Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-02-20

HOW IT WAS DONE BEFORE THE DAYS
OF BURGLAR PROOFp SAFES.

Our Grandinothers Used to Secrete Their
Jewels and Money In Old Clocks, Goa
scutties, sugar Bowls and other Such
Places-Old Methods still Employed.
The great diamond robbery at the Bur
den house brought out the fact that with
an experienced burglar in the room not
even the stoutest safe Is secure. Old fash
toned women gloat over this and tell their
friends it Is difficult 20 improve on what
one mother and grandmother did When
the old time methods of women tor hiding
away money and Jewels are looked into,
they are seen 10 have been really more Sc
cure than bolts and bars
An old school lady living at Engle-
wood, y. j.. had set of large stationary
drawers topped by cupboards built into
one of her huge closets. The lower draw
er, instead of resting directly on the floor
ran on grooves perhaps two inches above
It, She would pull out this lower drawer
place her jewel cases In the space left be-
low and then push in the drawer, which
she kept filled with linen IN all proba
bility no burglar would ever think of
hunting down there, even II he should
find that he had the time
Equally shrewd was another Jersey
woman who, whenever she went out, put
her money and jewelry in the coal scuttle,
covering them up carefully with several
layers Of coal This might have proved q
rather risky experiment in the winter
months when the fire had TO be fed as
not even the housemaids knew what was
below the BLACK diamonds but their
owner felt that no burglar would ever
think of looking there and was perfectly
satisfied.
favorite hiding place for money espe-
cially for bills of large denominations, has
always been the large family Bible and
the unabridged dictionary This is still
common in rural places. So is the prac.
tice of sticking money snugly away under
a corner of "A carpet, particularly under
some large piece of furniture This is "a
method that has much TO commend IT,
Tea caddies and sugar bowls make ex-
cellent temporary safes. Another hiding
place Is the old fashioned country clock
which is almost historic as spot for tuck
ing away little bundles of valuables. An
old Long Island tradition was that the
old clock, outside of its value as a time
piece was particularly useful as a recep.
tacle for three articles very much needed
in the household-quinine, rat poison and
money. The only trouble with the clock
was that too many petty thieves knew
about it. But the good housewives of the
old time never thought of that
1t is safe to say that the number of
women who put away jewelry in pocket
books under a mattress for safe keep
ing, afterward carefully smoothing the
bed down, can be numbered by tine thou
sands. This method is n favorite one
among the Italians of New York
The pocket of an old dress that hangs I'm
an unconceaed way in "a closet is regarded
by many women ms one of the safest places
imaginable for spare rings, brooches and
bracelets and even for pocketbook
Old shoes standing in their proper place
directly alongside Of new ones are likewise
much esteemed, for u great deal can be
showed down into their toes without Civ
ing the slightest evidence OF the value
therein.
just why knotted handkerchief should
be considered safer place than an ordi
nary pOckotbook for the carrying Of money
Is not apparent. but nevertheless a good
many elderly women have made use Of
this all their lives An up country woman
once received $50 from her husband, and
calmly tying the money up In her hand
kerchief, placed the handkerchief under
her pillow and slept the sleep of the just
The next morning she forgot all about IL
and IL was not until the middle of the day
that she rccDlleeted it. Then. In "a flt of
wild excitement. she hunted high and low
for the handkerchief and 10 was not until
an hour or two after that she learned from
her housemaid that, found under her pill
low, the handkerchief had gone into tho
clothes hamper Ii was found there, with
the knot still In It, and the money safe
Nine out OF ten women travelling carry
their money and their jewels In little
channels case or wrapped in bit of linen
In their corsets Instances have been
known where tourist about to take q
train has been obliged suddenly 20 retro
Into recess Of the waiting room TO OK