Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-02-08
WAYS OF SAFE BURGLARS
METHOD EMPLOYED IN BREAKING
STEEL CHESTS.
Nitro-GIycerine Used to Blow the Door
From Its Fastenings-SkilI
Required.
From the New York Times.

From the New York Times.
1t is a known fact that some of the
shrewdest professional burglars in this
country were formerly makers Of safes,
who knew every combination and trick OF
the trade, are skilled in the use Of the most
modern tools and have a thorough knowl-
edge of the weak point of every safe on
the market. For many years safe break
ing was carried on with great success. The
time lock and the combination lock put a
stop to a good deal of this activity, and
then an arrangement was made whereby,
even If the hinges were sawed off, the door
still remained locked. 1t almost seemed
as If the burglars had finally been foiled
at every point, when nitro-gy cerine made
its appearance.
Burglars were. quick to see that this
powerful liquid. which is still the active
principle of guncotton and dynamite, put
nearly all the safes on the market at :heir
mercy. But it requires the highest me
chanical skill and great deal of expert
ence and knowledge to use nitro-gly cerine
upon safe successfully.
The Entering Wedge.
Very few people are aware however. how
simple are the implements needed by the
modern burglar in opening a safe with
nitro glycerine, and just how he proceeds to
business. His outfit consists of a few
pounds of putty, a sufficient quality of
nitro-glycerine. a hammer and pc. laps q
couple of thin wedges. With these. and q
fuse and matches, he is ready to 'nego-
tate the so-called burGlar-proof safe,
and the degree of his success depends al
most wholly upon himself.
A very short time is needed In when 10
blow safe. The first thing done is to
make a careful inspection OF the upper
door janb of the safe. No matter how
tight fitting and carefully adjusted the
door of a safe may be, 1t is claimed that 1t
is impossible to make it so that wedge
hardly thicker than a razor edge Will not
find entrance. A few taps with hammer
drive in the thin end of the wedge, making
opening which may not be any bigger
than a thin sheet of paper The wedge
is driven in further, a thicker wedge is in
serted and this is followed. perhaps, by a
still thicker one, each wedge only receiv-
ing a few dull blows, until finally the open
ing between the door and the wall OF the
safe Is perhaps a sixteenth Of an inch
wide. Leaving the last wedge in place,
the burglar now turns to his lump of putty
and goes to work on the bottom of the
safe door.
Applying the Explosive.
The minute crack here where the door
and the safe meet is carefully puttied up
along its whole length, and the line Of
putty is continued up for about foot on
each end along the sides of the door. The
burglar with his putty next makes a cup"
at the top of the door directly facing the
opening made by the wedge When the
cup is finished he fills it up with nitro
glycerine. This slowly percolates in
through the thin opening made by the
wedge. and as soon as the cup has emptied
Itself 1t is filed again. Now, what hap
pens?
The nitro-gly does not simply dis
appear in the safe among the books and
drawers. 1t slides down the top of the door
at an angle of forty-five degrees and fol-
lows down the inside of the door. Instead
of resting on the bottom of the safe, the
ro-glycerine follows the steps" into
which the door is fitted. Here the nitro
glycerine collects the putty on the outside
of the door preventing its escape.
The burglar keeps pouring in nitro
glycerine by the aid Of his cup until he
believes that the interstices between the
bottom Of the door and the safe are full Of
liquid, making a layer under the door at
an angle of about forty-five degrees. The
safe is then ready to be blown" which
merely consists in setting off the explosive.
So powerful is nitro-glycerine that 1t
wrenches the door from its place and leaves
the inside Of the safe at the mercy of the
burglar,