The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1893-10-13
The Safe Crackers Not Strangers.

hO h~0AS 0AGS11NAC W CtA e@AI S5SA q
The safe cracking which occurred
last week in the hardware store oil
Haines & Kirk and at the warehouse
of A, L. Duyckinck & Co. is believed
to have been the work of Local
thieves, who. having acquired some
insight in such work by their asso
citation with city experts at the bus
mess, concluded to try their hand
near home. 1t is so we'll known to
professional cracksmen that no sum
of money is kept in the safes of such
establishments, worth the trouble
and work of opening safes that are
used almost exclusively for the safe
keeping of books from fire. The
amount Of their nights work, involv.
ing the ruin of two safes, was about
ST. so, which they found in oae of A
L. Duyckinck & Co.'s safes, the safe
being unlocked. There we're about
5000 worth of stamps in the drawer
in q blank book which the burglars
overlooked. The large warehouse
safe was so badly damaged by the
explosion as to be scarcely worth
repairing. The doors of Haines &
Kinks safe received the greater part
of the injury and have been sent to
the manufacturers, Herring, Hall &
Marvin CO., of Philadelphia. for
repairs. The Company sent Mr..
Geo. w. Reiger. their safe expert,
down the next evening, who opened
the safe at Haines & Kinks hardware
store is about half an hour. The
burglars did not succeed in getting
this safe open although they charged
it several times.
1t appears the plan for blowing
safes is to locate the money drawer
and drill the top of the safe directly
over this small iron drawer. This
was done in both the safes, but
owing to the asbestos filing which
mixed with the powder. the charges
put in Haines & Kinks safe proved
to be squibs and blew out without
causing an explosion. Failing in
their work from the top of the safe,
they next drilled the door which
explosion injured the lock and sprung
the doors so that they could not be
opened. When Mr. Reiger opened
the doors he found the safe filed
with smoke and papers and books
charred and blackened by the pow
der. The tools they used were all
procured in the store and the powder
also, several pounds of which were
used and carried away. There were
some silver coins in the money
drawer which were turned perfectly
black by the explosion,
One strong suspicion that the
burglars were of home product was
the absence of any fuses, gas tar
having been used in place of a fuse.
The safe blowing was done about
two or three o'clock Friday morning.
and the track of a heavy dearborn
wagon showed very plainly at the
warehouse the next morning, which
is another strong circumstance in
evidence that the burglars were not
strangers in the neighborhood.
About II O'Clock Thursday night,
the residence of II. G. Cummin IS
was entered, presumably by the same
parties, who found the larder and
helped themselves to as much as they
could eat, One of the family heard
them but thinking discretion the
better part of valor, got out of bed
and bolted his room door, but gave
no alarm. Barefoot tracks were seen
seen on the porch and also out in
the street. which is pretty conclusive
evidence that this party was of the
The Rising Sun Detective Asso.
citation has offered $50 reward for the
capture and conviction of the thieves.