Omaha daily bee., 1911-07-05

by means Of a suction pump. 70 draw 1t
down into the safe
Craek-men OutGenersled.
II the safe-breakers believed that they
had outwitted the safe-makers in turn
for any length Of time. however, they we're
doomed 20 dsappointment. for here again.
as before. the Scientific Brain outgener-
aled them. Paint was entirely eliminated
from the surfaces Of the safes and. in adj
dition, the walls were made not Of one
species of steel. but OF two. Soft and
hard steel. in alternate layers, that have
come TO the five-ply point and win break
the strongest drill, we're tested and put
Into effective use. Thus was the drill
beaten. Then the door was further pro-
tected by making II, when closed, part
OF the solid, even safe surface. Every pos
sible suspicion Of crack was thus covered.
The air-tight safe. against which the use
Of nitroglycerin Is practically impossible,
sounded the final death-kneil Of the Grim
inal Brain in this particular direction.
Further protective measures in safe con-
struction were the gradual thickening OF
the walls; the invention OF safe con-
fstructed Of one continuous plate with round
l CoTneTt- ana COnCeAleQ iOChs TtHtNloihHf IL
it's entirety, q big boiler; the general use
Of chrome steel; an increasingly complex
system. of interior arrangement that pro-
vides double sometimes triple protec-
ton. even II the outer door Of the safe
has been opened; a locking device and han
die. covered with a plate with a key lock-
80 that the combination lock Is hidden. the
lock In addition having a slip dial which
may be removed and kept separate; spin
dies built with objects. 30 that they can
neither be driven in nor pulled out; and,
finally. absolutely perfect mterlocking
door-jambs that defy explosives.
Getting on the Inside.
| Appreciating that effective obstacles had
| been thrown in it's way and that II was
we'll nigh impossible TO get into the inside
Of safe from the outside, the Criminal
Brain began to lay it's plans toward get
| ting into the inside from the inside. And
\ here still another phase of the constant
romance presented itself number Of
years ago two prospective safe-breakers
succeeded in obtaining employment in two
different safe factories, worked over a
period of years in the various departments.
gained all the information that they de-
sired, and, subsequently working together.
managed to battle the safe-makers by their
4
ferent parts OF the country. The police
were at a loss to understand how the safes
had been opened and only upon the appre-
hension of the two men several years later
was it,learned that the jobs had not been
inside" ones, as was originally suspected,
| but had really been the work of two men
who had been initiated into the mysteries
| Of safecraft, and had put their knowledge
to criminal use. This put the safe-makers
on their guard, and an exceedingly COM
plicated system was Immediately put into
force, whereby not only was the pedigree
OF every workman looked into closely but
the work among the employees was so sepa-
| rated that no one man or two men could
gather enough information about a safe
to put II 70 dangerous use afterward.
Furthermore. when an employee Is dis
| charged or when he voluntarily leaves his
position his actions are watched, and, al
though the safe companies refuse 70 discuss
this particular point, II is a matter of
record that any former employe OF safe
company who is possessed Of intimate
Information regarding the secrets Of that
company's safes is kept under surveillance.
Spoilers ON Guard.
AS an illustration Of the thoroughness
| with which this Is done. there may be
CitcQ tno cASS OF n KOrmer superintendent
Of one Of the principal companies who was
discharged eight years ago for intoxication.
who subsequently sought and obtained
| position as superintendent of an iron
foundry IN the niddle west, who has now
| held that position for the last seven years,
who has done his work we'll and who IL
yet kept under the eye of a detective in
the safe company's pay. There Is not the
slightest reason to doubt the mans In
tegrity, but as has been suggested by the
mans employer, who knows his superin-
tendent is being watched. the safe COM
pany seems unwilling to take the slightest
chance.
These. then. are the main points thus far
in the tournament OF wits between the men
who make the safes and the men who have
tried to unmAke them In a lesser way.
and not marking definite steps in the
struggle between the forces Of protection
and the forces OF assault, there have been
resorts to such triclery as was evidenced
PIN the case OF the famous robbery Of the
vault safe of the National bank Of North
ampton, Mass, thirty-four years ago.
which the safe breakers accomplished prin-
cipally through q set of duplicate KEYS
that had been made from Impressions
taken OF the original keys. But robberies
such as these are in reality only other
forms OF inside jobs, such as already
have been referred TO. and are not a part
OF the chronicle OF definite steps In the
survey OF the general acknowledgements
struggle---George Jean Nathan In Harper's
| Weekly. rl -