The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1898-10-07
HINTS BY A BURGLAR
tom THE DODGER" TELLS HOW
HOUSES ARE ROBBED.

UOuschoId"rS oftcn Help the Thieves
by NcglectinE Second story Win
dow FusteninSs-A Good Substitute
For Ladders.
Thomas Simpson, alias "Tom the Dodg
sT,'' who is known in police circles all
over the country, was i'll town the other
hight, but he got away before any of tho
Fly copperS" got on to him. He met sew
rral persons in a down town resort, and
after INDUCING in few drinks he became
confidential in his talk. Toms hints to
houscholdcrs were quite interesting.
Among those who listened to him WAS an
TX detective, who had often locked him up
years ago.
You see, - said Tom, "the public them
selves assist us Il great deal or men in my
limo wouldn't be able to bring off success
fully one-tenth of the jobs they do now.
For instance, however careful hOuSckeep-
ers and their servants may be with regard
to window fastcnings on the ground floor,
as "a rule they pay little attention to those
of rooms up stairs, for even when the fas
Jennings are i'll good order they are often
left undone. Now, a man who knows his
business never tries the ground floor for an
entry unless he is perfectly well acquaint-
ed with the run of the house and the
habits of the household, and even then he
nearly always enters by one of the doors
for which a key has been procured or the
lock and bolts of which can easily be
forced
What is the best window fastener?
Well, there amt mono any good, unless
it's two wedges forced down between the
sasheS, one on each sido of the window.
The screw to fix the sashes, as well rs the
other safe lodges, can easily be undonc
by cutting out piece of glass Now, the
wedges, if you 'tumbled' at once that they
were wedges, could only be got ut by cut
ting two holes in the glass, and then, if
properly fixed, they can't be shifted with
out making more noise than we care about
doing while on business. Moro especially
is this the case if u bell with q coil spring
is attached to the window.
"The last time l was 'copped was
through one of them coil spring bells
but not on q window. 1t was like this:
Tho house went for was occupied by
an eccentric old man, well to do and own
ing II tidy lot of plate. Tho 'spotter' l en-
ployCd managed to get around and walk
out with one of the servants, and from her
he learned that the master was very suS-
pcious of the domestics, laying traps to
catch 'em giving way dripping or odds
and ends and so on and making all of en-
go to bed before he did.
We'll, l felt us if this was rather n
ticklish job, but rs I'd got key made to
fit tho back door l decided to risk it, l
did and got into the house as easy as
winking Reaching the drawing room,
where knew the plate was kept, hauled
it from the cupboard, and, rs everything
had gone off so WELL sat down to have n
rest before packing it up. Walking on tip
toe is firing work, you know. l hadn't
sat there five minutes when bang! felt u
crack on the head, and L knew nothing
more until found myself tied hands and
feet and two policemen standing over me.
when my trial came on, and not until
then, l discovered that my capture was due
to the fact that the master of the house in
order to find out If any of the servants
came down stairs after he had retired had
placed cotton across the passages and
staircases about six inches from the ground
and attached it to coil spring bell fixed
in his bedroom. In my journey UP stairs
had without knowing it broken the cot
ton and sounded the alarm. Yes, it was a
neat cop.
Are there moro attempts Mt burglary
and housebrcaking during the dark days?
Yes, but why? Just then the not overpar-
ticular, rough laboring class get hard up,
and they are open to take to anything
from purse snatching upward, if there is
even remote chance of making money.
The consequence is that directly an oppor-
tunity offers to carry out u burglary they
go for it'-go for it without taking any
precaution and relying on brute force, the
knife or even tho revolver To effect an
escape il disturbed. That is why there are
so many brutal assaults and murders by
so called burglars just at that time of the
year.
"Of course the particulars as to rooms,
valuableS, locks, windows and habits OF
those living in u likely house, together
sometimes with wax impressions OF keys,
etc, are obtained by tho spotter, u man
who has nothing to do with the actual
burglary, but takes share in the haul
| nevertheless. A 'spotter' may be anything
from hawkcr calling ut the servants en-
trance, the gas man como to take the
| meter, a water inspector to see if there is
any leakage or simply the flor the time
bcing) devoted follower of one of the scrv-
| ants
lust remark about ladders. In In. &c
| establishments L have particularly noticed
the caro- with which all ladders are locked
up, while just around the corner, perhaps
| lying i'll tho open, are the clothes posts
| used for drying or sun airing the clothes
from the laundry. Now, it's AS easy to
swarm up good square clothes post to
reach first floor window, and when i'll a
hurry it's lump quicker to slide down
one than down IA ladder.
Il tell you what will shake the nerves
of u burglar as much us anything and
| perhaps make him drop his tools-that is
| kicking against sheet of crumplcd news
paper carefully laid in the passage. got
bad that way myself once and made
such Il noise that l Immediately bolted.
But if you yourself are frightened of
| burglars paying your house Il visit, T." he
concluded contidGntially, 1.-THE best tip l
can give you is to lay in little yclping,
swapping dog--one that will rouse every
body directly Il door or window is tried
| and let him have the run of the house in
side every night That's the best SAFE
| guard there is. '-Cincinn"ti Enquirer.