



https://antipolygraph.org/documents/marston-fbi-file.pdf



The FBI opened its file on Marston in March 1938, with acknowledgment of receipt of an advance copy of Marston's book, The Lie Detector Test, "which copy was sent to [FBI Director J. Edgar] Hoover for review."



E.P. Coffey, who headed the FBI's Technical Laboratory, trashes the book in a review dated 11 May 1938. According to James Allan Matte (Forensic Psychophysiology Using the Polygraph, p. 29), "Special Agent Coffey was the first FBI polygraphist...and probably the first examiner in the Federal Government." Regarding Marston's book Coffey writes:



Quote:

Re: Review of book entitled, Lie Detector Test by Doctor William M. Marston.



The above-entitled book was reviewed by Mr. Quinn Tamm of the Technical Laboratory who reports that in his opinion the book is typical of all the work done by Doctor Marston in that it is written in an extremely egotistical vein and that the sole purpose of the book seems to be to establish the fact that Doctor Marston was the first to use the blood pressure test in the detection of deception. The first three chapters in the book deal with the subject of pointing out how Doctor Marston discovered the blood pressure test as a deception detector and also ridicules all other psychological attempts along this same line. The balance of the book is devoted to the various uses to which Doctor Marston has put the so-called lie detector test such as actual use in police cases, examination of employees in banks, a chapter entitled "Love and the Lie Detector" in which Marston points out how he has settled marital difficulties by the use of his psychological test.



It is noted that throughout the book the author points out that the blood pressure test for the detection of deception in the hands of a trained operator is infallible and that once the deception has been detected it has been his experience that if this is pointed out to the subject he will admit his guilt and it will have the psychological effect upon him of making him always in the future tell the truth. This to Mr. Tamm, exemplifies the same egotistical ridiculous strain in which this book is written.



Yet Marston's claims are little more egotistical and ridiculous than those commonly made by polygraph operators to this very day.



Also of interest is a "personal and confidential" memorandum dated 13 July 1939 from John S. Bugas, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Detroit office to Director Hoover. Bugas reports that Marston misrepresented the results of an experiment using the lie detector that was supposed to show that Gillette razor blades were superior to those of competitors. It didn't. Nonetheless, Marston appeared in a



Quote:

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL



Director

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Washington, D.C.



DirectorFederal Bureau of InvestigationWashington, D.C. Re: WILLIAM MOULTON MARSTON



Dear Sir:



With respect to telephonic request from Inspector L.B. NICHOLS that [redacted] of the Detroit Police Department be contacted for whatever information he possessed concerning WILLIAM MOULTON MARSTON, the following data are set out.



[Redacted] advised that in 1938 the Gillette Razor Company conceived the idea, apparently at the instigation of Mr. MARSTON, of using the lie detector in an advertising scheme concerning Gillette razor blades. The idea was to have a representative number of individuals, who used Gillette razors, shave with a razor containing a Gillette blade and then on the same occasion shave with a razor containing some substitute blade that fits a Gillette razor. These individuals were then to be immediately questioned by allegedly unbiased individuals concerning the respective merits of the blades just used.



MARSTON's lie detector machine was to be used during this interrogation and, of course, it was presumed that the answers would show the preponderant merits of Gillette blades over the other blades. The lie detector machine would simply show the veracity of the answers and thus help to establish the superiority of Gillette blades over the others. This scheme was handled by an advertising concern in Detroit, called Maxon's, Inc., which is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States.



According to [redacted] conducted experiments with a small group of individuals and padded the results so as to show that the Gillette blades were superior. [Redacted] and his associates in the Detroit Police Department then assisted MARSTON in carrying the experiment further and making a test with a larger number of individuals. [Redacted] stated that the interrogation engaged in with his assistants showed about fifty per cent of the individuals thus tested indicated Gillette blades to be superior and about fifty per cent indicated the other blades to be superior. MARSTON was not satisfied with this latter test and then confidentially advised an associate of [redacted] that if this associate would swear to results indicating that all the individuals believed Gillette to be superior, there would be a good sum of money in it not only for MARSTON but for this associate of [redacted][.] The associate declined to perjure himself in this fashion and, apparently, the entire scheme fell through as far as the Detroit area was concerned at least. MARSTON indicated on that occasion that he stood to make around thirty thousand dollars for his part in the entire scheme.



