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Action! H. H. Clegg, an assistant in the Department of Justice,
is here shown lecturing to the first police class in the depart
ment's school for police
Uncle Sam's G Men Are Giving
City Police Forces the Full.
Benefit of Their Training War
to Exterminate Criminals
Gets Under Way
By John L. Coontz
A MAN stealthily creeps up behind
another on the roof of a Govern
ment building in Washington. A gun
flashes in the sunlight and a bit of cold
steel presses In the side of the man ap
proached. "Hands up!" cries the gun
man. But instead of "hands up," the robber
gets the surprise of his life. His victim
drops, makes a lightning half circle and
seizes the gun hand in a vise-like grip.
For the fraction of a second he holds
the gun off and then, in a movement
that baffles the eye to follow, he gives
that "killer arm" a twist that shoots
the gun across the roof of the building,
and leaves its owner writhing in pain.
, At this point a third man steps up.
Critically he examines the situation.
And then: "Try again. Shoot that gun
farther away. Get between it and the
robber.' -Hold tight to that elbow and
wrist after you have got your man at
your advantage. Don't give him a
chance to get back on his feet squarely.
And while you've got him "broken' slip
the 'cuffs' on him."
A REV
It.
REAL "hold-up?" No. Not a bit of
Just a class In the training of a
score of police officers frca every corner
in the United States in he manner of
criminal apprehension and of crime so
lution. It is one of the United States
Department of Justice answers to critics
who say crime is still rampant.
The first national class of police offi
cers receiving this training has Just
completed Its course and its membership
returned to the nation-wide cities from
which it was drawn. There they will
impart the knowledge gained to mem
bers of their own departments. So
criminals beware I
What about the training these, men
have received that places them in the
forefront of criminal detectives of the
world?
In the first place, let us look at the
type of men selected to receive the in
struction. They are all young. Men in
the prima of life, well buDt, highly in
telligent, noted for criminal work in
their respective cities. They were the
pick of twenty-one police departments
of the Nation.
Their criminal studies at the "college"
consisted of psychiatry, road-blocking,
cryptogram decoding, latest fingerprint
development, ballistics, use of ultra
violet light in the study of invisible inks,
blood and powder stain analysis, gun
firing and jujutsu.
Classes in all these subjects were con
ducted by experts called to Washington
from every part of America. For eight
weeks these students went into labora
tories, Into classrooms, out upon the
firing range and to the roof of the De
partment of Justice Building. And Just
to see what they learned, let us take a
turn with them for a day or so.
Out to the firing range at Quantlco.
Va, where the United States marines
practice their rifle and machine-gun fire,
we trek by automobile. The auto is a
moving arsenal of firearms. There are
rifles, revolvers, submachine guns, tear
gas bombs and gas guns.
Arriving at the firing range, the en-
jil ''J3' 'y f'jUl ' '" v5rw camera-box' affair Is brought Into the
ff- ,, 1 !l&sr?'&J'v- ft 1 V. S&LPtljB33 i.T room- A letter sheet Is placed In it and
i f - jF VW , ' fe;F:: 1 STaCrx a a swltch turncd- With the turning of
iTTSnlfj 1 Vii-' fij f I W, W-Z: ( i i the switch the sheet of raper is flooded
11 Iff T ifi f 3f . r-U Y YJVJ I lth ultra-violet light. And, peering
U l I LWl' . "' I & ''klH. W through the eyepiece of the apparatus.
131 I 1 ' piiKS f-' I B$& IjuSLh" V 1 the student may read the contents of
i fill t , tt I IS the letters, written In invisible ink, un-
111 1 jfl ' Sfe Bgrfjs ?V sltffi I 8ble 1 be discovered by the naked eye.
ill I I l"- I J k'X'$SJfo? t?Z i Powerful magnifying lenses bring out
111 ' I ' h V ff UT'" SNL )J the ridges of fingerprints. By examin-
i I v "-' i .CJJ' 1 4 V yM&fw'f ing them under Increased magnification
W 1 r'' . , V "JAlJ ' telr peculiarities are brought out. No
4L - a iil " two fln8erPr'nts arB le- The whorls
j , """"rsj" 'J$f A and rld8ea that 8 'o make the tips are
t " Jr '.'Jv JaT different in every human Individual.
