The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-30
Experts Visited Department Store of Foye
& Ecksfein.
With Fuse and Conclusion Cap Door of Safe Was
Blown Off,
THE ROBBERS ONLY TOOK CASH
Sound of Explosion Was Muffled With Water
Soaked Cloth.

6Ot away Win something ike Sl,tOO.
The robbery was not discovered until
after 10 o'clock.
With the aid of some high explosives,
fuses, and a blasting cap, one of the
iron doors of the safe was blown COM
pletely off and the work of removing
the money was accomplished in a very
short while. Although a heavy change
of the explosive was used by the rob-
bers they had arranged matters so
that the sound could not have been
heard a few feet away.
Dozens of bolts of percale that had
been soaked in water were piled
around the safe, and ten or eleven
| heavy comforts, also water soaked,
were spread over this barricade of wet
cloth, and the safe. In this manner
| the sound was muff1ed and a frail
| glass only three feet from the safe es-
capped injury, although the force of
| the explosion was sufficient to blow
the right hand door of the safe from
| its hinges, and completely wreck locks
and bolts.
AS suspicious characters, c. F. alias
Spike" Foley and G.. A. Draper were
arrested last night by Detectives Frank
| Wall and j. ]. Murphy. AS yet the
officers have nothing to connect the
men with the robbery. Foley is we'll
known to the officers, however, and has
an unsavory reputation in police circles.
| Only a few weeks ago he pleaded gull
ty to a charge of larceny in the City
Court.
Draper is said to be a stranger and
little or nothing is known about him.
| When made a prisoner he handed a
revolver over to Detective Murphy.
| When Foley was searched between
$40 and $50 was found on him. Neither
man made any show Of resistance, and
| they were given separate cells in the
| station house. Their movements dur
| ing the early morning hours are being
| inquired into by the plain clothes men.
Went Through Cellar.
Foye & Eckstein's department store
| is located at the southwest corner of
Barnard and Broughton streets and is
a three-story building. The robbers
entered by breaking a lock on the
grating in Broughton lane and going
! into the cellar. 1t is believed by the
police that one man remained on the
| outside and closed the grating down
after the others had gone inside.
Once inside the store the work of
cracking the safe was easy. Not only
were the men in no danger of being
seen from the street, but 20 have been
detected while at work was an impos-
sibility. The safe is in the southwest
corner of the first floor and cannot
be seen three feet away. 1t is directly
under a flight of stairs going to the
office, which is on a balcony between
the first and second floors, and had
the robbers been forced to move the
safe to a place where they could not
possibly have been seen they would
have selected the corner on the lane
side of the store where the safe is kept.
A single incandescent light was burn
ing, and an officer or pedestrian walk
ing on Broughton street could not have
seen what was going on inside. Be
cause of their security the men took
their time in getting things in shape
for the work of blowing the safe open.
Worked on Combination.
With punch or jimmie the combina-
ton knob was pried off and thrown
aside. This left a small hole, into
which the explosive was poured. Just
what this explosive was the police have
not been able to discover, although
they have a sample. Experts say that
it was composition made by the men
who did the work. 1t will be analysed
and it's exact character discovered.
An ordinary blasting cap was fitted
on the end of long piece of blasting
fuse. This cap was placed firmly in
the hole, into which the explosive had
been poured. Then the work of ar
ranging things so that the explosion
could not be heard, was begun. A large
quantity of percale was kept only
few feet from the safe, and bolt after
bolt of this was pulled down and soak
ed in water. The robbers used water
that was in the coolers on the first and
second floors, and as each bolt of cloth
was soaked it was piled around the
front of the safe. Other pieces were
spread on the floor, so as to deaden the
sound of the falling door.
After the wall of wet percale had
been built, and the uncapped end of
the fuse had been run between the
bolts of cloth the robbers went to the
front of the store and got the heavy
comforts. These were thoroughly
drenched and wrapped around the safe,
thrown over it or piled on top of the
percale. BY this arrangement the safe
was completely surrounded by hun
dreds of yards of wet cloth, and there
was not the slightest danger of the ex-
plosion being heard in the street The
fuse was lighted and in about a min
ute had burned to the cap and explod-
ed it. The concussion caused the pow
der to explode and the work was done
Shattered Iron Door.
The explosion wrenched the safe door
from its hinges and shattered the
lock sand combination. The heavy
pieces of iron were hurled outward and
fell on the water soaked cloth with
out doing any damage. The fact that
the cloth was wet prevented a fire,
although a hole was burn through one
of the comforts.
The cash, drawers were taken out
and the money that had been taken in
Saturday afternoon and night was APP
propriated by the robbers. A number of
checks were thrown on the floor; moth
ing but money was touched. The men
went through the safe carefully and
LEFT nothing in the shape Of cash be-
hind,
They next visited the balcony between
the FIRST and second floors, directly over
where they had been working. All of
the drawers We're opened and the con-
frna -.