Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-01-22
POLLING BURGLARS.
PREPARATIONS TO FRUSTRATE At
TEMPTS AT BURGLARY.

| TEMPTS AT BURGLARY.
How Big New York Jeweler Guards
His Costly Treasures-Safes Within
| Safes Are Enclosed in Frail but Sensi-
tive Cabinets-Alarm Bells Also.
| Here are 200 feet of showcases, half of them
on each side of long room, and back OF
them ares as many feet of upright cases stood
against the wall. In the rear of the room
are more cases, and wherever there is room
for them are costly music boxes, bronze
statuettes and other valuable articles of
! European and American make. All the
| showcases are full of jewelry and other ar
| ticles made of gold and silver. For twenty
| feet near the front the cases hold nothing
but real diamonds and other precious
stones, for the place isa big jewelers. sales
| room up town, where no imitation articles
! are sold-nothing but real gold and silver
and real stones.
"What beautiful field for burglar!''
was the idea that flashed through the
mind of reporter who entered the place a
few days ago.
what do you do with your goods at
| night?" the reporter asked the proprietor.
"There is no secret about it" the jeweler
replied. "Do you see those three cabinets,
those black walnut cabinets, against the
east wall? We put everything in those at
| night
"You trust to black walnut cupboard
all these cases Of gold and diamonds, do
you, valued at-at about how much?"
'If you take the entire lot," Mr.. Jeweler
laughed, you can have it for $3.50, 600. But
kahs !, lot
me show you the cabinets"
The jeweler led the way to the middle
of the east side of the room, between cases
one hand and upright cases full of silver
other hand.
SECURE CABINETS.
Here" he said. when the cabinets were
reached, is where we keep everything at
| night, except such large articles as would
not go in In our business it is not the big
things. but the little ones that are valu
able"
They were ordinary looking walnut cab.
inets, each perhaps seven feet high and five
feet wide, and each with folding doors, an
upper and a lower panel in each door. A
boy might break them all open with a
hammer in one minute.
But Mr.. Jeweler threw open one of the
pairs of folding doors and disclosed inside
an immense safe that seemed to say, Come
on. now. if you're a burglar; let's see what
you can dor 1t was one of the polished
steel sort, with tremendous resistance
written all over it.
"These are called burglar proof safes"
said the jeweler; "but need not tell you
that no safe is burglar proof. Nothing has
been or can be made that cannot be broken,
and an expert burglar can open any safe in
the world. However, | think these are as
nearly burglar proof as any safe in New
York. 1t is merely a question of time with
burglar, and these safes are warranted to
resist any attack, except with explosives,
for twelve hours. There is not much dan
ger from gunpowder or dynamite in such
an exposed place, and to operate with tools
successfully requires twelve hours"
SAFES WITTIN SAFES.
AS he spoke he opened the safe DOORS
Three-fourths of the interior was divided
into Shelves all of the same height and
breadth. The other fourth was taken up
by another safe, apparently complete in it.
self
There is where we keep our most valu-
able goods, the diamonds and other very
costly articles" the jeweler continued,
tapping the small inner safe. "There is
one of these inside of each of the large
safes, and each small safe is separate and
complete in itself, with it's own separate
combination. If burglar manages to
reach the inside of one of the large safes he
still has another safe to open before he can
get the most valuable goods. That is all
that steel can do for us. Now we call in
electricity to stand guard. Each safe is
connected by separate wires with the Bur
glar Alarm company. II an explosion or
any other jar should move one of them a
sixteenth of an inch out of its place, bell
would ring in the headquarters of that
company, and within ninety seconds two
policemen would be here. If anybody
should turn the combination knob Il hairs
breadth that would have the same effect
But that is only the second step toward
security. Let me show you the third"
He closed the folding doors of the walnut
cabinet.
TAP one Of those panels with your fin
gers please" he said
The sound that followed was muffied and
heavy, entirely unlike the sound made by
tapping a thin wooden panel.
''1hese slight cabinets are not as de-
tNttoSfo'o eS1 cAAS9 AOOhS ChO JGWOiCT COuCIu'
ued. 'Those panels are made of paste
board, and other parts of the cabinets,
although of wood on the outside have
pesteboard within.''
PAsTEBoARD AND TIN.
And why pasteboard?" the reporter
asked
Because pasteboard is a better noncon-
ductor than wood. That panel you tapped
is made of three thicknesses of pasteboard
and two thicknesses of tinfoil. First these
is the outer pasteboard panel, which is
stained and grained to initiate walnut,
then layer of tinfoil, then second sheet
OF pasteboard, then second layer of tin
foil, and finally third sheet of pasteboard,
which forms the back of the panel. The
first sheet OF tinfoil is connected with the
positive pole of an electric battery; the sec
ond sheet Of tinfoil is connected with the
negative pole of a battery. With the sheet
OF pasteboard between them the metallic
sheets do not touch, and there is no circuit
But let burglar begin to operate upon the
cabinet, and run knife blade or gilnlet
or anything else through the panel and
the metallic tool, touching both sheets of
tlnfoil, instantly completes the circuit, a
bell rings in the burglar alarm office, and
two policemen come, IS before"
us that ala" the reporter asked.
mo, not quite" Mr.. Jeweler smilingly
replied. Besides these little appliances
we have Waterman in the store all night
Part of his work is to press little electric
button every half hour frem the time we
lock the front door at night till we open it
in the morning Thereby he tells the
burglar alarm people that he is awake and
on duty. If ne let's sixty seconds beyond
the half hour pass without pressing the
button, the two policemen cams to see
what is the matter, inst as fsomebody had
tempered with the safes"
There were no more precautions and
the jewe!er and the reporter emerged from
the inner regions of gold and precious
stones.
",Fhank you very much" said the re-
porter.
ssHood day" said the jeweler. Come
again; but always come in the daytime. ~
New York Sun,
Tough Times.
A yew tree, almost destitute of branches
or bark, grows abundantly in the Caucasus