Our new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next
introduction is to what is known as the “finger‐print” system, which
method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison.
All prisoners are at first compelled to have “photos” taken of the balls
of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer
has an inking‐stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for
“pulling” proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the
new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the
stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that
purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for
future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of
identifying escaped or suspected offenders.
The finger‐print system was invented by the Chinese thousands of years
ago, and is considered to be the safest method yet discovered for correct
identification purposes. Today it is being extensively used in this
country and in Europe. The United States Government has a perfectly
organized bureau in operation in conjunction with its federal and military
prisons. Hundreds of thousands of thumb prints have been made, but no two
have yet been found exactly alike.
The impetus given to the system in this country is perhaps due to Mark
Twain, America’s famous humorist, author, publisher, printer and lecturer.
In “Puddenhead Wilson” Mr. Clemens has the village dunce riding a “hobby”
at full tilt and that hobby was the taking of finger impressions. The
citizens considered him a weak‐minded fool, but to humor him they allowed
impressions of the balls of their fingers to be taken. The names of their
owners were recorded and then carefully filed away. Finally Puddenhead
Wilson proved himself to be anything but a fool, for when a mysterious
murder was committed in the village he apprehended the perpetrator of the
crime, his sole clue being the bloody imprints of the murderer’s fingers
found on the woodwork in the room where the crime was committed. The
finger‐print system, since the advent of Mr. Clemens’ book, has sprung
into vogue in all parts of the country.
There are to date several authentic cases on record where by means of this
new method of identification prisoners were acquitted, notwithstanding the
fact that circumstantial evidence in the hands of the prosecuting attorney
was overwhelmingly against the accused. One case was that of a man who had
broken his parole from a penitentiary. While absolutely innocent, he was
arrested and charged with having committed a certain crime. He could offer
no proof without divulging the fact that he had violated his parole, (he
still had about two years to serve), but realizing that he was about to be
sentenced for eight or ten years on the present charge, he chose the
lesser of the two evils and informed the authorities of his identity.
Investigation disclosed the fact that he had not been released from the
penitentiary when the alleged crime was committed. This incident
demonstrates conclusively that the finger‐print system not only detects
the wrongdoer, but greatly assists in preventing a miscarriage of justice.
[Visitor’s Reception Room ]