Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-04-12
THIEVES.
How the Enterprising Burglar
Goes to Work.

This article should not be read by
timid housewives who are sometimes
left entirely alone at home until late
at night, while the tired yet industri-
GUS husband pokes billiard balls
around in a cozy up town saloon. 1t
was suggested by a burglars nippers
which lay this morning amid a pile Of
kindred articles in the stationhouse,
and also by the warmth of the wealth
er which opened up a vista of cool
balconies, open windows and doors
left inyitipgly ajar.
Many persons are careless in warm
weather about closing up properly at
night and usually suffer for it. Others
are extremely careful and yet suffer
just as much, The careful wife who
wakes her spouse just as he closes his
eyes for the first delicious nap and
names over the whole catalogue of
apertures in the house, not allowing
him any peace until each one has been
carefully examined, wakes in the
morning to find Ter spoon dish a blank
and her jewel case a glittering vacancy.
The doors were securely locked and
bolted, yet the enterprising burglar
has left his mark. The truth is bolts,
locks and bars present no obstacle.
He is a very Cupid in that respect
and works almost as deity, For a
long time the sliding bolt was consid-
cred %invulncrable, and when the catch
was turned down absolutely so.
1t was a long time before the sharp
est detectives were able to discover
how it was slid back so easily, yet
when known one wonders why it was
never thought Of before. With a nip
pcrS made for the purpose, the opera
tor grasps the end of the key and
turns it about until it can be easily
displaced. A bent wire, to which is
attached a loop of silk thread, is next
inserted through the keyhole and
moved slowly backward until the
knob" Of. the bolt is caught, when a
gentle pull does the balance and the
door is open. Should the place be a
public clearinghouse and the thief a
boarder, he can easily make everything
secure behind him, and the story of
robbery next morning will sound ridic-
ulous to the uninitiated. He has only
to readjust the key in the lock, take
one turn with a thread around the bolt
of the knob, allowing one end to hang
through the keyhole and the other to
pass through the creyice Of the door,
close the door, give one end Of the
thread a pull, apply the nippers to
the key, and the door is locked as Sc
curely as beforel
A stiff wire, with a loop at one end,
is all that is required to open a win
dow blind, and a piece of spring steel
slides the window bolt. Should the
blinds have an extra bolt in the CEN
ter, exact the location by pressing
them with the knee. A bradawl bores
a hole so as to touch the surface next
the wood, and a keen awl made for
the purpose is used to work it back.
Domestics often aid in robbingtheir
employers. The Kaufman robbery,
cOmmittedssher some months ago was
planned by Annie Shine, a female
servant. Both male and female SER
wants of this class are called indis-
criminately" Packing Mollies," and are
numerous. One of their maneuvers
is to withdraw the screws of the bolt
socket, make the holes larger, and,
moistening them with water, slip back
the screws, which for the time being
hold the socket in its place. A few
hours after, however, a gentle push is
all that is necessary to force them out.
An abrasion is made on the molding
to distract suspicion from the domes-
tic.
The ways Of the burglar are dark.
Did he apply the same amount of in
genuity to any honest profession, he
must rise to a place in its first rank.
Instances are on record of his over
coming the combination lock by hard
( atudv