Evening star., 1932-11-13

ers. One layer is resistant to drilling;
back of that is layer ON which an ex-
plosive has practically no effect; back
of that another layer through which
torch cannot penetrate. Such safe
looks like the defences around Verdun.
only it Is much more impregnable-
1t might be imagined that such effee-
tive protection against forceful open
ing would have stopped the looting of
safes. But It did not. Unable to force
their way IN, robbers several years ago
turned to the simple expedient of forcing
the banker or business head to open his
safe for them. There have been, and
still are, many cases of bank officials
reused from bed at nGht by armed
thugs and forced to accompany their
captors to the bank, there to loot their
own treasures
This particular challenge of the GRIM
inal weFld has been answered in two
ways. First by the time-Iock safe, whose
mechanism is geared so that it will not
open until the hour for which it has
been set; and secondly, by the two-key
system. If the safe of bank has been
set to open at o'clock in the morning,
the whole board of directors, hauled
in circle, could not make it's heavy steel
door swing back until o'clock in the
morning.
The two-key system is used extensive
ly by business houses, including stores.
One key is kept, perhaps, by the man.
ager; the other is held, probably, by an
armOfed car company. "A certain per-
centage of the fierce-looking armored
tanks, with portfolios for guns and all
the anti-bandit trimmings that one sees
dashing through the streets of some big
cities in the early morning are simply
carrying keys 10 help unlock the various
safes intrusted TO their guardianship.
Have all these facts, though, made
the criminal down-hearted? They have
certainly afforded greater protection to
the companies which have taken sach
precautions, driving bandits to the easier
- prey, but the pickings stin seem to be
pretty good One still hears Of the COM
bination burglary-and-kidna stunt,
by which several big bank robberies have
been engineered this year
There, for instance, was the Home Saw
ings Bank of Davenport, Iowa On the
night of last February % four men en-
tered 1T by cutting the lock on a steel
door and concealed themselves i'm the
darkness inside. The janitor was the
first to come to work, at 2 am. A slug
on the head, the thud of a body hit
ting the door and his limp form was
dragged to the basement, tied up and
left.
AT TAO an officer of the bank arrived,
He also was slugged, bound, his
mouth closed with, adhesive tape and
his body laid beside that of the janitor,
The same fate met a cashier, ste
nographer and depositor who appeared
with $50 to put into his account. He
had an unpleasant surprise when the
money went instead into the pockets OF
the robbers and he himself was carried
to the basement -.,ss
Finally the magic moment struck, the
CLOCK TeledScu IAic CeSIl dAu 1lO U1AOA" v
made their getaway, carrying with them
more than $31 900 in currency.
When one hears of robberies as daring
as this, one begins to wonder if any
system can be devised to protect banA
vaults from men SO keen, ruthless and
well equipped. Safemakers say, though
that it is possible, and they have several
reasons for their answer One reason Ii
new kind of safe lock put ON the mar
ket only few months ago, and anothez
reason is-tear gas.
The writer is not at liberty to ten MI
she knows about the new lock, but thi<
much can be revealed: The bank preSi-