Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-05-02
"Lafayette Addition" Scheme
Is Being Worked With
Marked Success
LOTS" LIE AT BOTTOM OF RIVER
None of the SwindIers Has Ever Been
Caught But Records Show That They
Have Acquired Several Hundred
Thousand Dollars During Fourteen
Years of Uninterrupted Graft
Special to Times-Republican

! Council Bluffs, May 2.-The "Lafay.
cite addition" swindle ds again being
worked with marked success thruou
! the country as is shown by deeds to the
lots" which lie at the bottom Of the
Missouri river that are again flooding
the office of the county recorder. These
deeds come principally from the east
ern states where the sale of the worth
less river bed lots seems to be espec-
legged addition was filed in 1890 anG
since that time there has been an an
nual crop Of hundreds of deeds sem
here for record Involving several hun
dred thousand dollars.
The latest victim seems to be B. T
Morris, OF Laclede, Mo-, and ne has
just forwarded q deed here for record
which states he paid $4,000 for five
lots in Lafayette addition" The
grantor named in the deed Is l.
Thompson NJ. Bell and the document
was dated New York. May 8. 1908
Another late victim also is Thomas
Starr. of Muncie, Ind, who purchased
four lots Of the river bottom and was
particular about having all the taxes
paid on his valuable property" Tc
Mr.. Starr, County Recorder Smith
wrote this plainly laconic letter:
The fees for recording your deeds
y 81 h,,{
gold brick Is not worth the price
There are no taxes due on the property
in Lafayette addition for the reason
that none have ever been assessed
against 1t. The property all lies in the
Missouri river five miles from Council
Bluffs and all of it Is not worth the
postage stamp you wasted when you
wrote to this Officer
The plat te Lafayette addition" was
filed for record In the spring of 1890 by
an Omaha real estate agent named
Frank Jerome. He is supposed to have
secured title to about forty acres lying
in the Missouri river bed three miles
southwest of the city thru the fact that
the tract was once dry land before the
river changed its channel there In 1881.
t1OWSScl, at LIE tilltS uIit pueal We AlaSsA
there was not foot of the alleged adj
dition above water and tho the ancient
deed to the land was regular, 1t has
not been included on the tax books OF
either Iowa or Nebraska. for over
twenty years being part of the pres
ent river channel
Nevertheless, the plat was gotten up
in due form and the addition laid out
on paper as il 1t We're a fashionable
suburb of Council Bluffs and Omaha.
The forty acres were divided into six
teen blocks of thirty lots each separ-
ated by broad avenues and boulevards.
The avenues were named in honor OF
presidents of the United States begin
ming with Washington and following
with jefferson. Adams, Madison. jack
son, Lincoln, Garfield and Cleveland.
Several breathing spots" We're also
provided TO avoid an oyercrpwded con-
dition of the community.
With this addition as a basis, agents
were set to work all over the country
selling lots to the aristocratic suburb
of Council Bluffs and Omaha and these
deeds continue in circulation without
ceasing to the present day. None OF
the swindlers have ever been brought
to task and ii is figured from the coun-
ty records that they have acquired
several hundred thousand dollars dur
ing the fourteen years of nninter-
,,,rtad