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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1922)
8 TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 1. 1922 1! e titer .Mini Digging froi; 11 the The Newest Oddity in Crime Detection It's- MereMatter of 'Science BY ANON. IT IS not always the wisest course, I ' have learned, to Introduce your busi ness simultaneously with yourself when you are calling upon an expert. So X had simply Introduced myself. The man looked me over pleasantly, and said: - '-'Yon wished to see me " "Quite so," I said, "or I should not be here." "Ah, yes. And ?" "Did you ever write, and mall It, an anonymous letter?" I asked. - "What did you say In yours that wor ries you?" he asked. But I detected the twinkle that flickers behind the eyes of many men and some women when. feeling their ground, and I played the game by laughing. "No," I said, "I never wrote an anonymous letter or mailed one. Neither did you. But you are a whole lot acquainted profes sionally with persons who Indulge in the outdoor-indoor pastime of pestering other persons through Uncle Sam's letter-boxes, and I came In to ask you about it. What do you knowT" , "More than I have any Intention of telling you," the man said. "Naturally," I replied. "I do not blame you by a hair for that. But what do jrou know?" "I think," said Mr. Stein, "we under stand each other." "I am perfectly f.ure we do," I said. "And between man and man you won't need to choke the twinkle in your eyes while you feed me fact3." "That's a promise," he said. "Well then, the sending of letters through the malls without the name of the author signed to them has increased enormously In the last few years. Whether this is one of the results of a general Increase In crime it is difficult to say, but it is suf ficiently alarming to be cause for grave concern, and shows the necessity for a careful Investigation of the facts and a determined effort to find these cowardly assassins of character." "You phrase yourself with a profes sionalism that is almost entrancing," I said, "Can't -we come down to earth and Just talk?" "We can," he grinned; "and we will." "When do we begin?" I asked. "Now!" he said. "What do you know about the idiosyncrasies of typewriters?" "I know about them," I answered dig Blfledly, "more than your science has ever dreamed of. I have used them In newspaper offices lo these many years, and I can look back upon early times when my fond but feeble fingers slipped down between the keys. I " "But 'I speak seriously, man. Do you know that every typewriter ever made has some keys that crush their special in dividuality Into the paper they attack? Do you know that through this fact viciously anonymous letters are often traced to their authors?" "It is interesting," I said, "but I am forced to tell you I am learning nothing new yet William J. Burns told ns that years and y-e-a-r-s ago, in San Francisco. Come again." "You ara cynical to the point of Im politeness," the man said. - ''Or to the point of impollty," I sug gested. "Quite so," he said. "Now listen and be quiet while I cure the agnosticism of your Imperfect knowledge: SOUTH CAROLINA RUNS ADULT SCHOOL TO FIGHT ILLITERACY Need of Doing Something Quickly Discovered as Result of Tabulation Made During Drafting of Men for War Service Tact and Patience Used to Get Entries. BY M, P. CALVERT. WHAT is an adult school? It Is a school for grown-ups who never had a chance while they were children. These schools were called Into being by the sense ot shame felt by loyal Carolinians when they were con fronted by South Carolina's, standing in the table of Illiteracy. Next to the lowest etate in the union! Something must be done about It, and It must be done quick ly. The shame of It was driven home by the report of the surgeon-general in the world war, which showed 49.5 per cent ot illiteracy among, the soldiers that were mastered Into service from that state, as against 16.6 per cent in New York, even with its large foreign element. The per centage In South Carolina was so high as to cause a doubt concerning the accuracy of the data. A check was made and the figures verified. It was in 1913 that the first school for adults was opened. Miss Julie Selden, Who was teaching in a cotton mill school i Spartanburg. S. C, became obsessed with the idea ot a school tor grown-ups. With the co-operation of the mill author ities she opened a number of night schools in the mill villages. The teachers were paid $1 per night, the expense be ing defrayed by the mill. It required tact and patience and infinite human sym pathy to get the pupils into those first night schools. "I would love to know how to read and write, but I ain't never had no chance and am ashamed now." or "Oh, I'm too old; I can't learn nothing now." Such would he the answers when a teacher would Approach one ot the a "Many words,'" I said. "Let's to the veal." "By all means. You may or you may not know that habits of character imper ceptibly formed through years cause per sons to strike certain typewriter keys (as they are arranged in their banks and with respect to whether the person sits upright or slouches, or is of dominating or hesi tating character) cause, I say, persons to strike