The sun., 1884-02-10
EVOLUTION or TIME LOCKS
TIE Use OF Dyas~its ~ Ku~ria~s Ne,
Guarded Aeatsst ~ saes M~kerr.

TIE Uss OF Dyaswtts ~ Euruia~s New
Guarded Acatust hy sacs M~ker~.
It was only about ten years ago that time
locks began TO como into general use rs pro-
tection for safes or vaults containing valuable
property. Tho chief cause Of their adoption
IA safeguard was the prevalence OF burgla.
rles. the general plnn OF which was to capture
the ofI1cors Of n bank or other depository OF
valuables. and compel them. under threat Of
death, to open safes. In some cases tho
masked burglars murdered their victims In
others the unfortunate officials who opened
the safes were subjected to suspicion. Cen
orally the burglars operated In lonely country
places. Among tho most celebrated burelaries
before time locks became common were tho
robbery Of the Bowdoinham National Dank Of
Bowdoinham, Me-, OF $4,000: tho Scituate Ma
tional Bank Of Soituate r. l.. Of sii, 600; the
Blackstone National Bank OF Uxbridge. Mass.
OF $40. 900: the Saratoga County National Bank
OF Waterford. N. y. OF s276.000; the First Ma
tional Bank Of Wellsboro. Pa. OF tS0.0e0; and
tho soughegan National Bank Of Milford. N.
and s sna from tines to StfS ns %ors auosS
as arguments for the adoption. OF some con-
trivanee to prevent tho unlocking OF safes by
demand for time locks. begun about ten years
ngo. was acce!erated In 1876 by tho famous rob:
Sss s sSMapsiPn pSi morn tha s%t
mo.ths months nat.crward. Of $1,000 both By
I'd. one was in the, National MaIalWe
other was the National Bank of Barre. Vt. In
both these cases tho cashiers were CAPTURED.
the bank and to
closed only with combination locks but they
were we're unable 70 open the doors closed by tho
necessary for the timo to elapse for which the
clock WAS set before the lock could be opened.
the point Of discovering TINT tho time lock
than he iisnss p .ins: and tbs. instssa q
waiting the tedious lapse OF hours the time
watch that has @ los lost It's WIZ or
The rush for time locks went on. until within
nSe yehrs bsn, soSn t two banks NIX had se
tho evidence % OF wa want % oi security nj @ But evolu.
ton IN bargiary made evolution in locks and
In evsn9 s%s Sat bs si
timo ioci One Of the mes @est n notable tai attsmps At
mcs hs has Il soas
the burglars first entered the, fre-proof
eg On dhrs the swn w the eGs a
the most approved modern burglars tools. 1t
getting inside the vault tho burglars at vassar
inches BY e.s SSs an I s
i',e, fSet ,deeI; The door was about three inches
burglars broke oil the dial lock. leaving hole
eighths OF an inch in diameter. Then they put
In Q dynamite cartridge. which they OK,
od's with just Sss oS,sds while Tho they ssSa
them. The explosion sounded to a man, who
w al hu Ill npSIx I'M hupl
like the boom Of distant cannon. but it did
not not awaken his brother who was sleeping with
twenty feet away. Little or no damage was
done to the room or vault or tho inside Of the
Hant ,, but TER tsrriS iorse T was eSert.d inside the
plosion tore Off the stee door and bolt frames
steal bolts that held the door. The door was
split In two and both locks we're shattered and
sa door Sss On
%ss tho time lex wrS o,9sE uS
the explosion tho burglars had still a Job before
them; The PROMPT alarm given by the man
ate Investigation. aud The burglars wore inter-
rupted while they, we're working on the inner
doors which had been somewha. dislodSed BY
edy been opened had the burglars been al
lowed M few minutes more time: o..
doors with dynamite. But 1t has been shown,
many time locks that hat have been relied upon n
can a be ',ss eassily run down by iarTns the move
se Ts 9r ba @ ya 9n
this work because Of the s force that i Is exerted
damage to other objects not far Of In one case
dssiru;tvs forse was used on en- safe without
snye 70 tSs rs eeR ss' Eng
land. In 1881. there have been many devices for
time locks. many Of which have been patented
Of long cont inued and expensive litigation
The application Of dynamite TO burglary has
and the lockmakers. Ii was thought that the
acme of protection was assured W hon tho
safemakers made q safe without any kcyhoie
or any crevice by which any explosive could be
be drilled Or weised Or pred. Bat the latest
by concussion from tho outside presented a
now problem to be solved in order that the
,S of s1 bo ond peI nhakng should
Itappears to be generally conceded that no
safe can n be- made that cannot DO oncnGd BY OK
make the burglars work 50 dlfiieuit that hey y
o safe is, at most. cessible to them. Tue
latest problem for the timo-ock makers was
therefore to arrange their mechanism SO that
would not either dislodge the lock from its
iaste1nGs 9r set the mansprng froe SO that i
wohiu Iuu ubNu III u lew soCDnuS. lHslcHu ol
slowly unwindng until the proper time
for releasing the protecting bolt. Some
OF the lock makers claim to have accom-
plished this by means Of two new appliances.
One Of these mounts the lock on springs. so
that O dynamite shock that sends it out of
place Is eXpcn led on the springs. and when
the shock is over the lock returns TO its place.
This prevents tho use OF sna charges of dyna-
mite which have sometimes been used to jar
loose tho mechanism Of the clock without max
Ing shock that would alarm anybody in the
The other protection against the dynamite
ilends consists in peculiar mechanism of tho
before tho specified time is defeated by the
immediate change OF conditions in tho lock- so
that even Il tho handspring runs down after
the shock the lock is not opened. 1t remains
to be seen whether evolution In burglary will
be equal to these new devices.
Miss Flood Jilts u Fortune. hunting Lord.
From the Chicago Tribune
Miss Jennie Flood. the California heIress.
who 70 reported BY London paper 10 be engaged 10
D ft0ll Ia la l.ia ,.,.ls ttra