Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-02-04

:. -, > II. No. Of.
To,PR '7l'l Ct DE. DEp /
The Bank Of. Wilimer viii Install Il
Burglar Alarm System i" thu
Near Future.
Arrangements are in progress where
by the Bank of Willmar will install q.
complete system of the latest improved
electrical burglar alarms, manufact-~
ured by the American Bank Protec-
ton Company of Minneapolis, in its.
bank here. Mr.. F. A. Savage, tbs
company's representative, demonstrate
ed the working of the system in this
city last Friday, and succeeded in in
teresting the stockholders of the banK
to the extent that the system will prob
ably be installed here before long. e.
will cost, complete, about $3.50.
The following extract taken from q,
description of the system will probab-
! ~ be Of interest to readers:
IAN examination of the system will
| convince the most skeptical that 4
vault protected by this system is i'm
penat"able. When installing the
alarms the vault is lined, top, bottom,
aud sides with double plate, ell .ctricaI
vault lining, which in itself furnishes
great physical resistance to burg
lars. With the exception of two ten->
inch fire alarm gongs, protected by
two hoods Or shields OF Hercules Bes-.
semer steel, the entire system is placed
on the inside Of the vault, so that it is
impossible to tamper with the system
from the outside.
The entire system is controlled by
two large 81 ctrical timers, working
on the same principal as timers of a.
time lock. The system requires no
attention from the banker, except a.
winding of the timers each week The
alarm is always connected with the
battery, but the current is set by the
timers, automatically each evening
when the vault is closed at the usual
time, and is turned off in the same
manner just before the usual time Of
opening it. The system is double
throughout, two timers, two alarm
| gongs, two sets of batteries, and
should one set of the system fail to
work, the vault is still protected by
the other, both working together but
independent Of each other, and fur
nishing a double alarm and double
resistance when both ara in working
order.
4 It is impossible to attempt to drill
through any part of the vault, tamperz
d with the dial or handle of the door, Or
attempt to disarrauge the alarm gons
! from the outside, as the system works
on the open circuis plan, and as soon
as the dial or handle of the door is
tempered with, hole drilled through
the first lining OF the vault, or the
gongs are disturbed in any way, even
by running a piece of wire through
the perforations in the steel shields,
the circuit is closed and the alarm is
given There is also an automatic
alarm registering cabinet, which reg
listers the cause AMI place of alarm, If
the dial is tampered with or a hole
drilled through the side of the first
lining, and also registers the exact
tina of the alarm.
The electrical power to operate the
system is vested in two independent
battery forces, consisting of twenty
four dry cells each, supplying tue
power to two Independent systems,
which insures an al arm from one svs-
tenn, should the other failto respond.
A system of this burglar alarm was
installed in The Merchants National
bank, OF Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which
however, had but one set of batteries
and but one gong. On Thanksgiving
evening OF last year, while night
Waterman of the bank was making his
rounds he &C ;identaly touched the
handle Of the vault door, an alarm
) was sounded, which nearly drove the
surprised Waterman crazy, aud was
very plainly heard in the theater more
than two hundred feet away. It was
necessary to call the cashier of the
bank from the theater, in order to
open the vault and stop the alarm.
This was at about the time OF the FREE
quent bank robberies in northern aud
northwestern Iowa, ard before the
4 alarm was shut off, the street was
crowded with people, expecting to see
a battle between bank robbers and the
entire police force, who had hurried
to the bank. ~ -