Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1902-03-19
HOW SAFES ARE BLOWN.
Method Employed by Burglars in Ef-
fecting an Entrance Into Strong
Boxes of Steel,

| ~ ID d well NuO"u 4dCI VIl1U 0OAu0 VI
the shrewdest professional burglars
in this country were formerly makers
of safes, who knew every combination
and trick of the trade, and are skilled
in the use of the most modern tools
and have a thorough knowledge of the
weak points of every safe on the mar
ket. For many years safe breaking
was carried on with great success.
The time lock and the combination
lock put stop to great deal of this
activity, and then all arrangement was
made whereby, even if the hinges were
sawed off, the door still remained
locked. 1t almost seemed as il tho
burglars had finally been foiled at
| every point, when nitro-glycerine
made it's appearance, says the New
York Times.
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 their mercy. But it re-
quires the highest mechanical skill and
a great deal of experience ind knowl-
edge to use nitro-glycerine upon safe
successfully.
Very few people are aware, however,
how simple are the instruments need
ed by the modern burglar in opening a
safe with nitro-glycerine, and just how
he proceeds to business. His outfit
consists of few pounds of putty, a
sufficient quantity of nitro-glycerine,
a hammer and perhaps a couple Of
thin wedges. With these, and a fuse
and matches, he is ready to "negoti-
ate" the so-called burglar-proof safe,
and the degree of his success depends
almost wholly upon himself.
A very short time is needed in which
to ''blow'' a safe. The first thing done
is to make careful inspection of the
upper door jamb of the safe. No mat
ter how tight-fitting and carefully ad-
juster the door of a safe may be, it is
claimed that it is impossible to make
it so that a wedge hardly thicker than
a razor edge will not find entrance.
A few taps with a hammer drive in the
thin edge of the wedge, making an
opening which may not be any bigger
than thin sheet of paper. The wedge
is driven further, thick wedge is in
serted, and this is followed, perhaps,
by still thicker one, each wedge only
receiving few dull blows until finally
the opening between the door and the
wall of the safe is perhaps 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.
The minute crack here where the
doro and the safe meet is carefully
puttled up along it's 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 "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
through the thin opening made by the
wedge, and as soon as the cup has emp
tied itself it is filed again. Now, what
happens?
The nitro-glycerine does not simply
disappear in the safe among the books
and drawers. It slides down the top
of the door at an angle of As degrees
and follows down the inside of the
door. Instead of resting on the bot
tom of the safe, the nitro-glycer:ne
follows the ''steps'' into which the
door is fitted. Here the nitroglycer-
inc collects, the putty on the outside
OF the door preventing it's escape.
The burglar keeps pouring in nitro
glycerine by the aid of his ''cup" until
he believes that the interstices be-
tween the bottom of the door and
the safe are full of liquid, making
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
expressive. So powerful is nitro-glvc-
crime that it wrenches the door from
its place and leaves the inside of the