Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-03-16
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THIEVES.
A Reformed burglar Tells householder
How TO Protect Their rropertY.

First Of all, | may say that the house,
holder. especially if his house is situated
in the suburbs, should count as next to
nothing the protection afforded by the
night policeman on his beat. | don't
mean to insinuate that the night police
man neglects his duty. | believe that, as
a rule, he performs it as well as he is able
to, and il may be pretty safely relied on
that at each time he passes a row Of vii
las he viii cast the light Of his bulls eye
over the front garden, if there is one,
and over the house front, and the lower
windows and street door. II there is no
front garden, he will see that all is right
and tight in the area as well. But his
beat is long one. and it is probable he
will not pass that way again for an hour,
or perhaps longer. So that if there is a
job afoot all that those engaged in it have
to do is to hide and see the policeman off,
and they then know exactly how much
time they have to get through their work
before he can make his appearance
again.
Speaking from my experience, and
from That of Others with whom / have
been acquainted, / should say that at
least a fourth part of the number of pri-
waite house burglaries that are success
fully committed are assisted by servants.
But speaking of ordinary work il is the
female servants who are made useful,
and that quite innocently on their part.
Masters and mistresses have no idea what
easy simpletons many girls in service
are, or how easily they are induced to
betray the secrets Of the house. And not
only girls. but women, cooks and house
maids, who are old enough TO know bet
ter. A smart chap. with plenty to say
and with money to spend, has but TO
scrape acquaintance with the kind Of
servants / am alluding TO when they are
out for church on Sunday and meet them
a few times afterward, and he can learn
all he wants to know respecting the val
liable stuff in the house and where it Is
.ept. and the ways and habits of their
employers and when they are at home
and when away.
1t is not often the burglar himself who
in this way goes a-fishing for useful in
formation. Generally speaking, he snot
what may be called a ladies man."
He is very well in his own line, but he
hasn't got the good looks Or the insinuat-
ing ways that go down with the fair sex.
That part Of the programme is intrusted
to the .'sweetstuff man. He is All atfa-
bic, well spoken young fellow, very re-
specially dressed, and so respectable in
his manner hat even If he was caught in
the kitchen with the servants at houses
there followers are strictly prohibited
his appearance would disirm suspicion.
1t should not be forgotten that the
burglar has no particular desire in the
pursuit Of his calling TO run his head into
more danger than is necessary, and there
is nothing that is SO much to his liking
as parapet ~work-getting in at attic
windows that are screened by the roof
parapet. Not one householder in a score
gives a thought as " the security Of the
attic window. He will have his street
door iron plated, with a patent lock on
it, and a chain strong enough to hold an
elephant, but a catch that can be pus
back with a bradawl is good enough for
the attic window, and all the time it
is quite as easy to enter by one
way as the other-if the houses
stand in a row and one of them
happens TO be empty. This is one
of the opportunities the fraternity
are always on the lookout for. Nothing
can be easier than TO enter an unoccu-
pied house at the basement, and once
within all a man has TO do Is to walk up
stairs and get out on 10 the parapet, and
there. well screened from view by the
coping, he can creep on his hands and
knees. and by means Of the attic win
dows get into any house he has a fancy
for. Ii il is winter time. and after dark,
he will have no difficulty in taking stock
of the front windows before he makes
the ascent. and so ascertaining which Of
the front rooms are occupied or il the
family are at dinner. IL the latter he
can be pretty sure that the servants are
all down stairs, and he can explore the
upper rooms without much fear Of inter-
r%uption. This wouldn't be called in the
profession tip top work, but it is a means
by which householders losea considerable
amount of portable property, and it very
rarely happens that the robber is caught
in the act,
10 regards house fastenings there is,
in my opinion, nothing safer for windows
than a long thumb screw in a socket,
going right through the frame and deep
into the sash on both sides Of the win
dow. don't know il there have been
any wonderful inventions in that way
since / took an interest in such things,
but | never saw a door fastener except
the thumb screw that should give a
workman a minutes trouble. For the
street door there is nothing so good as a
flat bar fastened to a pivot TO the center,
so that il will extend across the jambs
and drop into slots made on the plan OF
a watch and chain swivel. For window
shutters the cheapest and best protection
il a lightly hung bell on a coil spring.
But better than locks, bolts and bars is a
wiry little dog that, roaming loose. will
open his pines and let all the house know
1t the moment he hears a suspicious noise
al door or window London Telegraph.