Evening star., 1936-08-08

fiction by descending frl a diving suit
and dialing the combination. Salt
water so corrodes steel it can't be done.
But why should it be tried, he asks?
Go down with your diving suit and
an acteylene torch and the job would
take no time at all.
Certain bank vault doors, for guard
ing large money" can't be opened
even by such torch, Raymond says.
They are constructed of 3 inches OF
copper between two 6-inch slabs Of
steel. Copper won't flow for an acety-
lene torch.
What on earth happens when the
combination Of such vault is lost?
Raymond was asked. Plenty, ap-
parently. On account of the less law
abiding newspaper-reading public. he
doesn't care to go into details, but it
sounds as if lot of things have to be
torn down with large number of
persons cooperating. There have
been cases of underground tunneling,
and entering through the top or bot
tom Of vault. Denizens of the under
world never try to get into such a
vault, Raymond says, because banks
are never closed more than two and
a half days at time, which isn't long
enough.
Raymond has had lots of amusing
experiences in his safe career.
During prohibition he once made a
trip of several hundred miles to change
the combination on a private wine
vault. The owner suspected his butler
Of drinking nothing but his treasured
vintages. They stopped disappearing.
The butler wasn't fired, Raymond says,
but left voluntarily.
In an exclusive residential section of
Florida, where a pass is needed to
enter the gates, Raymond was called in
to open a damaged silverware vault
some one had attempted to burglarize.
All the handles had been knocked off.
Raymond suspected a trusted care
taker who displayed inordinate inter-
est in his safe-entering methods, but
he didn't think it was his business to
say anything to the police about it.
Once Raymond was engaged to open
a safe that apparently did not belong
to the woman who called him up.
Something about her manner excited
his suspicious. He told her he had to
get tools at the Office and did not re-
turn. No one ever telephoned asking
why he didn't finish the job Safe
people have no way of checking up
whether or not it is the owner who
wants a safe opened, Raymond says.
except that the customer seems at
home around the premises.
A SAFE ROBBER on vacation once
conflded in a safe expert, when
they were talking shop, that watchmen
are sometimes pretty tinid when their
premises are invaded by a troop of
hold-up men. In the good old days
Of safe breaking, before the popularity
81 alarms and delayed action devices,
the robber said he had gone in places
and taken his time at doing a work.
manlike Job of safe blowing without
nearing sign of life. But in the
newspapers next morning he would
read that the watchman was over
Wnelmed by mob and gagged while
the safe was prepared for invasion.
People burglarize their own safes
sometimes when the contents are in
sured, Raymond says. Those who want
to eat their cake and have it too are
pikers alongside the folks who try
rlnng their own safes, slowing the
greenbacks away some place and COL
iecting from an insurance COMPANY
Tor the loss. Raymond doesn't know
OF. any case when robbing ones self
worked.
I could do it." Raymond says. "but
no safe-breaking amateur can" The
man VINO steals mis- own money, hoping
Tor 100 per cent return on his invest-
ment, breaks things that would not he
broken with the safe locked. Once a
man stole his own money, put a time
oorno inside the closed safe and left.
PoHce found plaster torn up from the
explosion and dust settled all over the
Hoor. without footprint in sight.
1t Is continual battle between the
underworld, insurance writer's. police
and safe owners, with the underworld
showing pitiful fourth as new gadgets
are invented for safeguarding cash,
Nationwide armored truck service and
delayed action locks have cut burglar
lzing to such a point that a safe
breaker, with the exception of ones
like Raymond, can hardly earn a liv-
ing.
Counter-snatching is about the best
3 trained safe man can manage these
days and most insurance companies
protect themselves against losses from
such snatching by refusing to insure
for more than is per cent of the banks
cash being on the counters.
All large banks, and small ones with
Increasingly few exceptions, faunt no.
ices for the perusal of pillaging
origands that delayed control dial
locks and burglar alarms have been in
stalled and that it is probably useless
10 attempt q raid on the vaults.
Few bandits have the nerve to wait