lf CV ' 't 'iLj' f' 'Js A?iSW4 m i fifek. ' Handed a piece of furniture, a knife,
4 rf" f w - 'Jr Hki IjSt&''J plece of PaDer or some other object,
:'"7f 'T. - 4WS'jS?f ,he student ,s now Instructed to take a
vv 'iL;v,f!i! .? -! lii1 s B?l I TwiW a fingerprint Impression from the specl-
Aj'ftAjP' S. Ty.Q'l men. A fine powder is dusted oor the
- - ' ( ) $$ki"'"'lS paper and then brushed off. This Is
A '; ' ".'' JrsSl a4y J "set" by chemical means and later pho-
Science is greatly aiding police in solving crim
At the right is a microscopic picture
while above is shown an examina
tion being made under a powerful
infra-red ray light
tire class piles out. Guns are removed
and the class takes its position. For two
hours the staccato of machine-gun Are
rolls over the field; the crack of pistol
Are, the fumes of gas bombs. Inter
spersed with this "warfare" are scenes
of firing from behind barricades at
"robbers" equipped with "subs"; of
buildings being "rushed" with tear-gas
bombs and tear-gas guns; of automo
biles chasing' each other from which
fly shots as fast as "gangsters" and pur
suing officers can spill them.
THE morning class In gun-firing hav
ing completed its work, the students
return to the Department of Justice
Building. Here Uiey are introduced to
"Oscar."
"Oscar" is the queerest fellow you ever
saw. He Is different from humankind in
that he Is not human. "Oscar" Is a
dummy, but even at that he plays a
most important role of all the equip
ment of the Justice Department in the
education of criminal sleuths.
Into a mom equipped with a chair or
two. a table and a few other minor
things, "Oscar" Is brought by his mas
ter, Hugh Clegg, assistant director of
the Bureau of Investigation. His Intro
duction is unceremonious to the group
gathered round. "Oscar" Is thrown forci
bly upon the floor, knocking over a chair,
dislocating a table, upsetting a lamp and
kit king up a dust. And there he lira.
Right side up or right side down,
"Oscar" lies tliere until he has served
his useful and important mission In
training the "criminal students" on how
to observe the details of a crime. He
has a knife stuck In his back. He has
been heaved Into the room by a criminal
I -to.--. - S'jtt&TVm. V
e and fixing guilt. '?. fS'i; 2C3'fttM graphed
of a piece
Police students at the crime school
also were
gang that has Just murdered him. Or
maybe they haven't, or maybe he has
not been murdered by a gang at all.
All of this Is for the class to deter
mine. They are to discover whether the
bullet wound in "Oscar's" temple was
made after the knife wound In his back
or vice versa. The identity of "Oscar" Is
also to be worked out. Row to he
dressed? Expensively? Poorly? Or half
and half a good coat that baa seen
society days and a pair of pants that
came from down In the slum district?
Is "Oscar" a bum that has received a
handout, or is "Oscar" a gentleman that
has fallen to a low estate in life from
which he has not been V to rise?
What else about "Oscar." Has he a
handkerchief on his person? A watch?
His hands and feet are they small?
of woolen goods, tyfcA-J lf . m connection wn mis nngerpnnt
Shi - ' - - . ' ' - ' j In UnLj
not only studied the latest scientific
put through a strenuous course in
Have the hands ever dons manual work
or are they hands of a rambler, a dilet
tante? Any cigarette stain on those
fingertips?
For two hours or more the class works
over' "Oscar," taking notes, making
comparisons, deduction and drawing
conclusions. When all Is completed the
class turns In Its papers and then listens
to a lecture In which the character at
"Oscar" to revealed, his calling in life
and how he was murdered.
"Oscar" disposed of, the class now rt
celrta individual slips of paper. These
slips are plain, whit letter sheets with
no writing on them. The clam turns
them over and over with instructions to
read their contents. This Is impossible
until the secret is revealed as to how
they may be read. For this purpose a
TV ! f 1.1 -OA
methods of erime solution, but they
calisthenics
taking the students are Instructed In
a new method which, according to offi
cials, Is superior to the old. This is the
nitrate silver method. It opens a whole
new field of fingerprinting.
