Mr. Latona.

of making the examination gives an opinion, we will not question the number of points. We have testified--I personally have testified in court to as few as seven points of similarity.

Mr. Dulles.

But you would not on two, would you?

Mr. Latona.

No, sir; because I know that two points, even though they would not be duplicate points, could be arranged in such a fashion that it might possibly give me the impression that here are two points which appear to be the same even though they are are not.

Mr. Dulles.

But it is somewhere between two and seven--somewhere in that range?

Mr. Latona.

That is right. Where that is, I do not know. And I would not say whether I would testify to six, would I testify to five, would I refuse to testify to four.

Mr. Dulles.

You say you would--or would you?

Mr. Latona.

I don't know. That's a question I could not answer. I would have to see each case individually before I could render a conclusion.
Now, going outside of the United States, we have been approached--I mean the FBI--have been approached by other foreign experts in an attempt to set a worldwide standard of 16 characteristics, a minimum of 16, as opposed to 12, which is generally referred to by people in this country here. Now of course we would not subscribe to that at all. And I think----

Mr. Dulles.

That would be 16 on the fingerprint of the same finger?

Mr. Latona.

That's right.

Mr. Dulles.

Obviously, if you have two fingers that would alter the number--if you had three on one and two on the other, would you consider that five?

Mr. Latona.

We would.
Now, whether the foreign experts would not, I don't know. In other words, if we were to go along with this European theory of 16 points, we would not testify to this being an identification. That is really what it would amount to. Yet to me, in my mind, there is no question that these prints here----

Mr. Eisenberg.

Which is what exhibit?

Mr. Latona.

The enlargements in Exhibit 634 are simply reproductions of the left index fingerprint of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Representative Ford.

There is no doubt in your mind about that?

Mr. Latona.

Absolutely none at all. The fact that there are only the nine points charted--and I feel this way, it is purely a matter of experience. They simply do not have the experience that we have in the FBI. The FBI has the world's largest practical fingerprint file. We receive on an average of 23,000 to 25,000 cards a day which are processed within a 3-day period.

Mr. Dulles.

In a 3-day period?

Mr. Latona.

In a 3-day period.

Mr. Dulles.

And by processed do you mean they are filed according to certain characteristics?

Mr. Latona.

They are. At first they are recorded as having been received from a particular agency, as to the number that we have received, as to the type of the card. Then they are checked to see if the impressions which are on the fingerprint card are complete and legible, that they are placed in their proper sequence, that is they are properly classified.
Then they are checked through our files to see if the person has or has not a prior criminal record. Then a reply is prepared and forwarded to the contributor. That is done in a 3-day period.

Mr. Dulles.

How old is the art, roughly?

Mr. Latona.

Insofar as this country is concerned, I would say back to 1903, when the first fingerprint file for purposes of classification and filing was set up in this country in New York.

Mr. Dulles.

Did it start in France?

Mr. Latona.

No. Really, I daresay the English were probably as early as any, or even down to South America--you have in Argentina the setting up of fingerprint files as early as 1891. For a long time we never recognized the fact that Argentina had a fingerprint file. I think it is primarily because all of the works on fingerprinting were written in Spanish, and it was just a question of finding somebody to take the time and effort to translate it into English.