New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1902-07-19
STEEL NO LONGER BURGLAR PROOF
INVENTION OF ELECTRIC APPLIANCE
THAT CUTS THE HARDEST
STEEL.

The jewelers. Security Alliance,
of which Carlson 4 Co are Nom
bers, have issued n circular show
ing that such thing as burglar
proof safe no longer exists In
view of the little affair nj the =.
+ freight depot Friday morning
the article is Of especial interest
just now, and parts Of il are here
with reproduced.
when the Herald this week pub
Irzhed the news that the treasury
.rpartmcnt had decided there was
no such thing rs a burglar proof
safe the statement was received
with iucredulity by Eastern bank
crs and officials of safe deposit
companies. Vet such is the fact.
Tho treasury department will buy
no more of tho expensive safes that
for years have been supposed TO be
of sufficient strength to resist the
scientific burglar. II will in the
future adopt n system of automatic
electric bells, aud redouble safe
guards that can be provided by
private watchmen, one keeping
check on the other
All of this is because there is no
longer ~ burglar proof safe An
invention by julius Il. Ilaschke, n
Chicago electrician, will enable the
man applying it to cut through the
hardest steel plate rs n boy with
knife would cut st. Lawrence
county cheese. Armour plato,
such as is used on the United States
battle ships, can be perforated rs
an augeur would bite its way
through n plank of northern pine.
Mr.. Hashke calls his invention
carbon poiut. He did not produce
it for the purpose Of aiding the
dark lanterns to open bank safes.
His object was to supply a means
of cutting steel and iron bars in
the construction OF buildings,
bridges, etc.
But oil the same, the burglar
who gets into bank with this
apparatus, il he be an expert In its
use, can get across to the strongest
safe, between the hours OF dusk
aud midnight, and possess himself
Of its contents. Similarly, it the
burglar should be captured, his
confederates, using this invention,
could cut asunder the bars across
his cell window and place him ut
liberty.
The first public exhibition of
this invention was made not long
ago in Milwaukee. An enormous
boiler foundation was to be re-
moved from the basement Of a
building. II was impossible to get
this great mass of metal out Of the
building as il lay without tearing
down a portion of the walls. And
il was seemingly impossible to cut
the plate into pieces. Some one
mentioned the new process Of cut
ting steel like soft butter, and the
inventor was invited to go to Mil
waukee aud make test The in
yantor ensconced himself in a little
steel house, placed two pairs of
blue spectacles on his eyes, and
after connecting his carbon point
with an electrical current, touched
the steel plate.
The spectators saw brilliant
flame shoot up. II was white
light, producing extreme heat aud
nearly blinded the onlookers. The
operator was well protected aud
did the work with apparently little
AT the rate Of a foot
In Ave minutes, cutting or burning
a wide space in tho plate, the car
bon point with its wonderful ,
power worked along, aud in a +,
short time the enormous mass Of .
steel had been reduced to frag.
mcnts that could be easily han
died.
The matter was reported to bank
crs Of Chicago aud Milwaukee, and
they investigated the matter care
fully. They at FIRST found some
in the belief that the value
Of the carbon point as criminal
agency was virtually nullified by
the fact that considerable voltage
was required and that a bright
light is caused by the carbon poin,
when II is in operation. This com.
fort, however, has since been re-
moved by experiments which have
beenconducted by the inventor him.
self and by an investigation which
has been made by treasury depart.
mcnt experts.
On the point made by some
bankers that high voltage is rc.
quired and that the bright light
a