Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1904-11-04

philadelphia Record.
The sleeping car passenger has almost
Invariably moro or less around his person
In the shape OF valuable papers or JeWeiry
and yet with all the improvements tna'
nave been made in these palatial coacheS
for the comfort and convenience OF pAs
sengers, nothing seems to nave been uone
TO grant him safety for his valuable per
sonal belongings. When he goes to bed AT
night he puts his ~pocketbook under ms pa
low right within arms reach of any one
passing along the corridor of the car. The
sleeping car as arranged today offers no
other means of dlsposing of dur
ing the trip. A woman with a package OF
iewslry has no other alternative but 10
carry ii constantly in her hand and the
F.unceasing care she is POUND to give IL oe-
stroys all pleasure she might otherwise
derive from the trip.
A plan to grant relief to passengers IN
this respect has been devised by isaac
Freed of Harrisburg. Pa, whose many
t-rans-cont.netal business tours have for-
| chilly pointed out to him the necessity OF
some such protection for the travelns
pubic. His idea requires the addition OF
no weighty or cumbersome mechanism 70
the cars construction, or no sacrlnce Oh
space, and yet gives every passenger the
facilities Of a safe deposit vault. he ~
given a fire n burglar proof safe which
Is, not only under his own constant sur
VIGILANCE. but also that of the railroad em-
ploye who happens to be In charge OF tne
car.
Mr.. Freed's scheme contemplates the
utilization of that space which Is gener-
ally found between the two OF
each section OF the sleeper. In the present
construction this space is generally occu-
ped by a long, narrow piece of plate glass
mirror. This is to be replaced by a square
hole to receive a safe made Of solid metal.
which will be bolted to the frame OF the
car in such a manner that 1t cannot be re-
moved by any ordinary means. The inter-
Tor Of the box is arranged to accommodate
a watch and various other pieces OF jew
elry and is also large enough to receive a
pocketbook or bunch of papers. Each OF
these safes is supplied with an alarm,
which rings vigorously as soon as any but
the proper key is introduced into the lock
or If any attempt is made to open the safe
door by any other means. Besides this, an
alarm is also given in the conductors end
Of the car and the anunciator shows al
once shows which particular safe is being
tampered with.
In case of any accident the property OF
the passenger using one Of the berth boxes
would be absolutely safe, and need in no
event give the latter any concern at all.
No matter what happens to the car these
iron boxes could not be damaged In the
least. The vehicle. could be twisted out OF
all shape or burned to cinders, but should
the passenger be fortunate enoughto es-
cape he VII have the satisfaction of know
ing that his valuab.es are protected from
thievery, as well as from flames. Mr..
Freed's scheme is algo ap licabie to steam
ships, where every one will have his per-
sonal property Immediately under his own
care instead of being compelled to place it
in the sometimes unsatisfactory charge
of the ships purser.
These receptac,es are not at all obtrus-
I've. They fit into the woodwork of the car,
the front coming flush with the surface.
A looking glass or bit Of carved wood may
be placed over the door in such a manner
as to hide it almost entirely.
Mr.. Freed has further adapted his idea
to the railroad express us.ne for the
prevention Of robberies of safes while in
transit either by armed thieves or through
any conspiracy Of the employees of the
company who might be in possession of
safe combinations or other secrets giving
them access to the strong boxes.
For this purpose it is proposed to build
several moderate sized safes in the frame-
work of the car, so that they VIII be a part
iof the coach and their re1nova viii be eb-
~solutely impossible. AT the lightning of
the journey the cash and valuable for each
city along the route will be placed in a
separate vault and the combination door
closed. No one on the train knows or has
any means of ascerta.ning the comb.na-
tlons of these boxes, but the information
is telegraphed by cipher, if necessary, to
the agent located in cities at which the
boxes are to be opened. Any attempt to
force any of these safes will result in
alarming the passengers in every coach
Thieves, in order to get at the valuables of
this car, would be compelled to steal the
whole coach and take it away to some
pace where they could burn 1t. Having
done his they would be also forced to
open the several safes, one at a time. be-
fore they could get at the plumber. In the
present system a single safe is used which
must be opened at every station for which
there is a consignment. This safe is fast
ened to the car by a chain wl.ch could be
cut In a few minutes with an ordinary
metal saw. and the iron box readily
thrown from the car as the train speeds
along, as 1t has often been done by train
rQhharS .& KS