Very truly yours,



JOHN S. BUGAS

Special Agent in Charge Dear Sir:With respect to telephonic request from Inspector L.B. NICHOLS that [redacted] of the Detroit Police Department be contacted for whatever information he possessed concerning WILLIAM MOULTON MARSTON, the following data are set out.[Redacted] advised that in 1938 the Gillette Razor Company conceived the idea, apparently at the instigation of Mr. MARSTON, of using the lie detector in an advertising scheme concerning Gillette razor blades. The idea was to have a representative number of individuals, who used Gillette razors, shave with a razor containing a Gillette blade and then on the same occasion shave with a razor containing some substitute blade that fits a Gillette razor. These individuals were then to be immediately questioned by allegedly unbiased individuals concerning the respective merits of the blades just used.MARSTON's lie detector machine was to be used during this interrogation and, of course, it was presumed that the answers would show the preponderant merits of Gillette blades over the other blades. The lie detector machine would simply show the veracity of the answers and thus help to establish the superiority of Gillette blades over the others. This scheme was handled by an advertising concern in Detroit, called Maxon's, Inc., which is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States.According to [redacted] conducted experiments with a small group of individuals and padded the results so as to show that the Gillette blades were superior. [Redacted] and his associates in the Detroit Police Department then assisted MARSTON in carrying the experiment further and making a test with a larger number of individuals. [Redacted] stated that the interrogation engaged in with his assistants showed about fifty per cent of the individuals thus tested indicated Gillette blades to be superior and about fifty per cent indicated the other blades to be superior. MARSTON was not satisfied with this latter test and then confidentially advised an associate of [redacted] that if this associate would swear to results indicating that all the individuals believed Gillette to be superior, there would be a good sum of money in it not only for MARSTON but for this associate of [redacted][.] The associate declined to perjure himself in this fashion and, apparently, the entire scheme fell through as far as the Detroit area was concerned at least. MARSTON indicated on that occasion that he stood to make around thirty thousand dollars for his part in the entire scheme.Very truly yours,JOHN S. BUGASSpecial Agent in Charge



A hand-written note on the letter reads, "I always thought this fellow Marston was a phoney & this proves it." In addition, a memorandum dated 30 October 1940 summarizing the Bureau's response to a Congressional inquiry regarding a newspaper article reporting that Marston was going to establish a "truth bureau" includes the handwritten note: "He is a crackpot."



On 12 December 1941, five days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor marked America's entry into the Second World War, Marston sent a letter to the president of the United States, along with his book, The Lie Detector Test, volunteering his services to the nation. His letter was referred to the Justice Department, which on 5 January 1942 sent him a polite letter giving him the brush-off.



How ironic that the FBI, which viewed the creator of the lie detector as a crackpot and a phony, today relies heavily his pseudoscientific creation to guide investigations as well as to screen applicants and employees. A contributor who prefers to remain anonymous has provided AntiPolygraph.org with the FBI file of lie detector inventor William Moulton Marston , who under the pen name Charles Moulton also created the comic book character Wonder Woman , whose magical Lasso of Truth causes those trapped in its coils to reveal all. The file, released under the Freedom of Information Act, may be downloaded as a 736 kb PDF file here:The FBI opened its file on Marston in March 1938, with acknowledgment of receipt of an advance copy of Marston's book,"which copy was sent to [FBI Director J. Edgar] Hoover for review."E.P. Coffey, who headed the FBI's Technical Laboratory, trashes the book in a review dated 11 May 1938. According to James Allan Mattep. 29), "Special Agent Coffey was the first FBI polygraphist...and probably the first examiner in the Federal Government." Regarding Marston's book Coffey writes:Yet Marston's claims are little more egotistical and ridiculous than those commonly made by polygraph operators to this very day.Also of interest is a "personal and confidential" memorandum dated 13 July 1939 from John S. Bugas, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Detroit office to Director Hoover. Bugas reports that Marston misrepresented the results of an experiment using the lie detector that was supposed to show that Gillette razor blades were superior to those of competitors. It didn't. Nonetheless, Marston appeared in a 1938 advertisement (5.2 mb PDF) claiming, "My study enables me to state flatly that Gillette Blades are far superior in every respect to competitive blades tested":A hand-written note on the letter reads, "I always thought this fellow Marston was a phoney & this proves it." In addition, a memorandum dated 30 October 1940 summarizing the Bureau's response to a Congressional inquiry regarding a newspaper article reporting that Marston was going to establish a "truth bureau" includes the handwritten note: "He is a crackpot."On 12 December 1941, five days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor marked America's entry into the Second World War, Marston sent a letter to the president of the United States, along with his book,, volunteering his services to the nation. His letter was referred to the Justice Department, which on 5 January 1942 sent him a polite letter giving him the brush-off.How ironic that the FBI, which viewed the creator of the lie detector as a crackpot and a phony, today relies heavily his pseudoscientific creation to guide investigations as well as to screen applicants and employees.