is not
reSorted to here. A person with
q criminal record has never been
known to take that chance. De-
partment Of Justice agents have
sharp eyes.
After registering the group,
composed chiefly Of women. is
taken to the large reception room
which leads to Mr.. Hoover'S prt.
vate offices.
There they shudder and ex-
claim over the death mask of the
late John Dillinger, who for so
long bore the title Of Public
Enemy No. l."
Dillinger'S straw hat, bullet
proof vest Of two-ply steel, his
shoulder holster and revolver, the
glasses he wore to disguise him.
self and q cigar still in its cello.
phane wrapper are laid out Just as
quietly and peacefully as their
late owner. Comments fly thick
and fast.
The group is then taken through
the fingerprint department with
its rows upon rows Of file cases
filled with the fingerprints Of over
5,5O0,000 known criminals.
Fingerprints
There is also the civilian finger.
print file composed of Civil Ser
vice employees and other civilians
who voluntarily submit their fin
Rerprints. These have proved in
valuable in identifying deceased
persons or those suffering from
loss of memory.
But the most important file re-
Gently formed to insure quick
identification is the latent" or
single fingerprint file whereby &C.
cidental or latent fingerprintS
found on the scene Of q crime
may be searched against this file.
And here is another pin prick
for the balloon that claims crime
brings easy money.
A criminal can-and often does
change his name. Sometimes he
may succeed by the use Of acids
in obliterating his fingerprintS but
he cannot change his nickname
given him by his own pals and so
descriptive Of his personality that
he can easily be identified by it
though he use a hundred aliases.
These nicknameS are listed in
the "moniker file" They are both
descriptive and comical. Here are
some Of them:
Bum Eye" "Bumpy Joe, BLACK
jake" Blind Horse. Apple Jaw"
"Alley Cup" and Am I Blue" The
person who owned this moniker
was q colored man whose every
other word was "Am I blue?" It
was also his favorite song.
The ladies are listed IS Baby
Doll" dots Of these), Baby" Can
talope Queen" "Cat's Eye Annie"
Barney Google" Sugar Baby"
and last, but not least, BLACK Mae
West"
Next comes a visit to the tech.
nical laboratory, where experts
examine specimens Of handwrit-
ing under microscopes, use the
ultraviolet ray lamp for the iden-
tification Of invisible handwriting,
and a special chemical apparatus
for examining blood stains.
Suspicious packages thought to
contain bombs are first examined
under the X-ray. which plainly
exposes the contents.
Perhaps the most exciting place
to visit is the indoor pistol range,
with its sound-proof walls and
electrically controlled targets. It
Is located In the basement.
Expert Marksmen
The visitors are introduced to
the special agent in charge, who
first explains the different types
of guns, which he permits you
to handle. since they are not
loaded.
For every type of gun used
hv the thug the Dena artnnasnt of