A COLOSSAL BANK BURGLING ENTERPRISE
The Ocean National Bank occupied the first floor of the building on the
southeast corner of Fulton and Greenwich streets. Fulton Street at this
point has quite a downward slope running westerly, and, therefore, the
first floor of the building in question was much higher from the ground
at the corner than at its easterly end. The entrance to the bank, which
was at the corner, was reached by a flight of stone steps, while the
entrance to the offices above, being at the other Fulton Street end
of the building, was nearly on the street level. It will be well to
bear these facts in mind, the better to understand the meetings of the
policeman and the janitor as hereinafter related.
Underneath the bank was a basement much below the surface at the back
end, but nearly upon the street level at the Greenwich Street front.
This basement was divided into offices reached by flights of steps
leading down from both streets.
It might be said, in passing, that this is the same building which in
later years was occupied by Charles J. Hartmann and his industrial
insurance company. This company, in the late ’80’s, was closed up
by the Superintendent of Insurance, who found twelve dollars cash
on hand and over forty-three thousand dollars of liabilities. Mr.
Hartmann, from his connection with this company, received considerable
undesirable notoriety, resulting, among other things, in a suit for
libel against a newspaper. The jury in that case awarded Hartmann
a verdict of five thousand dollars, which was finally paid; though
not until the case had been carried to the Court of Appeals and
the newspaper beaten at every turn and being administered scathing
denunciations from the bench.
As before stated, the bank occupied the first floor of this building.
The counters of the tellers and the desks of the bookkeepers were
in the front, or Greenwich Street, end; the private office of the
president was at the rear end, with windows fronting on Fulton Street.
The corner of the building at the intersection of the two streets was
rounded, as was also the flight of steps leading up to the bank. This
made an entrance conspicuous, as it could be seen from a long distance
away both on Fulton and Greenwich streets. Therefore it would seem that
it would be a most desperate, if not a hopeless, undertaking to attempt
to gain entrance to the bank vault, or, if successful, to get away with
its contents, without being discovered.
But to the bank burglar the greater the risk, the greater the desire
to “beat” it. For he who continues in the ranks of professional
burglars does so as much for the excitement of the game as for the
desire for pelf. Though, of course, the larger the loot, the larger
the satisfaction. It is the same feeling as that which animates the
hunter of the lion, tiger, and elephant. The only difference is in the
direction of the energy.
The Ocean Bank at this time was one of the large institutions,
financially, in New York City, and that, of course, means in the
United States. It was situated close to the Washington markets, then
the centre for all produce that came to or was dealt in in the city.
And the district for the wholesale dealers and jobbers of all kinds of
merchandise was then in the near neighborhood. Furthermore the bank was
a depository for United States Government funds. Thus it is but natural
that one should suppose that the strong vault of this bank always
contained a large sum in cash and convertible securities--a sum much
greater than the proverbial king’s ransom.
The lock on the vault was a three-tumbler combination made by Briggs
and Huntington of Rochester, New York, and was at that time one of
the most secure of its kind, and was practically, if not absolutely,
non-pickable except by one in possession of the combination.
There was, however, the same fatal weakness as in Lillie’s. If, between
its locking and unlocking, one could obtain access to it long enough
to insert the “Little Joker,” heretofore explained, a register of the
numbers of the combination could be obtained. I learned from Taylor
that there was an inside door to the vault, the keys to which, when not
in use, were kept in a secret place in the bank; and that, also, within
the vault the paying and receiving tellers had each a separate safe,
the key to which each teller carried on his person.
In proportion as the obstacles increased, so did my zeal to overcome
them; and I told Taylor that I was determined to make the attempt
unless I became convinced of its utter futility. Many questions that
I would ask about the vault and the bank management Taylor could not
answer offhand, but would require time to observe and report upon them
later. Thus it was that I obtained the name of the maker of the lock
and its style, the manner of the disposition of the keys, and the
conduct of the officials. For, from lack of experience, Taylor had not,
until prompted by me, observed many things which it is essential for
one in my line of business to know--things which it is necessary to
be informed about before undertaking a job, and which assistance from
the inside saves from long, weary weeks of spying and prying to learn.
Taylor also ascertained the secret receptacle of the keys to the vault,
and tried, by watching, to catch the combination of the inner vault
door’s lock as it was being manipulated. In this, however, he made no
progress.
Finally I decided that the only way to accomplish our purpose was to
go about it systematically, and spend money, time, and other means
sufficient to insure complete success. And then began months of
planning and scheming which I hoped would bring ultimately a rich
reward.
