Jews are not considered to be “white Americans” in a newly-adopted criminal identification system developed by the St. Louis police with the cooperation and approval of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The St. Louis rogues’ gallery has been replaced by a modern key punch system in which a perforation is made on line 2 of the card if the arrested person happens to be “Jewish.” A “white American” has his card punched on line 5 of the same column. A spokesman for the F.B.I. described the new system as the “most progressive” in the country, and law enforcement officials have predicted that it will ultimately be installed by police departments on a national basis.
While the religion of Jews is listed, there is no record made of the religious background of a Catholic or Protestant prisoner. This listing is viewed by Jewish sources with alarm and resentment, and is considered an official affront.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
