Evening star., 1897-03-06
Private Houses.

dretls during the summer months. most OF
the residents giving the keys to the central
Office and giving their winter homes d.
rectly in charge of the watchmen at the an
nunciators. If keepers are left in charge OF
the houses, their signatures are kept on file
at the central station. If anything goes
wrong at the houses, policemen are dis
patched to them with copy Of the sigma
ture. II the one asked for corresponds TO
the one on record all is well, but If not, an
arrest follows. If the family is out of town
only authorized members of 1t capable of
proving their identity by means of recorded
signatures are allowed to enter house
" hile 1t is in charge Of the watchmen. Com
plications sometimes occur. but the owEer
of a house himself would not be allowed to
enter his own house If he could not prove
his signature. Members Of families have
appeared and with show Of bluster de-
manded that they be allowed to enter the
residence of their father, or brother, or
uncle, as the case may be. but they did not
go In without the necessary sanction. Very
often the controlling members of family
have given orders not to admit certain of
their relations to their city homes. OF
course the watchmen get out of the dilem-
ma in as diplomatic manner as possible
under the circumstances. In one case a
Woman gave her house in charge of the
protective association. with the express un-
cerstanding that her husband be not admit
ted. There was a scene some time after
ward, but he did not go in.
For Fire and Water.
Both fire and water are guarded against
| by the annunciators. The fire will fuse
the wires in the walls and thus send in
an alarm. and the water will short cir
| cult the current ard cause the annuncia-
| tor needle to perform sundry acrobatic
| fests. Thousands of dollars Of loss were
| recently saved to silk merchant in whose
| store water had begun to leak down from
| the upper floors of the next building. In
| fact, If the annunciators had not told the
| tale when they did all Of his stock would
| Fave been ruined.
| This system does away with any intri-
| cate locking methods for bank vaults. 1t
| Is good thing to SO complicate the COM
| bination OF safe that no irregularity can
| occur concerning 1t. Some New York
| banks, however, use such systems. In the
| clearing house the vault Is opened on three
| combinations. each one in the hands Of
three sets of bank officials. Cryptoera-
| matte combinations, in which a change
able key would be needed to work them
| out, have also been tried. 1t has also been
| suggested that the combinations of all the
banks In the clearing house association be
| operated by electricity capable OF being
| worked only from the central protective
| station. This would be combination turn
| ing at long range indeed. An instrument
LOT carrying out such scheme has actu-
| ally been invented. 1t was on exhibition In
| New York. The operating machine had
the appearance of a piano keyboard. Con-
| Meeting wires led from this to the safe
door. On pressing certain keys electro
| magnets were operated. causing the bolts
ard bars to move back and forward at
the proper moment.
| The system Not Used I'm Prisons.
But the great moral of this method OF
bank protection lies outside of the depart
ment In which 1t Is already used The in.
ference to be drawn is this: If it will keer
burglars outside Of banks 1t will keen their
inside Of prisons. The question of taiI de-
hveries Is not inconsiderable. If the mora
| structure Of the community is to be consid
cred. and here at last Is a system that will
| absolutely prevent any prisoner escapins
from Jail. unique scheme was suggested
Few years ago. 1t was 10 construct tn,
| cell walls and doors of iron tubes insteas
| of iron bars These tubes were to be fillet
| with compressed air or else a vacuum wa,
to be made in them. The theory was tina
an escaping prisoner, in attempting to fl,
| through his cell walls, would spring a leal
In the tubes. and thus sound an alarm Blu
the defect Of this system was that tn,
tubes were sure to leak Under the banl
protection system, however, the prisone
could not move bar without having l
show on the needles. Each cell, ever,
door. window. scuttle or other modes o
exit would be constantly under vurveil
lance. To bribe keeper would not avail
One prison official would be unable to al,
: in an escape without the fact being know
at once. 1t should be adopted in ever,
prison, and 1t was offered in New Yorl
state, but the official who heard the ple
of the inventor listened patiently while tn
} latter explained the system. then he de
Iivered himself thus: ."Your invention. siI
is all right from a mechanica al and an elec
trical standpoint. think 1t would effectu
, ally stop the escape Of prisoners but
Z has one susurmountsble dificulty-it canna
/ VotA"