Having determined that strenuous measures were necessary to gain our
end, I at once set about their employment. I had seen from the first
that it would be next to impossible to force the outer vault doors by
means of explosives without bringing detection upon us before we could
accomplish more; and that, therefore, our only hope for success lay in
obtaining the combination to the lock.
I learned of Taylor that, from his desk in the bank, he could see the
combination when it was being operated; but that he could not get near
enough to see the marks on the dial without creating suspicion. I
was pretty nearly at my wits’ end, when, as a last resort, I finally
determined to try the power of initiation. The scheme that came to my
mind was mighty visionary, but the thought of millions nerved me to try
every expedient. And, as Taylor was particularly bright, I thought that
my plan had more than a fighting chance.
Thus it was that one day I boarded a train at the New York Central
depot and on the following morning found myself in the city of
Rochester. I registered at the Brackett House, and, after cleaning off
the dust of travel and supplying the wants of the inner man, I made
my way to the office of Messrs. Briggs and Huntington. I introduced
myself to Mr. Briggs as W. D. Harrington, of the banking house of
J. C. Harrington and Co., Scranton, Pennsylvania. I happened to know
that there was no such concern in Scranton, and I trusted to luck that
Mr. Briggs did not possess a like knowledge. He did not, and I was,
therefore, free to enlarge upon a mythical vault to my heart’s content.
I told Mr. Briggs that the combination lock to our vault doors worked
badly, was constantly giving trouble, and that we had decided to
replace it with a new one, and to get the best in the market; that we
had heard their locks highly spoken of, and, as I was on my way to
Buffalo on business, I had stopped off to see what his firm could do
for us.
Mr. Briggs, doubtless with an eye to business, began to ask questions
about our vault. My general knowledge of such affairs enabled me to
answer him satisfactorily. I told him that it was built of brick, lined
with stone, and that it had Lillie doors. He said that while vaults of
that kind were possibly fireproof, they were far from being safe from
burglars. He claimed that Lillie’s work was a back number, and showed
me a Lillie safe that had been robbed by drilling. “Let us put you in
a steel-lined vault, and some of our latest make of chilled steel
doors,” suggested Mr. Briggs; “then you will have a vault that you can
feel is really burglar-proof.”
I thought of our unsuccessful attempt on the Brockport Bank and felt
that Mr. Briggs had some justification for his confidence. And I could
not but speculate as to whether his confidence would remain unshaken
after the ultimate ending of the scheme in behalf of which I was now
visiting him. I venture to say that it did not.
Parrying as best I could Mr. Briggs’s proposition,--for I did not know
just the dimensions of that Scranton vault, and really did not wish
it lined just then,--and it not being a vault, but a lock, that I was
after, I asked to be shown their different styles of locks. There was
none just exactly like that on the Ocean Bank vault; but there was one
which varied only slightly. I asked Mr. Briggs if he could not make
certain changes in it. He said he could, but that the lock would not
then be so good, as the things I wished altered were improvements on
their old style of lock. I insisted, however, upon the changes; and
he said that it would take about two days to make them. I told him to
go ahead and make the changes, and I would take the lock. He offered
to send it by express to Scranton, but I replied that my business in
Buffalo would be finished by the time the lock was ready, and that I
would stop for it on my way home.
I have often wondered since that Briggs did not become suspicious at
my display of knowledge of locks, and my desire for a special pattern,
especially as that pattern was palpably not as good as the one he was
asked to alter. Doubtless he did wonder, but he probably put it down to
the contrariness of a man who, having set his mind on one thing, cannot
be turned therefrom by the most convincing arguments. For how could he
surmise the purpose to which that lock was intended to be put?
The beating of combinations had not then become the success that it
afterward attained, when safe-makers had continually to exercise their
ingenuity to keep ahead of the safe-breakers. Then the safe-makers
took extreme precautions to prevent the obtaining of knowledge of the
mechanism of their locks. And many good stories could be told about
how crooks circumvented these precautions, and how, by reason thereof,
Troy, New York, and Akron, Ohio, became centres for bank burglars.
However, Mr. Briggs exhibited no suspicion, and promised to have the
lock ready on the afternoon of the following day. To minimize all
risks, I went to Buffalo and stayed over night at the Mansion House,
returning to Rochester the next afternoon. Going at once to the office
of Mr. Briggs, I found the lock ready for me. A careful examination
showed it to be what I had come for. Therefore it was boxed, I paid
the bill of two hundred dollars, and that night I was on my way back
to New York City with my purchase, which was safe in my apartments the
next morning.
