Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-01-05

ameter. These are shot from behind
the door across the joint TO the rear
Of the iamb of the door, and the
strength of the door jamb to resist
being torn out is the maximum
strength OF the safe to resist the
auiet but forcible eloquence of the
burglarious visitor. The second, or
round, class of doors are built Of
plates similar TO those of the safe,
and generally have coarse thread
cut on their periphry, the door being
screwed into the safe. The square
doors are generally more open to
persuasion than the other kind.
In opening a modern bank safe the
burglar putties up the entire joint or
crack except for about an inch at
top and bottom, says the Boston Her.
aid. A wall of putty is then formed
about the top crack, where it is un-
covered, and two and halt or three
ounces of nitro -glycerine poured into
it. 1t the safe is not protected by
felt or rubber, it will require but
three or four minutes for the glycer-
lug to distribute itself over the en-
tire Joint of the door and drip out at
the lower crack. An ordinary de-
tonating cap, such as is used in ex-
ploding dynamite, is inserted in the
upper well and the fuse lit. When
the explosion occurs the door comes
off. When the operation takes place
in the vault there is rarely any noise
more than fifty feet away.
The burglar does not carry nitro
glycerine with him. He goes to a
hardware store and buys a few
pounds of dynamite, which he breaks
up in a convenient vessel, as wash
basin, covers with alcohol, and
allows it to stand until the glycerine
has all combined with il. The al
cohol and glycerine are then poured
off, and an equal amount OF water is
added; the water and the alcohol
combine, and the nitro glycerine
sinks to the bottom, where it is
ready for use.
A bank in a Western state had its
safe located within ten feet of the
street window, thus making 1t visi-
BILE to everyone who passed. In front
of the safe at night burned an arc
light while the safe door was ar
ranged so that its opening would ring
bell in the cashiers sleeping apart
ments by means OF an electric con-
nection After banking hours the
burglar called on the occupants, rep
resenting himself as an inspector of
the electric light company, thus
gaining access TO the top of the
building, where he shOrt-circuited
the electric wires and thus prevented
the ringing of the cashiers bell
That night after the street cars
stopped running, the burglar cut the
trolley wire at two points about six
hundred feet apart. Taking one end
OF the piece between two buildings
and placing it IN cistern, the other
end was connected to the electric
wire, thus making ground" and
putting out the arc lights IN the
bank. The safe was then opened in
less than twenty minutes with nitro
glycerine and several thousand dol
lars taken.
The chrome steel, Of which the safe
and vaults of banks are now largely
built, is easily drilled by first heating
the steel. A basket of wire netting
is made to cover space of about six
or eight inches square, and this is
wired to the side of the safe or door
1t is filled with charcoal. which is
ignited and a fierce heat generated
by a pair of bellows. In four or five
minutes the basket is removed and
the heated spot allowed to cool. II
may then be drilled or cut like ordi-
nary boiler iron. Once hole sutii-
GENTLY large to admit q mans arm
was cut through chrome steel bank
safe four inches thick in four hours,
so that a mans arm was passed
through and the locking bolts discon-
nected with a wrench. In little
less than two hours q smaller hole
! was cut through the back of the safe
into the money vault and its contents
taken out through the hole.
,, The large vault door behind which
the safe is placed is rarely blown
: with glycerine. 1t is generally
opened by drilling a two or three
inch hole between the handle and the
combination lock. This cuts of the
locking bolt, and the door opens
when the handle is turned. Safes
: with round doors which are screwed
in are often opened experimentally
; by building we'll OF putty at the
upper part of the joint and exploding
, about teaspoonful of glycerine or
! the outside, the result being to Gu
out the top OF the outer plate o
metal.
large we'll, embracing the cup
ped portion, is then made, and TIVE
a ounces of glyeerine placed therein
: which feeds around the threads il
: about ten minutes. tearing the doc
: and part of the frame out when ex
: ploded. One round door is men
, toned. which was found to be s,
tight in the threads that glyeerln,
would not flow. This was opened b.
first cupping out the inside plate, a
just explained. and pouring half 1
teaspoonful OF glycerine into tn
openinp This som Dasspd down tn,