The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-27
HOW SAFES ARE CRACKED.
Crooks Use Many Methods to Reach
Plumber in the Big Vaults.
(Portland Advertiser.)


Owing TO the fact that great fires
are usually followea by a number of
burglaries, and that there has been an
unusual amount of crime committed in
New England recently, Frank Hey
wood, of the jewelers. Security -Nlli-
ance, arrived in Portland Monday to
see that the Carter Brothers company,
the George H Griffin company, the
McKenney Jewelry company, Warren
w. Mansfield & Co, ]. A. Merrill, &
Co and other Portland members of the
alliance, have their doors locked still
tighter, and warns Portland people in
general to be on their guard
I'm the struggle for supremacy,
which goes hand in hand with the
march of progress. the condition has
been viyidly defined in the battle be-
tween society and its enemies" says
Mr. Haywood. THE rivalry Is 50 close
that 1t is hard to award a blue iibbon
TO either The safemaxcr, for IN
stance, who would throw an inIpass4-
bic barrier about the valua bies of his
patrons is ingenious. inventive ana
progressive. But brains are not mo-
nopolized, and the skilled ssfebreaker
who works in the opposite direction is
equally ingenious in securing means to
daring and skilful men in the world
than the breakers of safes, and many
are robbed under conditions which
make the feat seem as impossible as
that of lOoting the national treasury.
Yet the actual work Of opening a
safe is comparatively easy. There are
several crooks who by a keen serse of
feeling or hearing can twist a COM
bination so effectively the door viii
come open with a swish. Then, too,
while combination may be set i'm a
million ways. it actually is Sc in one Of
very few. This is due to the fact, per-
haps. that great minds run in the same
channels but actually the human mind
runs in multiples, and if Il safe owner
makes 50 one number of his conbina-
ton, it is more than probable the other
two numbers can be divided by five.
In fact, the man viii have TO make a
mighty mental effort to SET it any 9TH
er way
lone method of opening safes is that
of tearing off the fronts, backs, tops
or bottoms of them. The sides are SCI
dom touched, except by n0vices, FOR
then the crook has the extra work o.
cutting through the partitions of the
pigeon holes. The back of the safe is
preferred for steel plates are seldom
placed in that wall Then, too, as a
usual thing the safe is 50 placed the
burglar can work upon the back unob-
served.
In tearing open a safe holes are
usually drilled in the metal. If iron,
about any old drill will do: il steel. the
drill hole is kept wet with tuTpentine
If a saw is needed it is kept well lu-
bricated with hard soap. If nitrosly-
cerin is resOrted to, the sound is dead
= l.
enveloped. Nitroglycerin is easy 10 oh
tain by boiling a stick Of dynamite in
water. the glycerin rising TO the top.
With two cylinders of compressed osy-
gen and an acetylene generator
charged with calcium carbide and wa
ter a blow pipe flame of such intensity
can be produced that steel will fuse IN
1t like lead in an ordinary gas jet. The
same effect can be produced by the ju-
dicious use of the juice with which
trolley or electric light wires are Load
ed. In either case it takes but d NrIef
space of time to melt so much of e. e
door that the contents of the safe are
easily accessible.
1.-The burglar. TO keep from sncezing,
closes his eyes, opens his mouth and
presses his upper lip until the desire
vanishes. He blacks his lace when do
ing a job and carries soap and hand
mirror to wash off with. He carries
a bottle of aTnica or turpe attire Tor cuts
and bruises. He tries all chiselsi before
using and puts a rubber washer IN
bottom of vises to make them sound
less. He uses an electric 'amp-never
any other lamp-and holds that away
at arms length when flashed, so If it is
shot at he will not be hit. II break a
window he usually cuts the glass with
a diamond, then spreads thick white
lead on flannel, or takes q piece of fly
paper and first presses it on the glass
from and then draws it toward him.
"Burglaries are on the increase" con-
tinued Mr.. Haywood. over $4,000 arc
reported i'm New York City tor 1897.
Several hundred are reported from