The following night, in response to my request, Taylor came to my
room, and I took the lock apart and explained its mechanism to him.
I went over the details until he fully understood their workings.
Then, putting the lock together, I went to one side of the room while
Taylor went to the other, and I began working the dial knob; Taylor was
watching my hands to discover through their movements, if he could, the
points at which I stopped and the number of revolutions the dial made.
It was tedious work, but we kept at it night after night, while, in the
daytime, Taylor, having made it a point to be always on hand before the
vault was opened, would watch the process of unlocking its doors. He
had a quick eye and was very apt, and, after some weeks of practice and
watching, he felt sure that he had the combination that would open the
doors of the vault.
We tried upon our lock until I was convinced that he was right, and
then I began to feel that our project was in a fair way to succeed. And
a few days later, to make sure of his convictions, Taylor stayed after
hours at the bank on an excuse that he was behind on his books. There
being no one around but the janitor, Taylor put his belief to the test
and found--failure.
When I met Taylor that night, he told me the result of his attempt,
and that he felt sure he had the first two numbers right and that the
last number, which he had decided to be one hundred and twenty-three,
must be the one he had wrong. Of course we felt a little blue, but
we agreed that if he had the first two numbers right, the last would
not be long in coming. It was finally arranged that Taylor should
stay after hours the next day, and that he should send the janitor on
an errand that would keep him away fifteen or twenty minutes; that I
should be where I could watch the bank, and when the janitor left I
should enter and see what I could do.
This plan was carried out. As soon as the janitor had gone, I entered
the bank; the door was locked against intrusion, and I went to work at
the combination, when, lo! the handle turned, the bolts shot back, and
the doors opened. Taylor had the combination pat except the last stop,
which was on no number, but just a little to one side of one hundred
and twenty-three. No wonder he did not get it exactly, but it was great
work to get it as near as he did.
When our success was apparent we did not fall into one another’s arms
and weep tears of joy. No. I closed the doors and made my exit; and
Taylor, a few moments later, closed his books and did likewise. We met
at the Astor House, and I think we may be pardoned if we indulged in a
cold bottle, or even two.
Up to this time there had been no discussion of terms between Taylor
and myself. He had ever been somewhat sceptical as to our success, and
I had borne all the expense of the venture. Now, however, he became
imbued with some of my faith in the scheme, and an agreement was made
between us as to the percentage he should receive of whatever should
be obtained in the loot, though this was a good deal like counting
chickens before they were hatched.
Until we had secured the combination to the vault of the Ocean Bank,
Taylor and I had worked in secret, no one else having the least idea
of what we were doing, or that we had aught in contemplation. Now,
however, it became necessary for me to find assistants in the work of
getting into the bank. In this, Taylor, of course, could not help me.
Burglary was not in his line, and except that he would keep me posted
on the doings inside of the bank, all the work in future must be done
by other hands than his.
The difficulties to be overcome and the immensity of the haul we should
make, if successful, rendered it imperative that the very best men in
the profession should be engaged. At this time alleged burglars were
numerous, but most of them were more fit for breaking into a jail than
a safe, and very few could be depended on for a job requiring nice
work. No loud-mouthed, Jack Hartley crowd of grafters, with their
wagon loads of English pattern-made tools, would fill the bill.
Since my separation from Shinburn after our adventure at Bath, I had
not been able to find a single person whom I considered capable of
helping me in any deal. Now, however, I must have some one, as I could
not do this alone. I could think of no one else whom I would be willing
to call in, so I determined to try to patch up matters with him.
Through a mutual friend I sent word to him that I had a big undertaking
under way that promised large returns, and that it would please me
greatly if he would join me in the venture.
Shinburn met my advances in the spirit of friendliness and we soon came
together. I shall never forget his remark when we met. “George,” said
he, “I guess we were both a little too much set in our ways. I am only
too glad to get into a job with you, and if we pull together we ought
to be able to beat the safe-makers.”
This renewal of our former partnership, in the last days of 1868,
continued until the winter of 1870, during which time many profitable
tricks were brought off, some of which are related in this work. Taking
Shinburn to my rooms, I explained my scheme, told him what had been
accomplished, and he became fully as enthusiastic over the prospect as
I was; and we at once set to work to complete the job.