Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-12-10

SAMUEL tsODMAN, JR-
its accompanying noise, nor will It ever
again be necessary for the midnight work
or to force off layer by layer with explosive
and jimmy the iron doors of the treasure
chest. Give him a carbon stick, q bunch
of wire and 80 minutes free from Interrupt
ton and the hoard Is his.
Samuel Rodman, Jr., Of Chicago, who
has opened a cafe and vault Of nearly ev-
cry construction extant, has been expert
menting recently with the electric current,
and now, after years spent in showing how
easy it was to get into the Golfers of bank.
ing institutions by means of nitroglycerin,
drills, and the like, he says that those
methods are things of the past. Mr. Rod
man is a graduate of West Point
The United States government came to
the conclusion some time ago that the
treasury vaults at Washington were in a
lamentable condition. 1t was decided to
have the matter authoritativcly settled hy
competent and disinterested experts. a
commission was appointed, and Lieutenant
Rodman was the expert chosen to con.
duct experiments for the commission. A
sample of nearly every known safe was
sent to the commission, and they were all
speedily and quietly opened by the army
officer expert. He used nitroelycerin when
occasion demanded it, and the noise of the
explosion was not heard 80 feet. When
the high explosive was necessary, Mr..
Rodman bored through the containing
walls In many cases the more frequently
the words "burglar proof" appeared upon
the surface of the safe the more easily was
the supposedly strong box opened.
The government never did anything tc
improve the condition of it's vaults and
depends now, as it always has depended
upon the fidelity of watchmen for the
preservation of it's treasures. 1t Is perhaps
just as well for the safety of Uncle Sam.
money that this is so, for within the las,
few weeks, after final experiment with
the electric current, Lieutenant Rodman
whom the government chose as its expert
has declared that in the future any larR.
amount of money expended upon the con
struction of vaults and safes will be money
thrown away.
''Safes and vaults" he said, "should b,
built hereafter just strongly enough q
Withstand a sudden and quick attack. L
they are Of temper and thickness to stand
of the burglars for ten minutes, 1t SHOULD
be all sufficient. Other means of protec
ton than thick walls and time locks mus
be had Masses of metal which seem Il
defy explosions, or which from their posi-
ton and surroundings seem to render M
attack by these methods impracticable, ar,
now exposed to the new element of dan
ger. the silent electric current. The deyel
opment in the use of such method of ut
tack presents new problems in the question
of bank security. Ponderous, expensiy,
constructions must give way to lighte
and cheaper ones, giving sufficient secu
rity against sudden attacks and supple
mented by some satisfactory system O
electric alarm protection. There Is bis
field opening just now for some one VIII,
will perfect an alarm system which bur
glars cannot tamper with without bringin,
officers to the scene. I suppose it should
take the form Of q series of wires about tn,
vaults and safes.''
Within n week q workman in Cbicag,
| using n carbon stick melted his wa,
through five inches Of wrought iron In les
than 80 minutes. The hole made was hi,
enough to allow the insertion of the hant
and arm Of q man of medium size. AL
that is necessary for a burglar to do nov
| is to connect wires with a terminal when
the main wires of an electric light plan
turn under the sidewalk. At this pnin
he can get the full current generated a
| the central station. He can trail thes
| wires along the gutter under cover O
darkness and into the building where b,
| has q safe to crack. He attaches his car
| bon to the wire and burns his way to tn
| treasure which he cove:s. Detection, a
far as the act Of connecting with the mail
wires is concerned, would not be likely
! for men from the electric light plant az
constantly removing the conduit cover
| and working under the sidewalk. and tn
bank burglar might readily pass rs such :
workman. In the smaller cities the troIle,
wire can be used in the same way AM
| with the same result The increase in tb,
amount Of electricity used would not b
noticeable enough at the central station {.
cause comment, because similar variation
in consumption are constantly occurring
When the burglar gets his supply of cleo
tricity from the trolley, all that would b
necessary for him to do to get the circui
would be to run the other wire TO n watel
pipe.
Cracksme1 nowadays do not appear {,
be in the least afraid to handle high ex
plosives. They do not do it as well per
haps as . person would who had no feal
Of interruption at his work. but hey d.