Finger Prints

popular name of a receutly developed and widely adopted system for detecting crime and identifying criminals; consists of an impre ion of the ball of a finger or, preferably, of the thumb, on some plastic substance or inked surface, which is then carefully catalogued and filed for future use. It is said that the fine lines in the skin of thumb or finger do not vary materially from youth to old age; and that no two persons’ finger prints are alike; hence the value of this form of identification.