Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-02-21
HOW JEWsLRY THIEVES WORK.
Breaking show Windows and Getting Fin
0oodu-Carting Away a Safe.

0ooua-UhrlnE away oAtos
Several drummers and others inter
ested In the iewelry business while
chatting In the smoker Of railway
train began swapping stories about
thefts Of jewelFy. Stories we're told OF
the boldness Ct iewelry thieves, says
the Jewellers CIIoular-weekly, and
some Of the methods employed by them
to obtain valuable stock.
The first story was told Of an indi-
vidual who was seen lounging about
the plate front window of a ieweiTy
store. No particular attention was
paid to the man at the time, but the
clerks recalled the incident after the
robbery. In this instance, the man
appeared a number of times in front
4 the store. One evening, soon after
cark, there was a eudden crash, and
roboer was actively engaged IN scoop
ing in jewels with a hooked stick. ln
30 seconds he was done and away.
hystauders stood as " petritied until
the man struck out at a run. Then
the store people and the bystandeIs
realized what had occurred and shout
ing Thief" started alter the man.
The man dropped his bag. The put
suers stopped and seized the bag.
They returned to the store with the
bag in high Qlee, Temarking incident
ally that there was no need IN chasing
the thief, because here we're the goods.
The proprietor Of the store and all the
clerks had followed, but, having further
to 20 than the crowd, we're behind
and we're met by the reople with the
bag. Proudly the bag was opened.
1t contained a brick. The thief had
dropped il to check the pursuit. Real
izing the trick had succeeded, the
crowd, headed by the salesman and
proprietor, went back to the store,
only to discover that the window had
been cleaned of stock and the counters
were bare of a number of costly
articles
A policeman on duty said that after
the proprietor and clerks Of the store
ran for the departing thief a neatly.
dressed gentleman, with all the airs Of
a member Of the firm, gave directions
to two other men TO get the stuff out
of the windows, and told him (the
oificer) that this was being done as a
Irecaution against theft while the
window was broken. In some first
class stores there is a regular danger
signal arranged, and the men are
drilled each week. When the danger
gong sounds one man takes his place
at the door, another at the telephone
to send word to the police, another,
with running qualities, makes for the
door, in readiness to pursue, and so on.
Among other stories told we're some
relating to the tricks and devices Of
the iewelry thieves. The robbeT often
works at night OF sometimes during a
crowd, by cutting out a disk Of glass
near where some costly goods are
shown. lie may reach 10 and secure
something and be off before detected,
il he is quick, Sometimes he has
tong instrument hidden under his
cUat, 50 that he can reach in and riok
up watch. Often again be uses a
simple stick with a slightly turned
end, hooking into q ring.
The process of crushing in a plate
front during the intervals Of the patrol
of the police, at the same time making
no noise, is done by pasting cloth or
heavy paper on the glass. A wood
mallet Is Used, the hammer ends being
securely bound up in a heavy WOODEN
fabric stuffed with excelsior or kin
dTed material. With this soft. headed
mallet il 10 possible to bang away
noiselessly at the glass until the pane
begins to orumble. Unless the plate
lie unusually thick an opening can be
made without much trouble.
In recent years iewelry thieves, like
bank robbers, have rented quarters
near the Place they intended to rob,
and lived there long enough to study
the situation. 10 one case a room was
hired over a iewelry store aud entrance
effected TO the store by means Of a
rope ladder dropped from tue window
OF the room to a window leading to q
nall in the store portion. In another
case the bar spresder was used to ope q
the bars of a window. This device
consists Of a spirally threaded shaft
fitted into two blocks with q central
piece with a bar for turning. The
blocks are adjusted between two bars,
the central piece turned, whereupor
the spiral shaft causes the blocks tc
expand sidewise, forcing the bars open.
Then the intruder can pass in.
A storysNRs told Of a removal Of q
safe IN which the proprietor OF q Jew
elTy store was accustomed to put has
costly stock each right. Ii was not 9
large safe, but exceedingly strong, and
because Of its light weight number
Of bolts were put through the floor anc
connected with the safe bottom. The
proprietor often said that thieves
could not take this safe unless they
took floor aud all. Not long after the
store was entered, and behold, ths
thieves had sawed out the section o.
the floor to which the safe was fixed.
The safe was bound up with rope, tn,
latter passed under the separated SEQ
tion of flooring, aud when the board.
we're saved through safe, floor anc
all we're lowered into the basement
and readily moved out through th,
has ement door, put into an express
wagon and carted of.