The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-20
TO HEAD OFF BURGLARS.
LOCkSmithS and SafemaEeTS Are Kept
Hard at Work.

Their Ambition Is to Build Safes and
Locks That the Gopher Cannot Bur-
row Into Nor the brakeman Open.
An Afternoons Visit to the Estab-
ishment of the Greatest Firm of
Lockmakers in the World-How the
Tests Are made-The Queens Strong
Box.
From the Chicago Times.
There is no denying the fact that the
burglar of to-day, who aims at high game,
displays amazing ingenuity in the manu-
facture of scientific tools and apparatus,
and also in the practical working of the
same.
But he is completely out of the running
when pltted against the safemakers and
locksmiths, even though he periodically
buys their wares for experimental pur-
poses.
While the present writer was being
personally conducted" over the prem
ises of the greatest firm of lock-
makers in the world he acquired much
interesting information concerning those
wondrous, pieces of mechanism which pro-
tect the vast riches of palaces, banks and
strong rooms, and which render it abso-
lutely impossible for thieves to break in.
Perhaps the most interesting depart
N ent was that one in which an exhibition
of the highest form of burglars craft was
being given. Skilled workmen were
seated before locked safes, and were
using the almost Irresistible fusing appa-
ratus on the door in order to reach the
locks, or were forcing gunpowder through
the key holes by means of tiny pair of
bellows.
TRYING THE LOCKS.
Others were squirting corrosive chemi-
Gals into the locks and noting the effect,
while sturdy artisans were using the
drill and the wedge with the scientific
force and skill that showed they could be
dangerous enemies to society if they were
criminally inclined.
The fusing apparatus consists of
cylinder of compound oxygen gas, which
supplies a. short section of pipe termi-
mating in an iron cup. The latter is
pressed firmly against the door after a
light has been applied, and a stream of
flame issues from the end OF the pipe in
its bottom. So fierce is the fame that 1t
melts the metal in the safe door and eats
a jagged hole through it in a remarkably
short space of time.
I'VE turn out about 2SS, 900 locks every
year" remarked the manager of the
works, land they range in weight from
quarter of an ounce Including key to
22S pounds, the respective values of these
extremes being IL cents and 81 800
Foremost among those locks which
protect enormous wealth come those on
the treasury doors of the Bank of
England. The making of each of those
marvels of mechanism occupies three men
for six weeks and costs 1915.
Those little fiuted pieces of steel in the
head of the key, technically called steps
are nine in number, and are capable of
362, $50 different com binations
HOW TO BALK THIEVES
"If banker whose safe was fitted with
this lock should chance to lose his kew. or
if he had reason to suppose that wax
impression of it had been made, all that
would be necessary in order to battle
burglarious designs would be TO unlock
the safe with the duplicate key unscrew
the head and change the position of the
steps, and then relock the safe or strong
room.
The mechanism of the lock would in
stantly adapt itself TO the changed combi-
nation and could never be unlocked by
the former key.
This, however, is not an unmixed
blessing. One afternoon certain CITY
merchant was amusing himself by un-
screwlng the steps Of both his keys when
il suddenly occurred to him that he had
forgotten the combination
las the keys in question were capable
of thousands Of com oinations, there was
nothing for it but to set to work on a sys-
tenn of numbered tables and tick off each
combination as it was tried
- But that may take months objected
the merchant, ruefully. Well. as the only
other alternative was TO build a furnace
round the door of the safe, it was decided
to try the limitations first.
TT TOOK NINE DAYS.
'We sent two men and an apprentice
with the printed tabes-great sheets of
paper several yards long-and after nine
days labor, during which about 1900
different combinations were arranged and
tried, the right one was hit upon bv ac-
cident, and the safe opened Needless TO
say there was pretty big bill against the
customer who gave AS all this trouble
somewhat similar was the case OF a
diamond dealer OF Amsterdam, who had
lock specially designed for his Golfer safe
last year, the chief feature Of the mechan-
Mo iran NT rNHnHU~u - -