The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-12-15
SAFE LOCK PUZZLES.
THE TROUBLE THAT IS CAUSED BY
LOST COMBINATIONS.

A Remarkable Experience with a
Screw Door Safe. which Dcfied the
Assaults OF the Experts For Three
Days and Nights.
Once q painter working in the Com
mercial hotel slipped from his ladder and
in falling struck his foot against the knob
of the office safe. A fow moments later
the clerk attempted to open the doors, but
found them immovablc; the blow had
thrown ION" the combination. AS usual
in hotels where some ono is continually
on duty close at hand, the outer lock was
rarely used. 1t was last employed 40 long
ago that nobody could remember the ex-
act figures that governed 1t, and an expert
was sent for. In detective stories this indi-
vidual would have placed his ear against
the door, turned the knob few times,
smiled enigmatically and thrown back the
bolts, but unfortunately suoh things don't
really happen outside the works Of NJ.
Gabnriau. As matter Of fact, five skilled
mechanics took turns at trying for some
30 hours, md finally the makers were tele-
grnphcd to for the cipher.
Tho "sticking" of safe doors, as 1t is
called oolloquially, is something that Oc-
ours now and then in every city, and the
most common cause is the sudden death
If the man possessing the combination.
Some cautious merchant tumbles over
with heart disease or. apoplcxy, and his
safe Is found locked as tight as drum.
In such cases there is only ono thing to do.
A hole Is drilled through the door, so as
to give access to the mechanism, and the
lock Is then picked with wire.
AS burglars often employ the same
process it may be interesting to explain
Just how 1t Is DONE A combination lock
consists of series of disks, or "tumblers, "
each having slot on the edge, and when
these slots arc brought into alignment
bar slides through and operates the bolts.
BY means Of a hooked wire 1t is COMPARE
lively easy for an expert to revolye the
disks untilthe slots are all in their correct
positions, and that, In nutshell, is the
whole trick
The widely prevalent idea that a combi-
uation lock may he opened "by car" is alb
surd, and tho safe sharp who pretends to
do il resorts to an ingenious method, call
ed backing up" He approaches safe
when tho combination is "off," and by
quietly turning the knob backward can
tell by slight obstruction when the first
number Is reached. The second is "picked
up tho same way, and SO on until tho
cipher is in his possession, when he boldly
announces that he can open the doors
wherever he wants to. Many man has
been hoodwinked into believing good
lock worthless by this simple dodge
Sudden death is by no means RESPONSE
IL s., III ~
of those strange mental sessions, in which
tho oyertaxed brain itself slips cog,
causes busy man to forget for the time
being one or more of tho numbers. He
may hayo opened the snfe every morning
for years and believed the combination to
be as familiar US the face Of his WIFE, but
it has slipped away into the mysterious
regions Of oblivion, and the harder he'
thinks tho less apt ho Is to recall it.
Some years ago Now Orleans merchant
suddenly forgot the second number Of his
combination. Hew in great Distress for
he feared mental breakdown, and,
strange to say, no had the missing num-
Der associated in some manner with the
idea Of stopping or pausing.
ut hns something to do with standing
still, ;" no repeated over and over again to
the battlcd experts. AT last he jumped Up
with a triumphant whcop.
II hayeit," he yelled "Its 2s. Don't
you sec, tvn-eight, to wait? knew it had
something to do with stopping"
One of the most remarkable lcckouts on
record occurred in 1892 in a small town in
this state A general merchant had what
was known as a screw door safe, with a
time lock, which got out of order The
door in safe of this kind is circular and
screws in, after which an automatic con-
trivance throws the bolts, which arc re-
leased CT q given hour by interior clock
work. The expert sent for in this particu
lar case made the necessary repairs, but
forgot to replace small bar connecting
the clock and the lock- Consequently when
he closed tho door tho bolts flew into po-
sition, and there was no way in tho world
to get them back.
The safe contained q quantity Of cur
rency, several fine watches and a lot Of
diamond jewelry, and the owner was wild
to have It opened. Then began q battle
royal. The first scheme of the experts
was to bolt long iron bar to the door
and then raise the safe by a tackle and let
it drop. The theory was that the jar
might Cnuso tho bolts TO fly back long
enough to enable the leverage pressure Of
the bar to start the screw. This was tried
at least u hundred times, but without sue
cess mi. -
They then determined to break down
the door itself. 1t was composed of many
plates of steel hold together by a series Of
small bolts. A beam 25 feet long was
swung from u derrick like battering
ram and hurled end on against the front
of the SAFE Shifts Of darkies wero en-.
gagged to relieve each other at fixed hours,
and the blows were timed regularly, two
to the minute. 1t was believed that u
vibration could thus be sot up that would
eventually jar out the bolts, and, incredible
rs it may seem, the assault was continued
increasingly three days and nights The
blows reverberated through the little
town like salvos Of artillery, and tho
whole country around turned out to SEQ
the fun. Sleep was impossible, and ono
exaspernted resident had actually applied
for an injunction when tho plates at last
sprung asunder.
Tho interior was wreck. Tho watches
had been literally torn to pieces The
diamonds were found wrenched from their
settings and the currency reduced to rags
by abrasion from flying particles. 1t had
to Go sent to the treasury for redemption.
When an expert is called in by u bust
ness man who finds himself unable to open
his safe, he tries the plan to begin with,
of rovcrtng the NUMBERS given him. IL
not infrequcntiy happens that the owner
has accidentally ccarranged them in his
mind and In nine cases out of ten that
proves to BIO the fact. Tho forsetfu man
is always ready to take oath that ho has
made no mistake until it is demonstrated
before his eyes that he has-Ncw Orleans
Times Democrat.
Modern Philosophy.
Gam tho first girl you ever loycd?"