Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-05-28
SAFES NOT SAFE.
The Best OF Them Easily Opened by Ex-
pert Cracksmen.

The Best OF Them Easily Opened by Ex-
pert Cracksmen.
Are safes fire and burglar proof?
We'll, that is rather leading. or per-
haps | should say, misleading. aues-
ton that you ask me-" Thus replied a
leading safe manufacturer to the query
of a reporter. IF you ask me can
safes be made fire-proof and burglar
proof, or fire and burglar proof. then l
answer you yes, for they are thus made
The public at large does not seem to
fully comprehend what safes are for.
Some safes are intended simply to re-
sist the ravageS of fire, for they are
meant to hold only documents and 9TH
er articles that may be almost beyond
value to their owner, but which are
financially valueless to strangers, and
hence have no temptations for the or
binary burglar. Then there are others
that are meant to resist the enterpris-
ing safe-breaker as well as the ravages
of the tire-tiend.
You make all kinds, do you?"
Certainly. But bear in mind that
there are certain limits to safes pow.
CT of resistance.
1T is claimed by some that any safe
can be broken OPEN"
80 it cam replied the manufacture
er, ''but it takes time. Any safe can
be opened by expert cracksmen if they
have plenty of time to do the work.
All that any maker claims for burglar
proof safes is that they will make such
resistance to thieves who may desire to
open them as to be, to all intents and
purposes, free from danger"
This, then, being the case, the larg-
er the safe the more secure it is?''
''Well, if two safes are made of the
same material, of course the thicker one
would take longer to drill holes through
than the other. But steel safe is
much safer than a common iron one.
There is no safe, and suppose there
never will be one invented, that cannot
be burglarized if sufficient time is al
lowed. Otherwise, how could any safe
be opened when the key was lost or
mislaid or the combination forgotten?"
Then | should Judge that you would
placed in a good light and in full view
of the street, so that it might be watch
ed by the police, is better protected
than bigger and better built one that
is in secluded placer"
go yes, of course, 500 per cent safer,
if you notify the police. The man that
hit upon the idea of lighting up his
place of business and putting his
safe where it could be seen was a gent
US and a benefactor to the community.
If | had lot of money that could not
get into the bank tonight, I should
light the gas when locking up the store,
and notify the policeman on the route
that if the light went out he must get
in and see what was the cause of it be-
ing out. You see burglars like plenty
of time to open safes, and they have to
be watched. You would be surprised
to know the number of safes that are
to be found in private residences at the
Back bay. There are hundreds if not
| thousands of them in houses where the
ready money that is kept in them
amounts to hardly anything You
know that there are other things that
are valuable besides money and bust
ness papers. Many a fashionable and
wealthy lady has lace shawls and dia-
monds that are worth small fortune,
and these must be kept in the house
| where they may be ready for use at any
moment. You see, then, that it is
necessary to keep them safely under
lock and key where they may not be in
danger of disappearing through fire or
burglars, or that other evil that house
keepers suffer from, dishonest servants.
There are hundreds of private resi-
| dences where the male head of the
house does not see the inside of the
safe from one year to the other. The
prices of safes range from $500 to
$4,000, $4,000, $4,000. There are
government safes in this country that
have cost as high as $4,000, but 1
guess that ordinary bank-safes will av-
erage $4,000 apiece. The business has
| taken great strides during the past
| twenty wears. ''-BOStOn Globe.