The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-12-12

the sort which are screwed to the door
and are now found only in very old
frame buildings are in the cheaper class
of hotels, this is easy Any one who
has ever lost the key to any of these
locks must have discovered that almost
any old key he borrowed from the
neighbors would turn the bolt A but
tonhock will usually do it. Any slight
projection on a slender rod which will
raise the simple tumbler in the lock
will allow the bolt to be removed.
But moi tisa" locks, the variety in
use in all modern buildings, witch are
fitted into the edge of the door and
leave nothing showing but the brass
plate on the edge and the two key
holes are biz more intricate in their
mechanism and are likely to hold the
burglar moment or two longer. But
they will eventually yield to the gentle
movements of the expert lock picker.
When several skeleton keys have been
tried and none is found to be the prop
err one, the picks" which give the art
its name. are introduced These are
slender bits OF steel with one turn up
at right angle, resembling button
I hook Strengthened out to form an l.,
The long end in the hand Of the burglar
/ is so slender that several of these can
be inserted at once in to the circular
part Of the kayhole, and they are upt
in one by one, each one raising a tum-
bier and holding it up until the proper
number Of tumblers are raised, when
the holt moves back and the door is
open
| There is scarcely a lock in town on
which an expert cannot perform this
trick--that is, of the common variety
of locks which can be opened through
a keyhole from either side of the door.
| With spring locks-or might latch"
locks, as they are called-the work is
bit more difficult sometimes, and is
more often performed with a skeleton
key than with picks. The expert bur
gar is provided with pockettul OK
night latchkeys cut from steel or iron
BLANKS" and each one having notches
a shade different from the Others In
the cheaper grade of night latches one
of these keys is almost certain to prove
duplicate Of Of the one on the key
ring of the householder, snugly asleep
inside in perfect confidence in his lock.
And after the house has been robbed
and no one disturbed the folks say:
II can't see how they got in, for the
door was locked and we found it locked
this morning"
The wise burglar takes care to close
the door behind him SO as to avert sus-
picion as long as possible.
Not all of the lock picking is done by
criminals, however. Some of the most
expert men in that line are practical
locksmiths and employees of the big
safe-making firms, who have spent
years in peering into locks and devils
ing methods for making them proof |
against all attacks save those Of the |
keys intended for them, The battle con-
stantly raging between the makers of |
high-power shells and the makers of |
armor plate is no more steadily waged |
than that between lockmakers and bur-
glars-that is, makers of locks which |
cost barrel of money and are intend
ed to guard valuables. The so-called |
safe of twenty years ago |
would be laughed at by the safebower
of to-day The time-lock doors of a
safe deposit vault with their ponder
Gus cranks and screw-thread mechan-
ism are the highest type of the lock
experts art. They are supposed to be
proof against everything eX-
cept earthquakes and properly applied
dynamite But when they get out of
order and refuse to open at the appoint
ed time the lock expert is sent for and
after an hour or two of gentle turning
and twisting and listening to the inte-
,.in ioIy la eyxri,u /
and tho trick is done.
Ordinary Office safes are "easy'' for :
the expert from the safe firm, or even
an old-timer in the locksmths bust
ness Quite often through some mad
vertance the combination of a safe is
unknown to the office force. Perhaps {
The one man who knows it has forgot I
ten it or has died suddenly without i'm ,,
parting the secret The safe must be {
opened without destroying the lock and I,
he expert comes. After more or less
Visiting of the mob and listening to the d
.umblers, together with delicate feeling
If the resistance to the knob as it turns
Under his fingers, he throws back the
BOLTS and opens the door
Roll-top desks are a frequent cause
,ften locks his KEYS inside the eur
ain" when he draws it down for the
hight. Next morning he sends for a
ocksmith, and when he sees how easily n
hat deft individual opens the desk he t
)eSrudges him the half-dollar charged
or the job. Instead of bringing with
lin an armful Of keys to try on the
ock the expert takes from his pocket
| pair of pliers made of very thin, fiat
teel These he slips under the roll
op Immediately below the key hole
he jaws being open. A slight pressure
IN the handle brings the jaws together
md as they press in the little projec-
ions which keep the thing locked the
Iesk is opened.
The night latch is often opened by
burglars in a similar manner. Usually
he door closes against a thin strip Of
wood nailed TO the door jamb or cas-
ng. Immediately inside this is the