San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-10-17
There are thirty-seven tunnels moro than
1000 yards long in England
EXPERT CRACKSMEN.
HOW PROFESSIONAL CROOKS PLY
THEIR NEFARIOUS VOCATION.

Skilled ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Methods of
Burglars-A Dangerous Tool-Watching
for the Waterman.
To adopt the well known thief takers e1-
preston, the professional" crook is far from
being the tough and rowdy usually pictured
by the agitated fancy Of the alarmed citizen.
The most successful burglars are not Of the
Sykes class, so graphically depicted by
Dickens fertile pen. They are intelligent
and not infrequently ingenious mechanics
who would command the highest wages in
honest pursuits, and those members OF q
gang whose part Of ''job" it is to recon-
hotter the ground have the bearing, appear
ance and manners Of well-to-do business men
whose presence around banks and great mer-
camille establishments would not excite the
least suspicion. The practical safe breaker
studies the latest mechanical inventions in his
line with as much intelligence and application
as the safe builder, and experience teaches
that the craftsman frequently outwits the
inventive genius of the legitimate mechanic.
While the work of the burglar must of
course be adapted to the circumstances of
each particular job, there are certain pecun-
arities Of noted cracksmen by means Of
which experienced detectives are enabled tol
say with almost absolute certainty who per-
petrated the crime. There are burglars who
would never enter the house by any other
way than the scuttle In the roof choosing an
adjacent vacant or partly occupied building
as starting point; others will sneak into q
house and keep themselves concealed until
the time for their work has arrived; still
others prefer entrance by the basement or
some rear window not sufficiently secured
with grating. Doors which are merely bolted
from the inside offer not the slightest obstacle
to the professional burglar. A simple and
noiseless trial will az once show him the
location Of the bolt With a fine bit he
bores hole not more than an eighth or q
sixth of an inch near the bolt, pushes through
loop of thin but strong silk or fishing line,
and by means Of a pliable steel tap, usually
watch spring material, he knows how to
fasten the loop around the knob of the bolt.
A quick pull is sufficient to move the bolt in
the slot. This operation is for fine work in
hotels or fashionable residences.
The safe breaker does not associate with
those who crack" a store for the purpose of
stealing bulky goods. He represents the
aristocracy of the profession, and uses force
only when it is absolutely necessary. Com
binations of safes have often been learned
by this class of crooks through obtaining &C
cess to the premises after business hours,
removing the dial of the combinations, fit
ting sheet of tinfoil over the latter and re-
placing the dial. The legitimate opening or
closing Of the safe makes the impressions Of
letters or numbers on the soft foil sought to
be obtained by the burglar. At second
visit the dial is readily removed, and for tho
expert one glance at the foil is sufficient to
apply the combination, which opens the safe
without force. Disordering the combination
after the robbery, so that the safe cannot be
opened again for hours, is a favorite method
OF the burglar to gain time for escape. II
force is required the mechanical burglar has
quite a formidable array Of tools-his exit"
as he calls it. The complete kit contains an
air pump, putty, powder or dynamite, fuse,
sectional jimmy, steel drills, diamond drills,
copper aud steel faced sledges, lamp and
blow pipe, jackscrew, wedges, syringe, brace
with box slide, feed screw drill, steel punches,
small bellows, skeleton keys, nippers, dark
lantern, Irvine, and screw eyes
The most dangerous Of this outfit is the
second power in mechanics-the screw. The
method used in breaking open the safe in |
Henry W. King g. Co.'S establishment, for |
instance, is a practical illustration of the |
power Of the screw. In this case the burg
lars first rugged a brace against the vault
door. Then they drilled hole through the
door near the dial, cut thread into the hole,
and inserted what is termed female screw.
Into the latter they fitted the jackscrews,
provided with a handle large and strong
enough for two men to work at the turning.
The jackscrew went in until it struck the com
bination. Then the tremendous force of the
formidable burglars tool came into play.
The entire combination was broken off. In
some cases the force is not directed against
the combination, but against the back plates
Of the safe door, usually the weakest part Of
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