Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-03-16
STYLES IN BURGLARY.
Safe crackers Would be Ashamed TO Be
Caught Using Old Methods.

Caught Using Old Methods.
! You see, there are two styles of safe
crackers, as we know them, the new
and the old, said a safe expert to Il
San Francisco Chronicle reporter. That
is how the police get a clue in working
up a case The old style craftsman
used powder. He first drilled Il hole
beside the lock and then blew it off
with a charge of powder The i'm
proved method is to first knock off the
spindle and then drive the combination
lock back into the safe. Then all the
burglar has to do is to open the safe
door and help himself. The spike
Hennessy" style Of safe burglar is 60
ing out OF fashion.
The burglars Of to-day are more con-
siderate than they used to be. If they
could hot get in in the days Of yore
they wrecked the safe just for salts
faction. l recOllect a singular affair
III the little place called Smartyi!Ie, up
III Iuba county. One night burglars
broke into the general store to tap
the safe that was supposed to contain
at least $4,000 worn Of gold deposited
by the miners the day before. 1t was
an iron affair, weighing about 100
pounds The raScalS were afraid to
blow il open for fear Of arousinG the
town, So they simply packed it Of into
an adjacent canon, bleWit open and took
everything in sight. They only got a
TnV loNr1 bod 1Ilf. tS,n
having been secretly sent to MarysviIe
Wher it was bankd.
Sveral years ago the safe Of q whole
sale commission house in this city was
I1tied, and it was several hours before
any one could find out just how the
job had been done. You know it is
Il common thing for men working in
IN office to put their memorandums on
the side of the safe. Well, this one was
simply covered on one side with pieces
OF paper. The burglars got in one night
and soaked off one of the papers and
cut into the safe. They could not fin
ish the JOB in one night, SO they pasted
the paper on again and came back the
next evening, Then they finished the
job, and pulled out everything of val
ue i'll the safe. When | was called
into solve the problem Of how the safe
had been looted without finding the
door, | lifted up Il book and saw the
young men employed remembered hav-
ing seen some white dust Oh the floor
break the safe open but follow the
disappeared. He had thought nothing
Of it. and the safe-crackerS had an OPP
portllnty to do the second nights work
Nowadays, continued the expert, mer-
chants do not place the confidence
which they used to in steel vaults
They go to the safe deposits with their
valuables. In many Of the large hous-
es the safe is simply kept to put the
books in to protect them from fire.
70 save the box from mutilation by
burglars they post the combination be
several places the notice reads:
This is the combination. Do not
break the saef oepn, but follow the
instructions written hereon. and you
will get in without trouble
One gentleman has posted this card:
Our valuables are in the safe deposit
Please don't get mad and have fun with
the SAFE
Others do not lock their safes even.
The simply shoot the bolt.
When the building ON Market street
next to the Nucleus was being CON
structed, a shirt manufacturer doing
business in the latter structure was
very much disturbed over the safety
of his wealth. He had Il safe, but he
was not at all confident that it could
not be entered. One night he had ST.
500 on hand and was at 4 loss what to
do with it. A bright idea struck him.
He relied the money, which was all in
silver, up in Il bundle and placed it be
meath the safe. Sure enough that very
night the steel vault was opened and
the burglars got away with afew dol
lars in change. The mass Of silver was
found all right under the cracked safe.