The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-15
PASSING OF BANK BURGLAR.
If A BANK is WRECKED NOVA
DAYS 1T is WITH THE COLLU-
SION OF SOME OFFICIAL.

The Old Time Bank Burglar Has, by
Ont of Business-Mechanic De-
vices Now Outvit His skill-Men
Who During Their Lives Robbed
Banks of Hundreds of Thousa nds
of Dollars Now Engaged in Petty
Thievery-"COunt'' Max shinburn
and Chauncey johnson Each Stole
Millions in Their Day from
Banks-Fcw of the Old Crooks
Left.
New York. Dec. 1S.-The modern
terly impossible for one to disturb a
vault protected with it without detec-
ton. but 1t also gives a signal at the
first attempt to raise a window, file
bar or enter a door. So thoroughly
does it protect the repositories OF
great wealth that 1t has defied all of
the wonderful skill of the craftsman,
until to-day the few living experts of
that class of crooks are found either
in abject poverty or devoting the
genius which brought them millions
twenty years ago to the practice of
crime of the most petty character.
One can scarcely fail to notice the ut
ter absence of great bank robberies
during the past five or ten years. A
few have been successfully performed
in that time, but with one single ex-
ception the money was obtained dur
ing banking hours from the cashier as
he glanced down the barrel of a six
shooter. The exception was when a
stranger engaged a bank cashier in
conversation while he hooked out a
roll Of bills with the aid of a piece of
wire from under the officials nose.
The electrical burglar alarm of to-
day, the great modern safes, which
will even resist dynamite. are the re-
suit of a series of bank robberies ex-
tending over period of twenty or thir-
ty years which were conceived and
successfully carried out by a band of
criminals, many of whom are alive to-
day. Strange as ii may seem, these
men have driven themselves out of
business. The almost fabulous wealth
which they stole made the invention
of mechanical devices which would
outwit their skill necessary, and they
came in the course Of time, until to-
day a robbery like that Of the Man
haitian Bank, or one like that of the
Ocean Bank in New York city, where
over a million dollars in money and Sc
curities were carried away, is wholly
impossible without collision with the
custodians OF the vaults. Even then
II is doubtful II one could be success
fully carried out, no matter how much
care was employed, for experiments
have shown that even the men who
safeguard the vaults of the great
banks of the country, by surrounding
them with network of wires, can not
go through these silent guardians with
out giving an alarm.
Twenty years ago a bank robbery,
with proceeds up in the hundreds Of
thousands was possible, but could only
be successfully carried out by men Of
brains and skill who had the patience
to study their enterprise well before
entering upon 1t. Bank officials were
not one whit less vigilant in those days
than they are now, but the brain Of
the crook had gone ahead Of the brain
of the honest man, condition hard to
to-day, when the very re-
verse is the fact. Few people have
any idea of the amount OF study put
into a job by the cracksmen before any
real attempt to realize is made. One
OF the best living illustrations of the
old school OF crooks is MACMILLAN
Schoenbein, better known to the police
of the world as Count" Max Shin
burn. After .defying the vault and
safe makers Of the world and footing
banks in this country and abroad for
an aggregate gain Of 100000 this
great criminal fell victim to modern
science. He was released not long ago
from the Clinton. N. Y. prison, after
q five years term for robbing the Mid
dleburg Bank. penniless. gray with
age, broken in health and spirit. The
story OF the mans life is like ro-
nance and is full of chapters which
one finds IL hard 10 believe. In his
prime he was truly the greatest GRIM
inal in the world Ruloff, the BUTCH
er. who fought his way 10 freedom
scores Of times over the bodies OF his
own victims, excelled him in daring
perhaps. but no criminal that ever
lived had his mechanical genius.
shinburn is a Geraman, was taught
the trade OF a machinist and locksmith
by his father. came TO this country be-
fore he was II years old. and had
launched on a career Of crime before
he was IS. He had wonderful skill as