The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-12-20
PLAYS FOR CHRISTMAS
The stoWaway" and The
Police Patrol Are
Coming.
REALISTIC SCENES AND INCIDENTS
One Will Be Presented at the New
Opera House and the other
at the Academy-Gossip
Of the Footlights.


''WilI / tell you something about tn 9
methods employed by burglars IN open-
ing safesan and the speaker, who was
Spike Hennessey. gased somewhat
suspiclously ut the reporter. "Weli.
don't know about that. You see I'm
not in the burglary business any more.
forsook It and all its belongings since /
became an actor and Joined 'rne Stow
away three years ago, and I hardly care
to talk about part of my life that |
Would rather forges altogether"
Mr.. Hennessey was urged by Manager
Davis to unbosom himself, and finally
consented to do so. Lighting a Per-
fecto, the ex-burglar began
started in the safe business when
quite young and stayed in it right along.
with the exception, OF course, of few
Vacations tor heightened periods which
certain buil-headed officials in various
parts of the country insisted on my TAX
ing. 1t was shortly after one of these
vacations that ] had the good fortune TO
attract the notice of Mr.. Davis here who
put me on the stage.
Now as for opening safes there are
more ways than one OF doing 1t, just as
BY choking him with butter. Banks amt
burglarized very often because it takes
months sometimes to work up job be-
fore you can go at it. One thing you
Must doland that IL TO find out the make
M Of the safe inside the bank vault and
II taxes lot of pretty fly work to 40
that. When | WAS in the business never
worked with moro than one man. He did
the outside work while / went In and
wres1 ID with the safe. We had regular
signak made by tapping or throwing
sand against the window, so when my
pal would tip me everything was serene
I'd begin work with the drilling machine
on the vault door. 1t don't take long TO
cut into the lock. and the next thing Is to
punch out the dog or the detent
that holds the combination, and
when it's of, the bolts are free
aud you can pull the door open.
Sometimes Its dangerous to punch the
dog" ont on account of the noise. 10
when case you put taper tap in the
hole. follow it with q plug and cut a
thread through the door Then you
screw threaded bolt until 1t strikes the
detent, and by applying wrench to the
end of the bolt you twist the dog" of
without bit Of noise. Then there's d
big steel safe standing smiling at you
and you're at liberty to go in and daily
with 1t. without being seen from the out
side"
And how do you open a bank safe ~
anxlonsly inquired the reporter. thinking
tie Information might come IN useful at
some future time when he was broke and
salary DAY WAS hall q week away.
AOhl excuse me,y replied Spike
warily. but that's just what I'm not 60
lug to tell you. There amt so many
knows how to do 1t, aud those
that in amt shouting it from
the house tops. | will say, however,
that nearly all improved bauk safes are
opened with explosives. You don't have
TO lug around the tools and machinery
TIM At are used on ordinary safes. The
secret Is, how to get your dynamite, gas
or whatever explosive you're goiug TO
use inside the door,and I'll tell you on the
dead @. L. all you need is an instrument
10 snck air and one to blow IT. In five
or ten minutes You can have the charge
inside the door. and then you use full
miDating CAP or electricity to touch her
off. You blanket the safe heavily. let her
go, aud out drops the door so easily that
il would harIily wake weasel
"But let me tell you something The
hard work to an expert is not IN the act
uai opening or blowing OF the safe, but
in getting into the place where it is, and
in getting in at time and in such a way
that a man can work unmoIested by
policemen. The ordinary safes III bust
ness houses are different from those in
banks, and very often they are placed so
that they can be seen from the street with
light hanging over them. There are
good many ways OF opening the common
or garden safe. It is easy enough to
blow thimbleful of powder into
the lock and burst it off, or
you can dril into the lock and
then force it, In case where the safe
has double doors you can drill behind the
inaer doors and then insert a charge
sufficiently powerful to blow of both
sets of doors at the same time"
well, how about getting the charge
ipg" asked the reporter
s'Obl that's easy answered "Spike,n
s.vou ust-but say. young fellow. Ithink
I've told you as much as Is good for you.
There's no telling what you newspaper
fellows might be IN to. So long" and so
saying the gentle @Spike" percolated
softly through the stage door.
Spike can be seen at the New Opera
House this week in the ''Stowaway" An
extra matinee will be given Christmas
Day.
CHRISTMAS AT TIE ACADEMY.