The San Francisco call., 1905-03-26
STEER CLEAR
OF BIG VAULTS
Bank Robbers Find It Waste
of Time and Trouble Try
ing to Pass Massive Doors
MOST EXPERT BAFFLED
Charge Of Dynamite Needed
to Effect Entrance Would
Work Ruin to Building

Merchants are robbed: the safes OF
country banks that carry a surplus Of
perhaps $4,000 or 5000 are often rid
died by burglars. How Il 1t that the
millions quietly reposing within the
doors or scores Of banks IN the larger
cities are never attempted7 For 1t Is
q fact that during the last twenty-five
years no attack. successful or other
wise, has been made on any bank
vault in the United States In cities
Of over 10000 inhabitants. Most OF
the bank robberies occurring to-day
take place in towns OF $500 to 1900 In
habitants. In the larger cities, where
the treasure really Is. no one even
attempts to rob a bank Why Is this?
Money can protect money. That is
the whole secret. The country banks
depend on safes costing perhaps a few
hundred dollars; a great city bank
spends perhaps s150,O00 for its burglar
and fire proof vaults. And these vaults
are proof. They are absolutely un-
assailable. The guarding Of banks
money has been reduced to such a
science that banker, having once
taken the proper precautions, never
gives the matter further thought,
though he has millions Of dollars with
In his doors.
The freproofng for large vault can
be constructed for from s10,0 900 to S15.-
900. It is the burglar-proof steel lin
ing that brings the cost of vault con-
struction up to the six-hgure mark.
HEAVY WATERPROOF DOORS.
Think of a steel door weighing twelve
tons or a hinge alone weighing one
ton. When that door consists OF ten
inches of driIlproof steel, plate Tapped
on plate, do you wonder that even the
most daring burglar has never at
tempted it? Such a great door usually
has some four and TWENTY-FIVE or
three inch steel bolts which shoot out
automatically IN four directions as soon
as the door is closed. The entire clos
ing Of the door Is absolutely water
tight. The closing has actually been
tested one whole night under water.
This closing is one of the tongue and
groove" variety and the groove Is
packed with packing.
This formidable door Is furnished
with a time lock that can De set for
any number Of hours and that can
not be opened until the hour for which
IT is set arrives. The door Is furnish
ed with perhaps three duplicate tim
ers, so that IL two should fail to work
there would still be one TO open the
door
Inside the great door massive graf
ing called the day CRATE gives access
to the vault. To this chamber, which.
with its four-inch walls Of drillproof
steel is worthy Of Vulcan himself.
only the active officials Of the bank
have entrance. Here are the tellers'
safes where they keep the money for
the days business.
PILES OF GOLD AND NOTES.
Here are bags of gold, $4,000 in
each. piled up like so many bags OF
buttons, each bag being securely tied
and sealed. Here are packages OF
bills stacked uD like bricks. The ones
and twos in $1,000 packages and the
tens and twenties in $4,000 packages.
The bills In each of these packages
have been counted. tied up and sealed
by two persons in the presence of each
other, so that the bank can guarantees
the amounts as given on the labels
without recounttng. Here, inside the
tellers safes, are compartments where
the collateral received for loans TO de-
positors is kept.
But this is only the outer division
Of the vault chamber; beyond 1t is an>
other massive grating dividing the
vault into two rooms. No single off,
cial can penetrate to the inner shrine.
and one of the two officials necessarily
present must be a director of the
bank, Here is the holy of holies. where
repose the reserve funds of the bank
millions of gold and paper money.
The reserve funds are kept in safes on
which the locks are timed to open
every morning, so that If necessary the
bank tellers could have the money at
a moments notice.
BIG SAFES IAIPREGNABLE.
The two divisions of the vault form
really one chamber with walls OF
drill-proof steel. The walls are drill
proof. vet as matter OF fact the up
to-date burglar does not work with
drills. A few sticks of dynamite. some
nitroglycerin in a bottle, with alcohol.
putty, candles, wires. wire lnippers and
an exhaust pump are the principal
items in his outfit. With these tools
he often makes an impression on a
small safe. But a single charge OF
dynamite heavy enough to open the
joints of big vault would wreck the
whole building.
Unlimited time. therefore. In which
to work would be necessary to the
successful wrecking of drill-proot
vault by explosives. For 1t would be
necessary to use a long succession of
small charges; to work patiently at
plate after plate, and the conditions
make this absolutely impossible. The
reason such great pains are taken to
make all joints water tight Is to guard
against the introduction of nitro
glycerin, which has about the consist
ency OF honey or common glycerin.
Nitroglyserin is not effective unless 1t
is inside the safe or vault.
Inc enllre great steel room is made
hre-proof by being inclosed in brick
or tile or cement walls. between which
and the steel walls is an air space four
or five inches thick. Air Is a nom
conductor Of heat and being inter-
posed between the brick and the steel
walls prevents the latter from beeom-
ing overheated. So perfect is the pro-
lection that even when a building has
been destroyed the contents of the
vaults within have remained un-
Observation-Disclosures Inquirer.
Health His First Choice.
IF / should designate any single