The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1913-06-12
A DETECTIVE
CRAFTSMAN

No one would suspect Lieutenant
James Larkin of the Chicago detective
bureau of having once been safe
blower. He does not look the part.
He played the role of craftsman on
one occasion, nevertheless, and if you
pin him down to it he'll admit that he
can do as neat job on box as
any pete man" in the business.
The lieutenant, who has the reputa-
ton of knowing more safe robbers
than any other thief catcher in the
United States, received telegram one
day in July, 1908, from the president
of an express company asking him TO
go to Philadelphia, where test was
to be mate of a "burglar-proof' safe.
A few weeks before that the express
company had installed safe on one
of it's cars running out of Chicago,
which the manufacturers declared was
practically burglar-proof. An order for
several hundred of the safes was
about to be placed with the manufac-
turers, when the one that was made as
a sample was blown by train robbers
near Davenport Ia. This, OF course,
Cancelled negotiations toward the let
ting of the contract, but the safe man
ufacturers pleaded for time in which
to make another strong box that
would withstand the assault of all the
burglars in the land.
The express company was as anx-
ious to get burglar-proof safe as
were the manufacturers to make one,
so the ficials agreed to equip all the
company's cars with new safes if they
proved to be impervious to train rob-
bers. A four-ton safe was built for
the experiment, and. as hundreds OF
thousands of dollars depended upon
its being able to withstand the attack
of craftsmen, expense was not spared
in it's manufacture.
At last it was completed, and the
manufacturers notified the express
company officials that they had sue
ceeded in making safe that all h
couldn't open unless the combination
was known. The president of the ex-
press company, who, by the way was
United States senator, began to look
around for a handy man who under
stood the gentle art of cracking safe.
He asked a few senators and some
congressman If they knew anything
about the business, and one or two Of
them became indignant. Failing to
get any information on the subject at
Washington, he wrote to BILLY" Pin
kerton, explaining what he wanted.
The noted detective answered the SEN
ator's letter, recommending Lieuten-
ant Larkin as 1.-The very man for the
job" A day or two later Lieutenant
Larkin received telegram from the
president of the express company urg-
message advised him to ''see William
Pinkerton and he will explain
Packing his kit or his satchel,
rather, the lieutenant caught a train
that night and was in Philadelphia "a
hours later. The safe was waiting for
him; so was the manufacturer and the
officials of the express company. The
lieutenant examined the strong box
with the eye of an expert in such mat
tiers. 1t was made of - thicknesSeS
of steel.
ANY tools you want, lieutenant"
said the president of the express COM
pany, you can buy and have the bill
sent to me-"
Il don't need any TOOLS" said Larkin
scornfully. "All l want is a couple of
old gunnysacks and some dy'"
Some dye?" queried the president.
What do you want of dyer
Il guess you don't understand me-"
said Larkin. "'Dy' is what the pete
men call dynamite. Nitro-glycerin is
soup I'm going to use 'dy,' as like
it better than soup and it isn't so
dangerous to handle"
''Oh, see." remarked the president,
winking at the other officials. You're
going to use 'dy' as you prefer it to
soup Every man has his likes and
dislikes."
The safe was loaded on truck and
taken to Washington Park a pleasure
resort a few miles outside Philadel-
phia on the Delaware river. On reach
ing the park the lieutenant took off
his coat and vest, it being an extreme
ly hot day, and he then consulted a
little book entitled Safe Blowing
Made Easy" of which he is the author
81 had so pounds of 'dy' with me-"
said the lieutenant in telling the story
at detective headquarters the other
day, las 1 thought best to have enough
in case the first attempt was a 'fiuke'
Taking Is of the sticks of 'dy,' l laid
them on top of the safe and then fixed
my Illuminating cap, attached to an
electric wire, which 1 ran for dis
lance of from here across the street.
After this filled the two gunny sacks
with sand-dug it right there in the
park-and laid them on top of the 'dy'
Then l says to the bunch: Now, get
back to the tall grass and don't come
up till you see me at the safe again.
when everything was ready l goes
to the end of the wire and pushes the
button. There was tremendous ex-
plosion that shook the earth, and that
box, which the manufacturer said
was burglar-proof, turned inside out.
1t was the prettiest job of safeblowing
I ever saw. There isn't any of them
that you can't blow if you only know
how used to know, but forgot"