The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-05-15
A Detectives Talk About Burglars.

CARE there many first-class burglars,
known as such, now at liberty in this
country" the reporter asked.
"No," was the answer; mot more
than twenty who deserve the appella-
ton. 1t requires rare qualities in a
criminal to constitute him one of that
class. He must have patience, intelli-
gence, mechanical knowledge, industry,
determination, fertility of resources and
courage, all in high degree. But even
if he possesses all these, they can not
be utilized unless he can find associates
possessing the same requisites, or gain
admission to one of the already organ
lied gangs, and they are very chary
about taking new rlen into their conf
dence. Sometimes the arrest of sim
gle man out of a gang will put stop to
the operations of the remainder of the
gang for long time, simply because
they need another man, and can find
nobody they can trust. Bank burglars
sometimes spend months in preparation
for a job, cleaning necessary informa-
ton of the habits of bank officials, form
ing advantageous acquaintance, and
making approaches to the coveted treas
ure all the time, but with the patience
to wait until the iron is fully hot before
striking blow. When they come
across some new kind of lock, they will
manage to get possession of one, what
ever its cost and whatever roundabout
means may be necessary to get hold of
lit, and, taking it apart, will study it's
obstruction until they know its strong
and weak points, and how to beat it,
just as well as its inventor or maker
could. They are always on the alert to
utilize for their purposes every new APP
pliance of power. Look at that ma
chine, for instance. 1t is techni-
cally called drag Simple as it
looks, it is extremely powerful-and so
quiet. By means of bit, a hole is
bored through a safe door; that block
is set inside; the point of this screw
rests on the block; this block
rests inside the surface that has been
bored: then the screw is turned by this
long handle, which two men operate.
AS the screw turns the blocks are forced
apart, further and further. 1t is power
that hardly any construction Of safe
can resist. Either the back or the front
must give way. Here is another ma
chine, common jackscrew-o only an
exceptionally powerful one-rigged so
that by turning it will noiselessly turn
into the crack of safe door succession
of steel wedges; first, one as thin as %
knife blade; soon one as thick as your
hand. And the hinges must give way.
Where the size or location of the safe or
vault to be forced precludes the use of
these machines and an explosion be-
comes necessary, dynamite and nitro
glycerine are employed with the greatest
skill, with such art in the deadening of
sound that sometimes an explosion
which rends asunder huge safe can not
be heard twenty yards away from the
room in which it takes place. Yet, with
all these precautions and skill, it is sell
dom that bank burglary is attempted
in which some bank employee or lock
expert, like Edison, is not an accomplice.
l do not recall an exception to that rule
in nine years. Then, in the covering of
their tracks these first class burglars are
remarkably adroit. Some of them will
not trust an eXpressman to carry away
their plumber, however thoroughly Grim
inal and in sympathy with them he might
Aqe,Tbut would buy, simply for use on the
ane occasion, q coach and pair of horses,
which they would sell the next day at
auction. Americans and Jews are gem
orally the sharpest burglars, and most
skillful in evading pursuit."
"Where do burglars get their tools?"
"Almost any mechanic or blacksmith
will make any tool he is called upon for
if its construction is within his capacity,
without ackinrr onu Oh ~ :.
uses to which tbs to be put, provided he
gets his price for it. 1t is, of course,
more than probable that he guesses the
use to which it is intended, but that, he
thinks, is not his business. He is guilty
OF no offense, for there is no law against
making burglars tools unless guilty
knowledge of their purpose can be prov
en-, and there is no law against having
them or carrying them about except at
night. Still, the making of such imple-
ments is, as a rule, confined to those
mechanics who are actually in league
with the criminals who expect to use
them"
&C. Are women employed to any great
tentin the preparation of burglariesPn
AS accessories, yes, to a very great
oA'onU' 1ney are employed 10 gam IN
formation, to stand outside watch when
a burglary is going on inside building,
and not infrequently aid by taking
rooms where their accomplices may cut
through walls into adjoining stores or
warehouses. But [ never heard of a
woman actually taking part in the work
OF opening safe or store. Some of
them have the nerve for it, but not the
strength desired. IN. Y. San.