Personal Identification and Description 



211 



any system in which the symbols will be self-explanatory, and neither in 

 Galton's original, nor in the present condensed system has this been attempted. 

 The problem of the Identification Bureau is to balance the time lost in writing 

 down and in reading a complicated system, against the time lost in examining 

 the multiple entries of a more simple classification. 



Table illustrating hoiv Galton's System of Finger-Print indexing may be 

 condensed and at the same time further developed. 



Directory 



The following are the values on our present condensed system : 



With Galton : Th. = Thumb ; F. = Fore- 

 finger ; M. = Middle finger ; R. = Ring finger ; 

 L. = Little finger. In the condensed system, 

 the fingers are in " natural order from left 

 little to right little finger." The vertical 

 is placed between the two thumbs. 



We have now to consider briefly the remainder of this last finger-print 

 work of Francis Galton. 



In the Introductory Chapter Galton clearly defines his aim. Scotland 

 Yard was beginning to form a vast collection of finger-prints, but these were 

 to be primarily classified by four or five anthropometric measurements, so 

 that the number of finger-prints in a group would not amount to more than 

 a few hundreds or at most to, perhaps, 3000. It was the large groups in these 

 subindices which Galton desired to break up. He was not describing how to 

 deal with indices of 100,000 to 200,000 sets; that is a more modern problem. 



* See our p. 198. 



27—2 



