Omaha daily bee., 1885-03-09
SAFES NOT SAFE,
The Best of Them Easily Opened b,
Expert Cracksmcn.

Boston Globe.
care safes fire aud burglar rroof2 Wei
that Is rather a leading or perhaps ]
should psy a misleading, question that
you ask me-, y thus replied q leading safe
manufacturer to the query Of the reporter
eff you ssk me can cafes be made fire,
proof ard burglar-proof, or fire aud burg.
lar proof, then | say yes, for they are
thus made. The public at large do not
seem to fully comprehend what safes are
for. Some safes are intended simply to
resist the ravages of fire, for they are
meant to hold only documents and other
articles that may be almost beyond value
to their owner, but which are financially
valueless ID strangers. and hence have nc
temptation for the ordinary burglar.
Then there are others that are meant to
reslst the enterpri'ing safe breaker as
we'll as the r,vages of the fire fend."
"You make all kinds, do your
Certainly, but bear In mind thatthere
are,'cert ain limits to q safes power of re,
sistarce.
at Is claimed by some that any safe
can be broken open"
$50 it can, replied the manufactures,
shut 1t 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 ia
that they will make such resistance to the
thieves who may desire to open them IS
to be, to all intent and purposes free
from danger"
"This, then, being the case. the larger
the safe The more secure it is?'
Wei If two ssfes are made ofthe came
material, Of course the thicker one would
take longer to drill through than the
ether. But a steel safe is much safer
than q common iron one. There Ia no
safe, aud l suppose there never will be
onc invented. that can not be burglarizei
if sufficient time is allowed. Otherwk e,
hos could any safe ever be opened when
the key was lost or mislaid or the combi-
nation forgottenQ All that any safe man
u~fscturcr claims, or that any purchaser
can reasonably expect is that we canmake
safes so difficult to open that there will
not be time for thieves to do the job?'
"Then 1 should judge that you would
consider an inferior safe that was placed
in good light and in full view of the
street, 60 that it might be watched by the
police, is better protected than a bigger
and better built one that Is In a secluded
place."
so yes, of course, 500 per cent eafer,
if you notify tho police. The ma that
hit upon the idea of lighting up his place
of business and putting his safe where it
could be seen was a genius and a benefac-
tor 10 the community. If l had a lot of
money | could not get into the bank to.
night, l should light the gas when lock-
ing up the store, and NOTIFY the police.
man on the route that If the light went
out he must get in and see wha! was the
cause of 1t being out. You see burglars
like plenty of time to open safes, and
they hate to be watched. You would be
surprised to know the number of safes
that are to be found 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 business papers. Many a fashiona-
BILE lady has lace shawls and diamonds
that are worth a small fortune, and these
must be kept In the house where they
may be ready for use at any moment.
You see, then, that 1t is necessary to keep
them safely under lock aud key where
they may not be In danger of disappear
ing through fire or burglars, or that other
evil that housekeepers suffer from dis-
honest servants. There are hundreds of
private residences 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 So, 900,
$40, 600 and $4,000. There are govern
ment safes in this country that have cost
as high as $50, 900, but l guess the ordi-
nary bank.safes will average $4,000
apiece. The business has taken great
strides during the past twenty years.