Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-03
BANE OF BURGLARS.
Electricity Seems to Be the Only
Thing They Cannot Master.
THE TRANSMISSION OF POWER.
4 New Theory as. to the Interior Of the
Earth and Its Notion.
FRESH APPLICATIONS OF SCIENCE
twRIrT1v yon THE p1srATon.,

WRITTEN yoE THE pIsFAToH.9
At recent lecture In Berlin on "Electrio
Appliances for the Security Of Property"
an interesting incident was the exhibition
Of the tools Of thieves. The modern equip
ment of safe breaker takes up but little
space, and can be conveniently slowed away.
The most important instrument, and at the
same time the fulcrum for most Of the other
tools, Is a carefully wrought compound
breaking lever with which very great force
can be exerted. An advanced" burglar
has at his disposal two such crowbars. At
one end of the bar there Is an arrangement
which allows Of a hammer being attached,
while the other end admits of the insertion
of a series of other tools. If it is required
to remove the door pillars met with in many
safes, pointed and curved iron il attached,
with which the pillars can be easily grasped.
If they resist this attack kind Of claw is
screwed on, and with the help Of the crow
bar even the strongest pillar may be burst
of If 1t is int aded to tear away the angle
hooks at the corners of the safe, forceps is
fitted into the lever. and if lever is applied
at each corner, and the two levers pressed
together, very strong walls may be forced in
and connections be loosened
The first step in the foiling of these simple
but effective mathods has been to manu-
facture safes which afford no point Of attack
for claws and pincers, and thus safes have
been produced welded in one piece. The
attempt to make boring and fling impos-
sible by the use of steel plates which resist
every boring tool has also been made, but
as these plates are SO brittle that they can
be broken in pieces with a hammer, the
steel plates were next welded together with
plates of wrought iron, aud thus the attack
with the hammer has been rendered impos-
sible. But still another mode Of attack had
to be guarded against. The experienced
burglar carries with him melting lamp,
with which, in the course Of 10 to 10 min
utes, he can operate upon ordinary plates so
as to produce hole through which he can
creep into the safe. More massive struc-
lures, however, offer considerable resist
ance, and require the work of hours
It has been found that the use of cleo
tricity is the only means of successfully
meeting the attacks of the burglar. A Ger
man electrician has lately produced an
electric safety signal, which depends on the
well-known principle of thread contact.
The apparatus is placed within the safe, and
The current is introduced through holes.
These holes, however, afford new points of
attack, and M. Berg, who gave the lecture
on the subject in question in Berlin, en-
phasized the necessity of different prin-
ciple of construction. He places his appa-
ratus free and open on the safe, and exposes
he wires connecting it with the signal ap-
paratus in the watchman's room. In view
of the tact that many burglars have been
found to possess considerable practical |
of electrical devices, this con-
'truction has one great advantage, it makes
{ impossible even for a trained electrical |
engineer to render the apparatus in any way
imperative. AS soon as the safe Is exposed
70 any agitation, or as q blast flame acts |
upon 1t, or as the circuit is interrupted, the |
alarm bell is at once set in action, and the |
hiet thus betrays his own presence.