The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-16
TO BEAT THE BURGLAR.
Ingenious Safeguards That Are Used
to Protect Safes and Vaults.

to Protect safes and Vaults.
From the Boston Commercial Bulletin.
The Improvement in safe locks the past
fifty years has probably been as rapid as
in any other line of mechanics. Forty
years ago combination and time locks for
safes and vaults were things unheard Of
At that time the merchant and the banker
were content to lock up their valuables n
what they termed in those days strong
boxes, safes and chimney vaults. What
caught the eye of the purchaser then was
the key with which the valuables were
locked up.
Many O. our merchants and bankers of
to-day will remember that the size of the
lock and the size of the key were the es-
sential points in the purchase of recepta-
Giles for securities In purchasing q strong
box or safe each purchaser was eager to
secure the largest lock and the largest key
possible. In many instances owners OF
these keys, particularly bankers, were
obliged to have leather bags or cones TO
carry the keys home at night, the keys in
many instances being from six to eight
inches long, and weighing from one to
three pounds.
This style of lock and key was in use for
many years, and not until 1t was sudden
ly discovered that powder could be turned
into the keyhole in the door by the hand
made to improve the art in locks. Some
of these locks on light iron doors would
weigh sixty to seventy-five pounds, which
in many instances would outweigh the
door which was being locked by it,
One inventor had, as he thought a
bright idea whereby he had his lock so
arranged that when the powder was turn
ed into the keyhole it would run our OF
the lock on account of holes being drilled
in the bottom of the lock case. OF course
the powder would drop right inside the
door under the lock and a linhfaH tot,
dropped into the keyhole would ignite tn,
powder and out would come the door, lock
and all. In time, various improvements
were made in key locks from the fact thar
it was discovered that the powder could
be inserted, and also the locks of many of
them picked with a nail or a piece OF
crooked wire. In all the latter improve
ments the aim of the inventor was to re-
duce the size Of the lock and also the
key.
The size of the locks and keys was grad
ually reduced until several manufacturers
made a key of a thin piece of steel about
one-half inch wide and one-sixteenth of an
inch thick and about three inches long
with a small brass handle in some cases
into which the blade folded as in a jack
knife.
pearance, the first one about thirty-fiVe
years ago, crude to be sure, but the mer-
chant and the banker got tired of carrying
keys and were glad to adopt them. The
combination locks that were first made
proved TO be defective and they were read
lily picked by experts. In fact. there are
many in use to-day by banks that can be
picked-we refer now to the old-style com
bination lock on old safes. Later. how
ever. the locks were improved, so it is
safe to say that the standard combination
lock of to-day is beyond the science Of the
artful and modern lock-picker or the burg
lar of the present time.
The working of the modern combination
lock proves that they are more likely TO
cause trouble than the simple KEY lock. As
a preventive against becoming locked out
from the reason Of one combination lock
giving out two combination locks are now
placed on vault doors where this style lock
is used, and are so arranged on the door
that if one fails to respond TO the call of
the cashier. access can be had to the vault
by using the other combination lock on the
same door.
This is accomplished by mechanical de-
vice on the inside of the door, the inven-
ton of the vault or safe manufacturer
When the combination lock was perfected.
the merchant and banker felt they had
reached the limit of mechanical skill in
lock invention, but such was not the case.
The burglar, not to be bafIied in his