The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-10

a curious thing that many of the uses of high explosives have first been dem- onstrated by men who used them for nefarious purposes. It has been said that scientists have occasionally Ob- talned pointers from thieves. It may be that this time matters are to be re- versed and that the expert cracksman may get, if they have not already had their attention turned to the matter, 6 bit of information from a scientist which will lead them to wealth, or, let it be hoped, to Joliet.
 In the meantime burglars have not been idle. They are still using the old methods, drills and dynamite, or its equivalent, and they have done some pretty handy work recently. When the government put MT. ROdman at work testing safes for it's benefit all his eX- periments were put into a report with pictures. The report became a burg lars text book. A good many of the bank robberies which have occurred since were perpetrated after the man her employed by the government though they were accomplished in a much more bunglng manner and with the accompaniment of good deal of noise.
 When bank president doubts the se- curity of his burglar proof vault and the safe which stands inside he is like ly to communicate with the safe build CTS. Nine times out of ten they will tell him that his safe is proof against the attacks of all the burglars In the land. Not infrequenty the manufac- turers will tell the bank officials that if they can get anybody to open the safe Inside of a specified time they will pre- sent them with a strong box.
 When the report on the government vaults was published many bank off cials wished their vaults to be tested and the result was that there was many a. wrecked safe in the land and many a manufacturer who guaranteed that no method known could result in the opening of one of his pets, and his eyes opened with the doors of his safe. MT Rodman has left the army and now handles high explosives of all kinds in an expert way. He is an authority on such subjects, and not infrequently a big safe is dropped al the door of his office With the request that he attempt to open It. Not long ago the First Ma tional Bank of Eff1ngham, H., sent 8 safe to MT. Rodman with the request that he break into it if he could. The manufacturers of the safe claimed that it was burglar-proof and could not be opened under any circumstances, bar ring of course a knowledge of the con- bination, within twenty-four hous.
 The safe was made of chrome steel throughout except the innermost plate which was mild steel to the depth of one-half inch. The body was four inches and the door five inches thick The outside plate of the door and the whole exterior surface of the safe were one inch thick All the steps of the door was said to be absolutely tight, ''so tight that no powdered explosive, powder or dynamite, and no liquid ex- plosive or substitute of like consist ency can be put through the door into the safe or passed from one step to an other" The door of the safe was pro- vided with a double power automatic time-lock, with a Sunday attachment A friend of MT. Rodman had seen the safe in the Etfingham bank, and on his behalf had Wagered that it could be opened in three hours time. In case of failure the bank was to be reimburs- ed for the full amount which it paid for the safe. The expert was given no op- portunity to examine the interior of the safe The door was sealed before 1t left Effingham and the seals were re- moved by the person who had placed a ta1r I,a hoo T Chicago and was ready for the test. The steel plates of the door were nine the first plate being one inch thick and the other eight five-tenths of an inch They were boltad together by screw bolts placed six inches from center to center
 This treasure receptacle of the Effing- ham bank was taken to the southern part of the city and was there opened in two hours and fifty-seven minutes by MT. Rodman. II was placed inside a. brick vault, and the entire work of opening was done without any damage to the vault and without any noise be- ing heard outside of the building in which the vault was placed. Ten ounces of explosives were used, and the plates were DfUWH OIL one dller another ana the contents of the safe removed. Among other things found inside was a guarantee that the affair was burglar proof and could not be opened within tWenty-four hours.
 Another safe was sent to Mr. Rod man, and it also was declared to be burglar-proof. It had all modern at tachments, pressure bars, tongues, grooves and tack joints. It was one of the hest specimens of welded steel and iron construction, with walls three inches thick and doors three and a half inches thick, and it was provided with combination locks governed by a doub- le movement time arrangement. There were four make-belieVe burglars" em- ployed in the attack upon the safe. The head burglar was MT Rodman and the assistant burglars were three eX- pert mechanics. Their tools were two sledges, one jack, two wedges, one monkey wrench, four horse blankets. a coil of rope and half a dozen sticks of wood. These were the tools which could be seen. All the other necessary articles were carried in MT Rodman's $ pocket. They consisted of a small brush, some sealing wax, a diminutive alcohol lamp for, melting the wax, matches, a few corlSs, detonating tubes a funnel tube, leading wires, detonat- ors, dynamite and nitro-glycerine. All nf iTe it,