The dust method of taking finger
prints meets with its best success only
when the fingerprints are taken from a
smooth surface. The silver nitrate
method does not require a smooth sur
face. In using it fingerprints may be
taken from rough surfaces, such as a
shirt collar, a sock, a tie or bed cloth
ing. Even the criminal who has hoped
to hide his Identity through the use of
gloves at the scene of his crime Is no
longer safe. The silver nitrate permits
the taking of Impressions of fingers from
inside gloves.
The silver nitrate method of taking
Ballistic microscopes play a big part in solving
many crimes where bullets were used by gunmen
fingerprints Is quite simple. All that
is needed Is a knowledge of photography,
a small amount of silver nitrate and a
strong light, rich in ultra-violet rays.
Salt reacts with silver nitrate, -o
when the criminal has touched a piece
of cloth with his hands or handled It
the sweaty salt of his hand or finger
tips are left on the cloth. All that Is
necessary is to get a photochemical re-'
action from this salt, such as is ob
tained in any photographic process. As
a consequence, therefore, the finger
printed fabric is treated with a ,10 per
cent solution of nitrate of silver. Result:
insoluble sliver chloride which blackens
when subjected to light treatment. This
blacking process reveals the whorls and
lines of the tips of the criminal fingers.
Another startling method of check
ing on criminals is available through
a recent invention in the Department of
Agriculture. This Is the Invention of a
"sheer," as it has been called.
The "sheer" consists of a razor blade
working In a slot after the manner of
the familiar cigar cutter. Its use is
confined largely to fabric material and
the slicing of Infinitesimal cross-sections
from threads of the material for
identification.
For Instance, If a murder has been
committed and a few strands of the
sweater worn by the slayer have been
found, the up-to-date sleuth takes out
his "sllcer" In the laboratory and pulls
a strand of wool from the sweater. He
places one end of the strand through
the opening In the middle. He pushes
his razor-blade cutter across the open
ing, catching the end of the thread
and cutting it In half. Performing this
operation he has In his hand for the
microscope two or three cross-sections
of the woolen thread about one ten
thousandth of an Inch in thickness.
Placed under a microscope on a slide
to which they have been fastened by tiny
drops of glue, they are easy to Identify.
The type of wool from which the sweater
was made is thus easily identified. Long
staple or short. From an early fleece or
late fleece, according to the season. And
in this manner, very much after the
manner that Forester Kohler, of the
Forest Service, identified the Lindbergh
ladder, the piece of wool from the
sweater strands found at the scene of
the crime may be Identified and the
murderer brought to Justice.
TN ADDITION to the practical work
given the young sleuths sent to Wash
ington to study the latest and most ap
proved methods of scientific criminal
apprehension, instruction also Is being
given them in such subjects as "Abnor
mal Psychology," "Prosecution Adminis
tration" and " Social Problems and So
cial Changes."
Such subjects give tht students pii
insight Into the workings of the hurr mi
mind and how to build a case agal'ist
a suspect. For criminals have ma iy
subtle methods of slipping through t'.in
net that is cast for them, not the least
of which are crooked lawyers.
The new school for the perfection of
law enforcement officers throughout the
United States in the matter of criminal
apprehension is the direct result of
efforts put forth by Attorney General
Cummlngs. When Attorney General
Cummlngs came into office three years
ago last March the country was overrun
by gangsters of the worst criminal type.
He set out to destroy them. How well
ha has succeeded may be gathered from
a, reading of the roster of gangsters
killed or thrown Into Jail by the De
partment of Justice in tills period of
time. All the major gangsters are dead.
On the statute books of the Federal
Government are laws that make It al
most certain death for a criminal to
pick a fight with the Federal Govern
ment. But It Is his crime school In which the
Attorney General Justly takes pride.
Slowly and painstakingly he has worked
to accomplish the school and there has
come to It from all over the country law
officers to study the latest Federal
methods In criminal apprehension. The
first class of this school has been
"graduated." It has gone back home
ready to put Into application Its learn
ing, the United States Attorney Oeneral
believes. . Every effort will be mad. to
make this school for police officers a
permanent Institution so that local law
enforcement agencies can have the
benefit of the same efficient training
that is given the famous O men.
PAGE THREE