File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (18136021206).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo18amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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724 TEE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL
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Courtesy oj Richard G. Bad;jer Photographs from Scotland Yard of three men who so closely resemble one another that they might easily be mistaken for the same person. Their thumb prints, however, show such marked differences that no one would have trouble in identifying these at once as having been made by dif- ferent individuals. One advantage in the use of finger prints for identification in criminal work is owing to the fact that the friction ridges are formed of sweat pores whose oily secretions keep the fingers sticky, so that whenever a man handles an object his fingers leave an impression, espe- cially as he is likely to require a sufficient use of his sense of touch to preclude his wearing gloves. Sometimes faint imprints are developed by applying powder with a camel's hair brush, black or white according as the impression has been made on a white or dark surface. The powder is then blown off. There is always danger of damaging the im- pression, however, and efforts are being made to discover some method of staining it with chemical fumes. The certainty of the identification has recommended this method not only to the police for criminal investigation, but also in some instances to banks and to the Government for the army and navy. The authors of Personal Identification advocate that a national registration of finger prints be made with the birth or school registration of the entire population identification the authors find that the use of the configuration of the friction skin (best known in the form of finger printing) alone fulfills all the necessary requirements. If the reader will glance at the palmar sur- face of the distal joint of the fingers, he will observe that the ridges which make up the skin texture form very definite patterns. In general these patterns may be distin- guished as loops, whorls, arches, or com- posites. In detail there is no limit to the range of variation in these patterns. The loop opening toward the inner side of the hand (ulnar loop) is the most common pattern. It occurs on the right middle finger in 74 per cent of cases. Yet it is overwhelmingly improbable that this pattern, as found on the finger of any one individual, exists in all its details on any other finger at the present time, or has ever been duplicated in history. The points in favor of this system of identification may be summed up as follows: it is individual and impossible to duplicate in another indi- vidual; it is permanent; it is marked in four imj^ortant and convenient places (hands and feet) ; it is easy to record and classify; and objects which a man has touched often retain a legible record from which his identity can be established. This system has been in use in criminal courts since 1895, and not a single judicial error can be imputed to it. Finally much stress is laid on the value of a national identification bureau in which the i)alm and sole prints of every individual would be re- corded. Such records would be invaluable in establishing the identity of individuals having a lapse of memory, lost chil- dren, in granting passports, travelers' cards, travelers' checks, identifying pensioners and beneficiaries of various sorts. It would also be valu- able in maternity hospitals in identifying babies. In banks it could supplement signatures and prevent forgeries. In the case of illiterates it would eliminate the "mark." Chinese coolies and other undesirable citizens could in this way be detected. The system is already in use by our Government in identifying soldiers and sailors. Famous paintings and other works of art could be so marked that they could not be counterfeited. The whole subject, which in parts is fairly technical and complicated, is made very clear and decidedly interesting by the numerous incidents taken from the authors" experiences or from records of widely known police courts and police commissioners.

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