Comparison of Keyword "VICTIMS" to 2 Other Proposed Words
The following graphic shows the word "VICTIMS", "REMAINS", and "FINDING" directly beneath the keyword in the third line of the Ramey telegram, seen by most people as "VICTIMS." All three comparison words are printed using 1947 teletype font to aid in the comparison.
(Added 11/24/02: Graphic revised with new scans of the original negative at four different levels of brightness and added directly above print scan for comparison. The new scan is about two-thirds of the resolution of the print scan but sharper around the edges of the letters. Also the lighter scans help suppress film grain noise around the letters. The images have been rescaled to match the scan from the print.)
To my eye, the first letter looks very strongly like "V" and nothing like either "R" or "F" in the two alternate proposed words. For comparison, the word "FORT" from "FORT WORTH, TEX." from the next line has been included in the graphic to indicate what an "R" or "F" is more likely to look like.
The letter "E" is also a poor match in "REMAINS" for the second letter. The "G" in "FINDING" is likewise a poor match for the final letter when compared to "S". A relatively well-formed letter "S" from the word "DISC" two lines down is also included for comparison. The new added negative scans make the outline of the "S" a little more obvious than in the print.
The third and fourth letters in the word are less distinct (particularly the fourth), but note how the proposed "C" in "VICTIMS" would be a good match for a faint "C" elevated above the level of the other letters. Again the new scans make the outline of the letter more obvious while suppressing some of the surrounding noise. A similar elevated "C" can be clearly made out in the comparison word "DISC" to the right, and suggests a printing quirk of this particular teletype machine.
In contrast, neither the "M" in "REMAINS" nor the "N" in "FINDING" remotely resembles anything to be seen here in the third letter position.
The new scans also make the central dip a little more evident in the proposed letter "M" for "VICTIMS" and help distinguish the letter from the proposed "N" in "REMAINS" and "FINDING".
The graphic also shows "tic marks" for the expected central positions of each letter, based on average letter spacing and even spacing between letters for teletype machines (nonproportional font). This can also help in determining likely letters.
Note, e.g., how the downstroke for the letter "I" in "VICTIMS" and "FINDING" in the second letter position is almost exactly where expected, whereas the downstroke of "E" in "REMAINS" would be well to the left of the vertical stroke of the actual letter in the photo. Similarly, for the first letter in ":REMAINS" and "FINDING", the downstrokes of the "R" and "F" are well leftwards of the central position of the actual letter.
