The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-07

during a recent experiment made in
Cincinnati, O., it was proved conclusively
that any person capable of safe hand
ing Two ordinary live electric. wires can
plrn large hole. in steel safe in less
than 10 minutes. The feat was accom-
pilshed by bringing together two ends of
street circuit and making an arc
Inc arc was allowed to play against the
steer door of large burglar proof" safe
ana IL FUSED its way through, as one
spectator remarked lat the rate OF q
CUBIC inch per minute" ANY burglar
Soulq mus take advantage of the lighting
taclntles OF a bank building and burn
ms way INTO the vault But the expert
ndnh ROPER does not need this infOrna-
non 10 help him in his calling for he
can carry enough tools in an ordinary.
HstnuDag to enable him TO break into
any saIe or vault after two hours of IN
interrupted work. In spite of these facts,
Whlch merely prove that no safe or vault
Is burglar proof, the days of big bank
iopoerleS are over. In large cities at
least such thing as a wholesale bank
roppefy could not happen. This state
1nenl IS made without reserve. The
banks themselves could be broken easily
enough, but the united system of pro-
lectlon which surrounds them is not only
practically perfect, but the mechanical
features of its makeup render it abso-
iutely incorruptible. II may be also said
incidentally that were the United States
government TO invest its prisons with the
same system of protection, such a thing
as q jail delivery would be unheard of.
BANKS SURROUNDED BY ELEC-
TRIO CURRENTS.
Although the same thing exists in nearly
every large city in the United States,
the banks composing the New York
Clearing House association comprise the
best example of what a protection syndi-
cate is like Seventy-five banks, most of
which belong to the association, are
represented at a central station. in which
electrical instruments keep silent though
efncient tab Oh all that may occur with
IN those 75 walls: Watchmen are not
needed in the bank buildings yet not a
latch can be lifted, not a bolt drawn,
nor window raised without the fact
being at once recorded in the central
station Delicate galVanOmeter needles
are constantly pointing out what is going
on in the banks and these needles never
Iail OF their office. 1t is OF no use to the
burglar to understand the system. The
more he understands it the more will he
become convinced of the futility of his
calling 1t is of no use for him to try
10 curcumvent the system. The least
disaTrangement is pointed out by the
needles and an alarm is at once sounded.
L is literal truth to say that the bank
buildings are surrounded by a continuous
current of electricity. What is known
as CLOSED circuit is used The differ
ence between this and an open circuit
must be explained An open circuit alarm
system is one in which the opening of a
door, or window, the sliding of a bolt,
or in fact the operation of any movable
continuance turns on an electric circuit
and sends in an alarm In closed cir
cult work the current is kept flowing all
the time 1t passes through wires con-
nected to every bolt, bar, window, etc, /
and is so delicately adjusted III its path
that the disarrangement OF any movable |
part of the building viii cut off the cur
rent and thus send in an alarm The |
very walls and partitions of the bank !
building are lined with wires and strips |
of Tin foil through which the electricity |
is kept constantly flowing. Therefore if /
the burglar merely boreS a small hole |
through the banking house wall he dis |
arranges the circuit and sends in an |
alarm.
WHY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ROB A /
MODERN BANK.
Even this is not all of the system. It
is merely the principle on which it IS (
founded. The expert electrician (and /
many burglars are experts in this linel |
a door or window which was part of
closed circuit without CiSarranging the /
latter but here is where the system takes
on the bond of perfectneSS. If the alarm
was merely the ringing of u bell the
claim might be made good. but the [
amount OF current passing through the
wires cuts very important figure. While
il might be possible 10 break into a
bank without entirely breaking the cir
cult by for instance, stretching certain
between them, it could not be done with
out changing the rate of flow of the cur
rent and this would be pointed out 1T
once by the galvanometer needle. The
operators IN the central station can. By
using resistance wires change the amount
of current flowing through the line every
hour. so that the burglar can never by
previous observation know the amount
which should flow through at 4 given
time. Thus, even an intimate knowledge