certain keys with undue stress, or from an angle and so forth. Now. Do you know that by these mechanical char acteristics as displayed in an anonymous typewritten letter it is frequently possible for one who has studied the subject to not only having for comparison a 'gen uine' copy of something written by the suspected person determine upon what particular typewriter in what particular office or place the anonymous communi cation was written, but also to determine with a remarkable sureness whether the suspected person or some other person wrote the anonymous letter?" "You make my head ache," . I said. "Your questionary is almost as imposing as the modern hypothesis in a well financed murder trial." "I do wish you would be serious," the man said. "Serious?" I said. "Could I be other wise when you talk that way?" He handed me some photographs of typewriter stuff, magnified, and here they are without any comment other than his own. What he had written was plenty, I thought. And I do respect an expert's opinion on something expert upon which he has expressed his knowledge expertly. Then, while I drew the photos to me on the desk so they should not escape In the excitement of conversation, and half closed my eyes to let my psychometry take full control of my mere outer senses, he told: "The dishonest schemer has found a refined, shy people and solicit their at tendance at school. But the teachers were persistent as well as sympathetic and the requisite number ot pupils was obtained. It was at this first night school at Spartan Mill village that a peculiar case developed; a case that would be an In teresting study to a psychologist, or to the latest psycho-analyst expert. A father, a man of 63, enrolled as a student, and his son, 40 years old, was a student in the same school. There was much friend ly rivalry between the two as to who would learn to write first. The older man, the father, progressed with remark able rapidity, learning to form his let ters with precision and accuracy, and learning to spell, too. But when he ad vanced to the letter-writing-stage, or to any form of composition, he persisted in writing from right to left, always com mencing on the right of the page after the manner of the Chinese. When last heard from his letters were still puzzles to read unless you had the key. The state superintendent of education became interested in this new venture in education, aad in 1914 an interesting ex periment was tried out In Laurens coun ty, adoining Spartanburg. The township registering -the greatest Illiteracy was se lected as a field for the experiment, teachers' volunteered their services and schools were established. The results were most gratifyling and proved beyond ques tion that illiterate farmers of the rural districts were only awaiting "a chance" to gain what had been denied them in their early years. In the same year Miss Sadie Goggana, supervising teacher in Newberry county, opened a number of night schools ia hex -county. Too much ft - i Small "V out of alignment shown by far to use forthe typewriter in fraudulent op erations, and when used in this way type writing may become the cloak of respect ability to conceal what would otherwise be an obvious and glaring piece of rascal ity. The typewriting machine is an as sistant to the rascal and the criminal in defeating Justice in both civil and crimi nal cases, and it Is not an uncommon oc currence for a high-handed, impertinent fraud to be successful because the type written documents in the case are not suspected, and therefore not properly in vestigated." honor cannot be given the young women teachers who, without salary, gave of their time and strength and enthusiasm in establishing these first schools in their attempt to redeem their state. 1 In 1916 the legislature was made to recognize the worth of the work which had been made possible by volunteer teachers and the financial aid of the cot ton mills, and an appropriation ot $5000 was made. In 1918 this amount was doubled and was so wisely expended that the movement now constitutes an im portant division In tho public school sys tem of South Carolina. When you speak of a system ot schools in South Carolina, always remember that the schools for the colored children and "grown-ups" are kept separate from the white schools, and that all are under the state superintend ent of education. Whenever a sufficient nnmber of adult pupils, ten is the minimum, desire a school, a teacher is found for them and sessions are opened. The term for a special school should continue 24 nights, for a "continuation school" six months, this last term being made possible by state aid, and special moneys from the cotton mills. The adult school system does not teach farther than the fifth grade. An ambitious pupiL however, is given opportunity to continue his studies at another unique institution established in Spartanburg, for the education of the cotton mill illiterates. At this Institution a pupil goes to school a week, and works in their model cotton-mill a. week, there by supporting himself while acquiring a high school education. Oh, it is wonder. ful what South Carolina is doing "to secede from Illiteracy!" Question Seems Pertinent. "The question is