Southold High School - Snuffbox Yearbook (Southold, NY)

Page 13 text:

 ork productions. No one realizes the work attached to a project of this sort, nor of the spirit that must be present to make the production a success. Each year everyone looks forward to the time when they shall see these plays, for they know that in them they will not be disappointed. A large Christmas tree outside of the Presbyterian church maintained each year by the Parent-Teachers’ Association attracts much attention and helps to foster true Christmas spirit in the community. T he parks of which Southold boasts three are very popular and attractive. The park at Founders’ Landing is used most by the townspeople, but the Creeksidc Park 'has become a favorite with those who enjoy boating, canoeing and fishing. I he park donated to the village by Doctor Emerson, as a memorial to the boys of Southold who gave their lives in the World War, is a spot much frequented by Southoldcrs and visitors alike. In accomplishing what it has, Southold can justlv take pride in its community spirit. So Southolders let us continue to show as much if not more community spirit in the future as we have in the past. C. J. S. ’24 Page Tivclvc FACES AND FINGERPRINTS It is said that nature never repeats herself. There are no two leaves exactly alike, neither are there two human faces exactly alike. Vet one can readily notice the marked likeness between two persons, and the resemblance may be so great that they may be mistaken for each other. When standing side by side and on close inspection, the depressions of the skull or the profile underneath may be observed. However the pictures of these two persons might look identical as is often the case. In this way an innocent man may, and has been punished for a crime by being mistaken for a man who greatly resembled him. At one time it was thought that photographs would furnish the solution of the question of judicial identification but the great number which was collected made it physically impossible to discover the likeness of an individual who concealed his name. This is not at the present time a rare thing for a criminal to do. In ten years the Parisian police had collected one hundred thousand photographs. There is now', however, one absolutely certain method of identification which apparently has never failed all through the centuries and that is the method of fingerprinting. The Page Thirteen

Page 15 text:

extraordinary thing is that they remain throughout life. One may take the fingerprint of a boy, and be able to identify him by a fingerprint taken seventy years later. As feet are subject to a certain amount of wear and tear by reason of walking on them, and as manual labor has the same effect on the hands and fingers, nature has provided for (heir protection against injury by “corrugated” skin. Manual labor tends to develop the ridges of the skin. These ridges prevent articles from slipping from one’s grasp as may be demonstrated by comparison with rubber boots, overshoes, tires and the like which arc provided with ridges or depressions in some form as a protection against slipping or skidding. There are some exceptions to this however. In the impressions of persons employed at plaster work, cement work, dish washing or any work which affects the skin, the ridges are t e m ] )o r a lily d es t roved. The substance of which our bodies are made changes every seven years. There is not present in all of one’s body one single ounce of matter that existed there seven years ago. Yet as the skin is worn off and regrows, the fingerprints persist and remain the same. For fifty centuries, far back before the birth of Christ, fingerprints were used for identification and for signatures. The lawyer’s expression, “Thereunto set my hand and seal,” meant that the thumb was pressed down on the wax and the mark of the thumb was “the seal.” Kings signed important state documents with fingerprints and through the ages among the thousands of millions of human beings born on earth no two thumbprints or fingerprints could be found exactly alike. The uses to which fingerprints may be applied arc really unlimited. They are used in the police departments for the identification of persons who may have a previous criminal record and for the apprehension of persons who have committed a crime and escaped detection, but who unconsciously left some telltale impression by touching some articles or smooth surface as glassware, china or silverware on the premises where the crime was committed. Fingerprints arc used in the Army and Navy departments for identification and apprehension of deserters; also for the prevention of unidentified dead on the battlefield in case of war. A number of savings institutions use fingerprints for the protection of persons who are unable to read or write. In this way unauthorized persons are prevented from withdrawing the funds from their accounts. Fingerprints could be used to good advantage in the Imma-gration Department in preventing undesirable persons, who Page Fourteen have been deported, from re-entering the country at some other time or port. At present there is no system in use by the government in the United States to prevent such occurrences and almost daily, persons who have been previously deported, re-enter this country without detection. It would prove a valuable means of identification if this system were adopted by life insurance companies. It would prevent the impersonations in medical examinations or the filing of false claims in case of death. The value to an insurance company may be readily realized in case of an accident where a body is mutiliated beyond recognition. An impression of even one finger in such a case would make possible a positive identification and would prevent litigation for insurance claims. The system of fingerprints does away with impersonations in competitive examinations and at the present time is used by the Municipal Civil Service Commission of New York City in various examinations for positions under Municipal government. There is no doubt that in the near future (and the day is not far distant) that a National Bureau of Identification will be established by the United States, compelling all residents after reaching a certain age to have their fingerprints filed. If such a bureau were established there would be no longer, cases of unidentified dead, and the criminal record of a person would be complete at any time, irrespective of the places where the said prisoner might have been imprisoned. If election laws were amended so as to compel all persons to place an impression of one of their thumbs in the election register instead of signatures, as at the present time, it would positively prevent false registration and fraudulent voting. It would also eliminate entirely the so-called “repeater” on election day, because all persons even though they are unable to write their own name can make an impression which cannot be forged or falsified. The suggestion that every human being should be fingerprinted is an excellent idea. No one could object to it except individuals that have been guilty of crime or that contemplate some criminal action. RUTH SILLECK, '25 “ALAS” They sat together before the fire, she coiling herself comfortably on the large sofa and he—ah, how it thrilled him to be near her, and to feel her at his side! And she was his own— the thought of it! She, the pride of her sex—all his own. He told himself how lucky he was in possessing such a little queen. Page Fifteen