Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-01-12
EXPERT BURGLARS TOOLS.
How the Cracksman Manages
to Get His Implements
of Trade.
OF THE BEST MATERIAL.
Sold in Every Hardware Store and
No Difficulty in Purchas-
ing Them.

by tho Man who Buys Them-Some
Places in NewsYork That Made a Isusi-
ne.s of Manufacturing Thsm-A Risky
l,usine.s.
One of the show places Of New York
to visitors from other cities interested
In criminology is the large case Of bur-
glars tools at Police Headquarters. A
British detective who came over to see
that nothing happened to Joseph
Chamberlain while he was here few
days ago looked it over and said:
Yes, as a collection it is the finest I
have ever seen, perhaps the best in the
world. But there are few implements
in it that would be of much use to the
up-to-date safe-breaker. Burglars tools
d, are like school books and dictionaries.
You must get new ones every three or
four years."
There is always more or less mystery
surrounding the tools that burglars
work with. Where are they made? Who
is bold enough to sell them? What re-
spectacle citizen of ordinary informa-
tion would know where to purchase
sectional Jimmy or diamond drill?
Simplest thing in the world. They are
sold in every hardware store on Broad
way, and the most notorious cracksman
that every picked lock has not the
slightest difficulty in purchasing them.
Getting out OF the store With these is
another matter. A burglar who under
stands his business never takes away
his purchases from a hardware store.
He knows we'll that Capt. McClusky has
men on his trail and that every time he
is seen on the street by a policeman he
will be taken to Headquarters for lit
tie questioning, no matter whether
there is anything suspicious about his
conduct or not. A fine thing it would
be for him to be caught with package
OF tools in his pocket,
The burglar takes no such chances.
After spending an hour or SO scrutin-
izing and selecting bits, drills, augers,
blades and things of that kind with a
care that is exasperating to the sales
man attending him, the safe-breaker
has his goods wrapped up, pays for
them and hands the parcel to lad, or
perhaps young woman, who comes in
WALL ului iIu lollSio opcut pdSiSAliy
while he makes his purchases.
Here take these goods up to the fac
tory as quickly as you can."
There is nothing to arouse the sus-
picions of the clerk. He has made
good sale. The customer fingers for ten
minutes or so after the person who
took his package goes away. He in
spects a new lock CIR gathers other in
formation. that is sure to be useful to
him some day or other. Then he says
good day and strolls up the street.
If one of McClusRy's men happens to
run across him and march him off to
Headquarters for talk, what Of it? He
has no discriminating parcels in his
pockets. He has been laying off since
he did his last bit" and isn't going to
give the police any more trouble. Away
he goes.
At another time and in another store
that burglar will purchase a jimmy.
Whenever he does the salesman asks
him for his card. He produces the card
of some carpenter or locksmith-easily
obtained--and gives his purchase to
somebody who came into the store with
him. What is there suspicious about
that?
And there is nothing more to the diff
flculty, OF securing burglars tools or
the materials for making them.
1t is. the man who knows what to do
with the fine steel instruments after he
gets them that is the successful safe
cracker. A few years ago there were
several machine shops in town where
burglars could have their kits" licked
into shape without any trouble. There
was a Frenchman in Bleecker street,
not half mile from Police Headquar-
ters, who made such fine blades--thin
as paper and keen as a sword-that
cracksmen in London and Paris con-
sidered themselves lucky if they got
one of them. There was another famous
machine shop in Cherry street, kept by
man named Heinrich. But the police
soon got on the trail of these shops.
They did not interfere with them. The
information picked up there was too
useful in following clues. But the burg
lars stopped patronizing them. 1t was
tempting fate too much.
Men who follow this business say
that Philadelphia is the safest city in
this country for a burglar to make a
home in, and that more of them do live
there than anywhere else-outside of
the prisons. 1t is easy in Philadelphia
for burglar to hire a small house and
come in at any hour OF the day or night
without attracting the attention of his
neighbors. In New York it is almost
impossible. Janitors talk; women are
curious, and the man who lives life
differing in the slightest degree from
his neighbor is pretty sure to have in
quiries made about him.
- No Interest.
It Is estimated that fully two-thirds