The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-07-27
ELECTRICITY TO OPEN a sAFa i
An Electrician Shows How It Can |
Be Done in Twenty SecondO.

L E
An Electrician Shows How 1t Can
Be Done in Twenty Secondo.
Within every bank in New York are
the beans by which. without noise and
without danger, II once a properly
equipped burglar can get to the vault
the doors Of the stanchest burglar
proof vault can be penetrated Willis
the space Of few minutes. A piece Of
carbon. coil Of wire and a little
knowledge Of electricity. and the initt
ated modern burglar can do in a quar-.
ter OF an hour what the most expert
craftsman, with his drills and high ex.
pfosives, might fail in after night Of
work.
Officials of Kansas City bank were
treated to novel and diverting exhi
bition last week of how their fire and
burglar proof safe could be rified az
easily as an old lady's bureau drawer
An electrician, Mr.. c. H. Mathews,
had assured the bank owners that he
could open their safes perfectly noise-
lessly In twenty seconds, with little
instrument that he could carry in his
pocket. They gave him chance to
prove 1t. and he did 1t.
He took his apparatus out Of his
pocket and unwound two coils of silk
encased copper wires. The ends Of
these he attached to the arc lamp cleo
trio wire with which the building was
lighted. One Of the little copper wires
he connected with a projecting corner
Of the safe. He held the end of the
other wire in his hand, attached to q
peculiar looking electrical device. He
adjusted this by hand on dial look
ing like the regulator of watch.
A stick or carbon formed the end or
eiectrode of the mechanism. He APP
piled this carbon to the safe, Just over
the time lock. In an instant a stream
of whitish molten metal began to run
down the side of the safe: In two min
utes there was q hole an inch in diam
eter laying open the vital parts of the
lock. In another minute the lock itself
was melted away and the big door
swung open. In two more minutes the
inner door Of the safe was melted away
around the lock and the banks treas
ure lay exposed.
Not a sound had been heard. not even
80 much as the sputtering Of burn
ing candle. There were no cumbersome
levers. jimmies and dangerous pack
ages of dynamite to burden the safe
blower. The bank officials were speech
less. Their $4,000 up-to-date vault
was ruined. But that was the least OF
1t. The vault could be replaced. But
of what use was vault any more, with
such a new, all-powerful force that
could break through all barriers. They
enjoined silence on all. But the facts
soon became known.
The electrician who possesses this po-
tent secret is said to be on his way to
New York to give the bankers Of the
metropolis a similar object lesson. He
protests that he is guarding his device
against its falling into the hands Of
bank robbers. But who ever knew the
sly gentlemen of that profession t. be
baf1ed in their efforts to get hold Of the
latest improvements in mechanics and
science to use in their work? But there
is one safeguard for banks-the honest
Waterman.
The other day, in Kansas City, in the
basement of the Coates house, a little
band Of bankers watched a demonstra-
ton by Mr.. Mathews. who revealed the
nimsiness Of plates Of steel against the
science-tamed Observation-Disclosures the
hands Of one who knows its powers.
With the current which lights the
Coates house, and the simple imple-
ments mentioned before he burned in
twenty seconds an inch hole through a
.five-plate sheet Of chrome steel quar-
ter OF an inch thick. The sheet Of steel
was from vault which had been
wrecked by a charge Of nitro-glycaline.
yet this terrible explosive which had
bent and twisted the edges Of the sheet
In wrenching 1t from the welded joints.
had not penetrated 1t in a single place.
To cut 1t with the finest chisel was Inn
possible, to drill it, equally so: but the
bright electric arc at the end OF the
little stick Of carbon burned its way
through the obstinate metal as easily
as the focused rays from a sun glass
would burn through piece OF paper.
1.-THE thickness Of the metal makes no
.difference." said Mr.. Mathews. tearing
down the last prop to the tottering
hopes Of the men who watched him.
SIT Ii only q question Of time: II this
sheet was IN inch thick I'd 60 through
It In Q minute and half. You have
the power and all you have to do to It 10
TO apply Il have gone through
thicker steel at the rate Of nearly IN
inch . minute. In ten minutes burn
Cd through seven and one-haif inches
of : safe door In . Chicago bank ons
day, and entered the building carry
Ing everything needed In water
backet. The banker had been . little
skeptical up 70 that time. !"
The theory Of electrical bank robbins
10 equally IL formidable % the practice
gives promise Of being u taken up.
..Ths finest Of steel: raid Nj. Ma.
thews, "fuses ut 5000 degrees BY at
Nachan9 4 wire 10 x spiecn az carbon and