this," says Gomer Da Ties: "Will all the owners of fllwers support Henry in case he becomes a can didate for the presidency? We saw a man the other day kick his tip Lizzie squarely in the face because she was slow in starting to take him home. Will he vote for Henry?" . MnMPsMMIiaMiMVMMVPM 6 t. a I". test plate. the right. The letter is too high and too My psychometry was in fin control ndw, and I listened on: , "There are many lawyers who do not know what definite and valuable infor mation can sometimes be obtained from a page of typewriting when It is examined by a competent observer who has the nesessary knowledge and adequate ref erence material to determine the facts. Modern photography and the use of in struments of precision for measuring minute deviation ot size, slant and loca- tion of letters have made it possible, in many cases to prepare such effective RICH GREEK ART TREASURES ARE DISCOVERED OFF AFRICAN COAST Bulk of Cargo, Which Went Down 2000 Years Ago, Consists of Sixty Marble Columns and Many Objects in Bronze Also Are Found snd Msy Be Salvaged. IF the heavens above are navigated, why not the depths ot the sea? He who sails the sky will never gain such treasure as awaits the man who scours the sea floors. One such adventurous Frenchman astonished the archaeological world of Paris with rich finds off the coast ot Tunis. Two thousand years and more ago a Greek galley with a cargo ot art treasures foundered in a gals off the African shore, near Mahdia, and Alfred Merlin, a scientist, entrusted by the French government with ' archaeological researches In Tunis, made the sea giro up some of this sunken treasure. As told by Mr. Merlin to the Academy ot Inscriptions and Bellee-Lettres, a group of sponge fishermen discovered, at a point on the Tunisian coast, between Soussa and Sfax, three miles northeast of the fishing port of Mahdia, the wreck of an ancient ship. It was lying at a depth of 19 fathoms, and judging from the objects subsequently removed from it by divers, was sunk during a voyage from Athens to Italy at the beginning of the Christian era. The bulk of the cargo, it is said, con sisted of 60 marble columns, with the capitals and bases, most of which were of the Ionic type. Besides these were many objects in bronze which hava withstood their long immersion, as the marbles have not. Among the objects, raised to the sur face is a splendid terms of Dionyslus, the work of the sculptor Boethus, whose signature it bears, who lived in the year 1 1 B. C, and who Is known ss the author ot the famous statue of a child strangling a goose, mentioned and admixed by Pliny Snaring the guilty writer by the deadly comparison. This is an example of how the identity of a writer is proved. In the columns marked "Anony mous" are words taken from the threatening anonymous letter. In the columns marked "Standard" are the same words taken from a suspected ' writer's genuine, unquestioned writing. A careful study of -the similarities between the two sets of words shows how conclusive the identity of the actual writer' may become when comparisons are made in this way. Every quality, characteristic and attribute of writing has some significance 'as indicating that the suspected person did or did not write the matter under investigation. The analysis is that of the "black-hand" letter) shown on the left. Illustrations ot the tacts that when they are properly explained 'or clear, torseful testimony, they amount, to a demonstra tion. Many -" "I believe you," 1 said. "I believe ut terly everything you have said and am convinced you are correct in everything you Intend to say. It is not possible for us to disagree. You know. I resign the game, and thank you cordially for telling me. Certainly I never shall' write an anonymous letter for $10,000, or threat ening to steal away the child, or promis-. lng to set a bomb against the. peace ot the police without first consulting an ex pert!" "But," he reminded, "we have Just barely touched the subject. We bave not even talked about handwritten anony mous lett " I Implored, "Tell it in photos." "It shall be done!" he said. "Here Is a sample of pure feminine outburst In spired by Jealousy," and he read "if you marry Miss L. you will never be a father and there are many things " "Ugh!" I said. "Cats do have claws, don't they?" "And some of them do get their fur stroked the wrong way, too, don't they?" he retorted. "Here is a suicide note found in the investigation ot the death of a young wife who was found in a lak not far from her home. The husband was suspected of having written the note to divert suspicion from him as a murderer. It was determined upon careful inspec tion of the writing, however, that the note was genuinely written by the wife." I read the photographic copy he handed me across the desk: "You will find me In the north end of the lake, I would rath er die than go on without happiness. Esther." "Dear God," I thought aloud, "if all of ns were so thorough In feeling that way about life, not even taxes would be sure; only death." "Women." replied the expert, "ara blessedly cursed with a super-sensibility for happiness. No real woman, and cer the elder. It is life-size, and is composed ot a head with beard and mustache on