The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-30


reptitious purpose. This is, flexible wires
were connected with electric light mains
under the sidewalk-the same as could be
done in any city-and led to the safe,
which was pierced. One wire was con-
nected with the safe and the other. nav
ing a suitable resistance in circuit, was
connected with a carbon electrode. The
remainder of the operaton-that is, the
burning of a hole through the safe-is so
simple that have seen persons who have
had little or no knowledge of electricity
do it with perfect ease almost the very
first time. The operation of burning holes
through safes by the use of an electric
current such as can be drawn from an
electric light main or a trolley wire is
perfectly practical and feasible operation,
and ii is one which many bankers, to my
knowledge, have investigated. The re
suit is that any safe or vault no matter
how thick can be readily and quickly
pierced; consequently there is no secuHty
whatever in safes and vaults by them
selves"
No one denies that under suitable con
ditions the carbon electrode can be made
to pierce the wall of a vault or safe with
almost as much ease as a hot knife pierces
a slab of butter, but the question among
practical electricians is: How about the
conditions? 1.-The point is" said one of
these gentlemen. How will the burglar
reach and handle his current without de-
lection? We are told that It has become
possible for the expert electrical burglar
to use a current of $50 to 500 amperes at
a pressure of 10 to 80 volts. 1t will be
necessary that the burglar procure his
supply of current at the proper voltage,
or arrange so that by having his amperes
in one vessel and his volts in another they
can be mixed according to his needs. He
cannot be sure of proportions in ordinary
commercial currents, and he might err
niCEiOqr
or. Before he can reach the safe to be
operated on he must cross a network of
wires so placed out Of sight as to defy in
specton, positive and negative, in the
same flexible cord, to cut which means
a short circuit and burglar alarms on
every side of him. If he passes these bar
riers successfully, long before he can
melt through the outer layer of metal he
has brought two wires together without
knowing 1t and rung an alarm. I hardly
think electrical safe burglary can be look
ed upon as an exact science up to date"
Other electricians deride Mr.. Rodman's
discovery, as far as it threatens to bring
about any general theft of the electrical
current as an aid to safe breaking and
are quite of one mind in pronouncing the
thing as one among the possible impos-
sibilities' of which the electrical arts are
already so full. Practical men say that
the use Of electricity in burglary is attend
ed with enormous difficulties. They point
out the extreme uncertainty of being able
to obtain the requisite amperage from a
street-lighting circuit, and scout the idea
that connection could be formed with a
trolley wire without a degree of public
ity that could not fail TO lead to detec-
ton. The superintendent of an electrical
establishment did some experimenting and
found that special regulating devices had
to be employed to keep the current at a
suitable voltage, that the light was so in
tense that he burned his eyes very badly,
and that the fumes given off were such
as would asphyXiate a burglar operating
in small and tightly closed room. in
short, there seems TO be an array of in
superable obstacles in the way of practi-
cally uniting electricity and burglary in a
Joint stock enterprise. Mr.. Rodman has
developed an interesting possibility but
not one that worries the banker, the Jew
eler, the safe maker or the casualty and
1delity insurance companies. The wedge
the drill and the high explosives have not
yet outlived their usefulness.
In Columbus avenue, where the numbers
approximate four figures, lives a retired
burglar He was, in his time and for many
years, star workman at a safe, and his
name is on the roster of more than one
state prison. But he has Squared it,"
as they say in police and burglary circles.
| and for several years has led the life of a
quiet and well-dispOsed citizen, as a man
threescore should do He was willing to
talk little with the Sun reporter: But.
really he said, II am a back number
now IN my time We got along very well
with drills, wedges and a big blanket to
smother the noise when the powder went
off, We always picked the weakest safe or
vault and would rather take half the
money than tackle a stronger plant with
greater chance of getting caught at it.
Members of the profession know where
the best and the poorest burglar proof
work is to be found and make their Sc
lections accordingly. I've heard little
about electricity but / shouldn't care to
work with that kind Of partner, and
reckon that not many of the boys will
ever want to tackle it,"
The police have little to say on the sub
Ject Of safe breaking, except to point
with pride to the fact that this class of
crime is very scarce in New York Occa-
sionally a safe Is broken In some peculiarly
retired and inviting locality In the outly-
ing districts, but such a thing in the bust
ness center Of the city, where large
amounts Of money or valuable goods are
stored. Is seldom heard of. 1t Is also a
fact that safe burglaries are far more nu-
merous in the west than I'm the east. The
reason for this is explained thus by safe
manufacturer
"As rule, the east takes a much better
grade Of safe and vault work than the
west. This is not true however Of New
England. There the protection against
burglars is old-fashloned and inferior In
the main. II the burglars only knew OF
the location Of the weak safes and vaults
their laborB would be greatly simpllfed
and safe-blowing would be more frequent
than Il Is. They keep pretty well inform
ed, as II is and generally pick out soft
marks 10 operate on, but II Is fortunate
for the country generally that they have
not the knowledge that the safe men have
Of the poor character OF the burglar-proof
work in many establishments that should
be better equipped"
The most modern and approved vault
constructed Is said TO be IN the clearing
house and the new office OF the New York
Life Insurance Company at Broadway
and Leonard street. The vault In the sub
treasury building are old and out OF date,
but what with the heavy grated doors,
the walls eight feet thick. the force OF
armed watchmen, the arsenal well stocked
with weapons and ammunition and the
system OF automatic alarms connecting
with tho police stations, there Is little
chance that the burglars and safe blowers
will ever make an attempt on Uncle Sans