The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-09-29
EXPERTS WORK WITH Gaze
Size Up Houses For Days Before They
Make an Effort To Get Through
the Bars-Should Watch Strangers
Carefully

writes for a downeast paper about pre-
cautions that householders can take
against members of his craft:
Suppose was to ask you how long
1t takes a harness broke burglar to get
into a house and go through it?
You d kind Of laugh and say; "Well
about half an hour"
You d be way off, It takes anywhere
from two days to two weeks. A burg
lar takes days, sometimes, to get every
thing down pat, and makes sure there s
no chance of slipping up.
A burglar isn't tramp. A bum
burglar may be, but good one ism t.
Tip No. Don't trust strangers
around your house no matter what kind
Of good clothes they wear or how po-
lite they are. Don't take chances.
The first thing one of us fellows does
after reaching town is to make tracks
for the swell residences and size things
up CuL IL IA0 Vohy PoIto VI tO"h
there arn't any coppers because there
aren t any drunks to pick up or any
fights. Most of us fellows won t try
after any kind of a house excepting a
two-story one or one of these apart
ments.
A burglar is always looking out for
open cellar windows. You see lots Of
them held open with a little stick to
ventilate the basement. 1t s one of the
easiest ways Of getting into house on
record.
Tip No. keep those cellar win
dows closed and bolted at night.
There's only one trouble with get
ting into house this way. It's easy
enough to get in, but It's stiff propo-
sition getting out of the place if you
are caught before you can get upstairs
and open an outside door.
People seem to think that if they we
got screens on their windows nobody
can get in. They leave their windows
open all night long. Did you ever see
how screen is put on? It's put on
from the outside and all that holds it
in place are few little knobs. All
a mans got to do is to take off the
screen. It's cinch Screens'll keep
out flies, but they won t keep out burg
lars.
Tip No. 3.-Have your screens fixed
up with inside locks or have them
screwed to the casing.
Whenever house has a. screened or
vine-covered porch, a burglar can get
at the front door and work away at
the lock without anybody seeing him
from the street. Lots of burglars are
SO clever about picking locks that they
just single out a, house with a why
kind of porch rather than go in through
window. I'll tell you something
about locks so you can fix your doors
almost burglar proof. Then you can
screen up the porches and plant all
the vines you want to.
This is kind of new-fangled age
Everything got to be up-to date. These
new twotumbler locks are pretty and
look safe, but they re just like an open
book to the burglar who knows. Kitch-
EN- doors are even worse. When a man
builds a house, he soaks So or So on a
fancy lock For his front doors and buvs
a>5O-cent one for his back door. I can
get into nine out of ten kitchen doors
with piece of wire or a skeleton kew.
Tip No. 4.-Get some good, old fash
Toned bolts, screw them into your doors
tight, bolt them every night and you re
safe!
Lock the doors by the key every
night. A burglar will spend some time
trying to work the lock. When he s
worked it, he finds good, solid, half.
inch bolt between him and getting in.
He can t reach it from the outside and.
of course, can't get in. IL
Dogs aren't dangerous any more.
They're petted, fed and pampered too
much, but they're liable to hear burg
lar trying to get in at night and raise
an awful howl. / used to have pref
ty neat way of finding out whether
there was a bow-wow about house
was thinking if cracking into. I'd 60
downtown and buy tin of dog bis
cults. Then I'd go out to this house
and try to sell them dog biscuits. If
they said, "We don't need any. We
haven't got a dog I'd turn around
and say to myself, "Glad to he it. Z
Tip No. 5.-Tf you like dogs, Get one.
They re liable to break up burglar s
game some time or other.
Lots of burglars, well dressed ones,
make it their business only to get into
house when the folks have gone to
the theatre. They can be walking up
and down the street without anyone
getting suspicious, and see the people
leave home. I've seen people time and
again leave their door keys under the
door mat when going to a show.