a quadrilateral pillar. This Is one of the statues that used to ba placed at the doors of Athenian houses, and were held In great reverence. Near this terms was found a fine statue of Eros, also in bronze, three feet in height; evidently a replica of an effigy by Praxiteles; and underneath it were two exquisite cornices in bronze with halt-busts of Dionyslus and Ariadne. Be tween the cornicos was an erotlo statu ette, 15 Inches in height, also, in bronze. Further search by divers brought to light a statue with large wings. Intended for use as a lamp; several busts and statues ot Athena, the Greek Minerva, arranged for use as wall decorations. There are also fragments of furniture, beds, chairs, kettles, basins and cooking utensils. The marbles ara very numer ous, including candelabra, large rases with bacchanalian bas reliefs, beautifully carved, which are duplicates of the well known Borghese rase in the Louvre mu seum. Other vases with carved bac chantes in bas reliefs ara duplicates ot a vase now In the Campo Santo at Pisa. There are a great many fragments of marble statuary, unfortunately terribly injured by the action of the salt Water, which has eaten deeply into the stone, giving it the appearance ot old coral and sadly impairing its artistic value. The only marble objects in good pres ervation, after their submersion ot nearly 2000 years, are those which were deeply buried in the mud. The bronze objects, on the contrary, have suffered but little. ' A great variety of bronze bas reliefs, with Greek inscriptions, hava been brought up. The ship also carried ingots I tainly no young woman capable of the self-sacrifice of suicide, is content to be merely contant." "Surely," I said, "you are not trying, in the silent presence of Esther's note, to be clever?" "It would he a poor occasion," he said. "I am merely shooting at truth, and that is a hard target to hit." He said nothing more, for a moment; then pushed across the desk the lensed reproduction of a peculiarly fiendish let ter, addressed "Mister Audrey" and signed "Joe." "That," he remarked, "is a terror-producing letter designed to extort money by suggestions of danger and threats ot vlo-. lence. A person who receives such a let ter cannot be wholly free from anxiety until the writer Is known and the danger removed. "Fortunately it is possible to identify handwriting as having been written by a particular person when the genuine writ ing of the real author can be procured. Habits and peculiarities sre formed In the writing of an individual without his or her effort or knowlodge; and, ot course, what he knows nothing about he cannot change. These characteristics are suf ficiently constant to make a satisfactory basis for the identification of the writer, in most cases. Chamberlayne said: 'The man, as it were, writes himself into hi handwriting; to the trained eye he stands revealed by it.' And the duke of Welling ton said of a soldier: 'Habit Is nature. Habit is ten times natnre.' " "Is It a correct assumption," I asked, "that all writers and senders of anony mous letters are cowards?" "No," he said. "Some of them are crazy. Trained psychiatrists report that the writing of certain kinds of anonymous letters is often one of the incipient mani festations of Insanity." "I am glad you told me that," I thought. "Somehow, I would rather think ot Esther as insane than as a coward. It is like dropping a flower beside her grave." of lead stamped with Latin inscriptions and anchors ot lead, one of which weighs 1400 -pounds. There are also terra-cotta amphorae, no doubt used tor the neces sary fluids for tha crew, such as water, oil, wine, etc. A very remarkable dis-' covery is that ot a terra-cotta lamp, with its fiaxen wick, in a wonderful state ot preservation. Precious objects hava been brought to the surface during the last tew years, when tha divers hava been enabled by rare spells ot calm weather to accomplish good work. Among these objects is an exquisite statuette in bronze ot Eros In the attitude of dancing and at the same time playing upon cithara. There is a fine bronze statuette ot a grotesque fe male dwarf, dancing to tha music ot tha krotalon, or Greek rattle. The objects fished up by tha divers, when last they worked, comprise a bronze statuette ot a buffoon, , dancing in grotesque contor tions, and making faces as he advances; an erotic satyr in bronze, in tha attitude of springing upon his prey; the statuetta of a tragic actor, with feet laced in buskins, and groups ot bacchantes and leering satyrs. These antiquities are now to ba seen in tha Bardo Palace at Tunis. Just I.Ike a Woman. Los Angeles Times. Theodore Dreiser, the novelist, said at a tea in Greenwich Village: "Criticism is a lost art. The average critic understands the work he criticises about as well as as "But here's a story: A woman was going through a picture exhibition with her husband. They came to a picture called 'Saved,' which represented a drip ping Newfoundland dog standing over a dripping and unconscious child that be had Just rescued from the river flowing in he background. , "The woman was deeply Infereisted In this picture. She said: , " 'No wonder the poor child fainted after dragging that great big dog out of the water.'