The Wilmington morning star., 1945-12-31
By PHIL WRIGHT
Star Staff Writer

Pictures of escaped murderers,
murderesses, fugitive German and
Italian spies, prisoners of war and
those of seemingly harmless little
old blue-eyed men in their late
fifties and sixties are berthed on
the wall of a room in the suite OF
offices occupied by Harry 2. Fales
and company of the New Hanover
Identific alton Bureau.
Fales, who is superintendent OF
the organization, has as his as.
sistants, Miss Marjorie L. Tant and
Miss Alice Warters who don't mind
admitting that the going is often
pretty tough, what with duties get
ting more numerous and the un'
derstaffed condition of the offices.
The girls are general help, doing
the various clerical chores and as
sisting with the photography and
photostatic work. They will no
doubt become two of the country S
best woman detectives.
Miss Tant in explaining some OF
the finer details of her work said
that in the past year the bureau
has made personal identification
cards for anybody wishing one.
These cards are made in triplicate
always. One is given to the sub
ject, the other is filled at the local
shop while another goes to the Fed
eral Bureau of Investigation files
in Washington.
She said that the bureau is kept
busy making pictures of accidents
which are taken on the spot and
must show every possible angle
of the accident properties and vic
tins so the pictures may be used
as comprehensive evidence in
court or wherever they are need
ed.
Among the pictures in the files
are those of smashed autos, de-
molished beyond repair; dead
women, shot in fits of rage by
jealous and suspecting husbands ;
robberies, where the print expert
must be on the spot in jiffy to
get latent prints of potential sus-
poets.
There are pictures of beaten and
bruised wives who seek the aid
of the bureau in getting divorce
from their once respected spouse,
suddenly turned wife beater. Homi-
cides, lowly suicides and fatal
shootings come next in the lead
among Fales' souvenirs.
The bureau keeps in its files a
picture and fingerprints with a
complete record of each criminal
arrested in the county who is not
immediately released on bond. The
work is endless. Every day it goes
on and every day the copy is sent
to the FBI in Washington for a
permanent record of the offender.
Miss Warters, the other assist
ant, said that so far this year the
regular file containing the pictures,
prints and records Of men and
women who are actually consid-
cred criminals, is bulging.
Pictures and prints Of criminals
and those who have no criminal
record so far this year run almost
to $4,000 on file at the local offices
It was explained that this figure
does not include second and third
visits by the criminals, but are
actual "firsts.'
Fales, whom I managed to catch
on one of his rare visits from his
dark room where the film develop
ing and photostat work is in
progress, said that the bureau has
assisted members of the Merchant
Marine and other seagoing person
rel in securing passports and other
necessary papers to permit them
to board their ships.
He further stated that the bureau
has been working in close ccopera-
ton with all military forces Of the
Wilmington area During the
critical emergency period, at the
beginning OF the late war the bu-
reau personnel Is said toA Alave also