The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-07
HOLMES ELECTRICAL
BURGLAR ALARM
Apparatus for Protecting Banks Now
Being Put in Place.
WILL SOON BE READY FOR USE
Then n Man viii BE Placed in the
station who viii Respond to Any
Alarms That May BE Sent Iu.-wiii
BE on Duty from the Time the Bank
Closes Until 1t Opens in the Morn

The Holmes electrical burglar alarm,
to protect the several banks in this
city, is i'm course of construction. In
the sergeants office at police head
quarters, yesterday, workmen put In
place the large combination annuncia-
tor, galvanometer and switch board,
which registers trouble in any of the
vaults on the circuit.
Already five city banks-the Third
National Dime Deposit and Savings
bank, Lackawanna Trust and Safe De-
post, First National and Scranton
Savings banks-have adopted the sys-
tenn and several of the other banks are
known to have the proposition under
consideration. The annunCiator at
police headquarters can accommodate
ten circuits.
The system is decidedly worthy of a
detailed explanation. The vaults or
the safes at the banks are protected
by wire netting, which is so closely
woven and so perfect that the slight
est effort at tampering at any part
will result in an alarm. The netting
for the safes is placed around the out
side, but as this is impossible for the
vaults the netting is here secured to
| the interior.
When any part of this netting is
| touched there will be commotion at
| police headquarters. But to explain
! this a peep at the annunciator must
! be had The face of the huge clock,
! placed in the corner Of the office, has
on the two sides a glass-covered space
| in which are a number of dials, five on
each side.
DIALS ARE NUMBERED.
These dials are numbered, the num-
bers indicating a particular bank, and
| when the netting is tampered with the
! slender needle swings horizontally to
a certain point, which completes cir
! cult and drops a numbered indicator
| in the middle of the annunciator.
| The dropping of the indicator COM
pletes another circuit. which results in
| the sounding of a loud bell at the top
! of the annunciator. Then follows the
commotion. The subscribers to the
system will pay for the services of a
man who will be stationed at the police
! station from the hours the banks close
to the time the vaults are opened in
| the morning.
Another interesting detail of the
alarm is the tact that when the vaults
are opened or closed, morning or night,
the alarm will be registered. At such
times as these the watchman at head
| quarters upon hearing the hell takes
a glance at the small dial Of the bank
| Which bears a similar number. If he
! sees the needle move a certain number
| of times he knows that the man who
| caused the alarm is the authorized at
tache Of the bank and is at that time
sending in the banks 80 l." signal.
This signal will be known to only the
| bank people and the man at police head
quarters Each bank will have a dis
tinCt and different signal. It will be
the work OF the watchman to keep
! time sheets OF The opening and closing
of each bank. This lie will report to the
cashier. After an alarm is sent in
manipulation Of the switches on the
lower side of the annunciator will stop
the sounding of the alarm bell.
ARRANGING APPARATUS.
The work OF stringinG the wires is
being done by the Central Pennsylvan
Telephone company and the construc-
tion of the vault netting and the ar
| rangement at police headquarters is
| being done by William Mark. Of the
Holmes company, located at New York
| city. Besides the annunCiatOr at police
| headquarters there is large case con-
tanning batteries to the number Of for
| ty-tWO.
Mr.. Mark. the electrician, il assisted
in his work by c. +. Pross of this city
| who has been engaged to take care
| of the apparatus. The watchman has
| not been selected.
The Holmes alarm has been intro
duced into most of the big cities of the
! country. The reCent success of the
scheme of boring a hole through a safe
hy the use of d piece of common car
bon charged from battery or other
kind of wire to which the burglars can
| attach q line is said to be responsible
| for the popularity of the Holmes safe
| guard. The work Of rerfecting the
| system in this city will not be finished
for several weeks. The vaults at the
Third National bank have already
been covered with the netting and
work will be begun at the Dime bank
today.
Henry Belin is chairman of the bank
crs' committee which recommended
the Holmes scheme. The apparatus.
it is said, will cost about 500 as a
pro rata share to each subscriber.
=