Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-03
ANENT BURGLARS, TOOLS.
4 Few Modern DImculIics In Getting
and EEIng Them.

From tie New York Recorder
Several of the shrewdest central Office
detectives are tirtsiled constantly to look
out for hurclass' tools and those who make
them, In sccNriaucs with the system insug-
uEStei by Superintendent Byrnes when he
was in chaig. of the detective bureau TO
prevent crime as we'll as catch thieves
Til, ycn know ;his, ard 90 not go around
Hs they did Year, acn, with kit nf tools
uu:sr their arms. -Faiy tu take advantage
uf every opening In their Ike Rnr
Il t'uls, however. sre not scar6 8
b3 any mesns. and can he obtain, d
Al s.uy tiInc v hen t.J ir i ":giCi." To bP
done. The only thieves who need - full hit
Of tools are thr'-. who make q speciality Of
'-sf" breaking, "n.i. as burglars always 20
in gangs from ;unr 20 ten, one set of fCols
vii; do for the garg, no matter how press-
ing the business may be. Second story
I thieves and ordinary house burglars re
{ urire but few tools. The most important
are the paper blade, "~h!ch h IS a very thin
/ plsc@ Cf elastic steel used Ia set back win
/ dns' fastening. 6ug-Ts 90 remove locks by
boring hol's around them; dismoHd points,
( to remove paHes "f glass, and lockpicks
and j;nmies, TO fore doors open by wedg
irg them in cracks. 1t IS essy enough to
/ oh:aiu all of these tnols, with the exception
4 of the locsuicks, from stores in a legitimate
way without question, as they are all used
/ in trade. These tools can be carried in a
! very small pscksC-, ard are not kept in
stock. They are bought when needed and
thrown away when u>ed
! It fs not such plain sailing with the safe
/ hreakrTs' tools. as j. Is worth five ysars in
/ state prison to b. canght with theee on the
; rerson. Great caution is taken in manu-
( featuring ani storing baTSlaTs' tools to
/ throw the palice off the scent, but il is
! fact that there are enough tools in this
| city 10 ill IL pretty big s:orehouse if they
were ali gathered together.
! A few years ago there were head -centers
for thieves In all the downtown districts,
and the beliows and snvil were kept busy
turning cut burglars' tools openly in Water
and Cherry streets. 1t was In these places
that Gustsve kindt, alias French Gus:"
"Dutch Dan" Snyder, Harry Klein. Mark
S"rubuTn, Frank McCarran, Charles Bull
lard, alias 'PiaEo Charley" big Jim"
Burns, Pat Shevlin, Ned Lyons, John Lsr-
ney, alias "Mollie Matches" and host of
other Crooks" received their first instruct
ions in mechanics aud became sfterwsrd
the most expert tool makers in thievery.
1t was in al old shop on Cherry hill that
Dutch Heinrich, who had a world vide
reputation a tool-maksr. perfected an in
strument known to thieves as the "drsg,"
for use in breaking cafes, which had done
| very effective work. Superintendent
Byrnes made a crusade against these
places when he WAS placed in charge of the
detective bureau. with the intention of
landing all the tOol-makers in jail or driv-
ing them ont of the city, and he succeeded
Most all the work of this kind Is now done
in Newark, \. j., in several large shops,
| where no questions are asked SO long as
the bills are paid. When the tools are
finished they are brought here and stored
with furniture, in order to divert suspic-
ion, in some place where an apartment can
be rented by the year.
The most expensive tools in the burglsrs'
kit are the drag, j4cs screw, diamond drill
and sectional jimmy. The best jlmmies
now in the market are made in Pittsburg
and one of the finest ssts ever seen in this
city was captured last week in a vacant lot
in West 10th street, where they had been
left by Mark Hanley, q tool maker from
the west. Hsnley got away. All the tools
that are used in safe breaking are not
stored in one place. as they cost from $3.50
to $500 for full set. and Ii is cheaper to
pay rent TO store them than to get new
ones made. The sectional jimmies are oft
en- carried in gun csses when the gang Is
on the road, and the other tools are hidden
In trunks and hand bags.
| The improvements In safety devices TO
protect cafes, such as time locks and other
electrical appliances, have rendered the
burylsrs' kit useless on vaults, but there 10
plenty of room TO use them all over the
ccuutry in small banks and other places
where the latest improvements have not
been adopted. Time locks are now at
tackled with dynamite aud nitro-glycerine,
exploded on the outside of vault doors,
which causes the delicate machinery to run
down quite often, or throws 1t out of gear,
40 as to facilitate the work Of opening doors
BY the nee of the diamond drill, blow pipe
and look pick.
There Is now q gang Of ssfe-breskers