Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-02
ACCUSE WOMEN
OF DfFRAUDING
HOTEL KEEPERS SAID TO BE
PRINCIPAL VICTIMS
ALLEGED TO HAVE LEFT MANY
UNPAID BILLS
Mother Arrested in Department Store,
and Daughter Being Searched
for by Detectives-Have
Long Record

alias Bates, alias Baird and half
dozen other names. who. the police
say, is one of the cleverest hotel beats
In the United States, was arrested yes
terday morning by Detective Zeigler
in a Broadway department store and
was booked at the central police sta
ton on charges of suspicion. she Will
be held in a cell in the matron's de-
- partment of the city Jail while the de-
tectives are endeavoring to locate Miss
Nina Barts, the one-legged daughter of
the prisoner, who Is said to be an ac-
complete of the older woman.
Just yet the detectives have not de-
termined what charge to prefer against
Mrs. Barts. She gained considerable
notorlety last November when she was
arrested at q fashionable apartment
house in this city and taken TO Pasa-
dena to answer charges OF defrauding
the proprietor of La Solano hotel out
of 500 board bill
On this charge Mrs. Barts and her
daughter who sometimes is known as
Nina Bartz and Louise Barts, were
arraigned in police court in Pasadena.
Through her attorney, Judge Barstow,
who also Is a probation officer, she
pleaded for 1eniency and declared she
was expecting some money and would
pay all her debts. On her promise TO
settle bills against her she was placed
OIl HBOndlloil blA lilOAllbS ny lHC pO-
lice judge.
Allowed Her Freedom
Despite the fact that the Los An
geles police at that time had a war
rant for the arrest of the pair, Mrs.
Barts was allowed to go, and nothing
more was heard of her and her daugh-
ter until several days ago, when one of
her recent alleged victims complained
to the police and asked that the woman
be arrested.
Mrs. Barts and her daughter. it
seems, learned the police were looking
for them and made hurried depart
ure from their apartments here.
Detective Zeigler finally traced her to
local department store and when
Just about to overtake her Mrs. Barts
stepped into an elevator and was
hisked upstairs. Zelgler finally
caught another elevator and after con-
siderable trouble located Mrs. Bartz
among a crowd of customers.
Miss Barts. whose accomplishments
as a linguist and musician aided the
older woman in her schemes, has dis
appeared and no trace of her can be
found.
According to the police records, Mrs
, Barts and her daughter posed as
wealthy inyalids. Their method was
10 obtain apartments at a fashionable
Holtl vi dDdI UOuSt ana stay d
week or two. Then they would re-
move their baggage surreptitlously and
leave without the formality of settling
their board bill.
In some cases. il is alleged. the
women would ransack the apartments
OF other guests and take whatever
they could carry away.
Daughter Speaks German
The pair did not confine their opera
tons to hotels and apartments, say the
police, but often obtained rooms with
private families and then obtained
credit at nearby grocery stores by
being introduced as wealthy invalids
by the persons with whom they were
living.
II the merchant was a German,
Nina, 1t is asserted, would make the
Is purchases and speak to the proprietor
in his native tongue and sigh for the
beautiful parks and theaters of Berlin
and other German cities.
The daughter is said TO be a clever
impersonator. and in each case dis
PEELED ell suspicion and obtained any
thing she wanted-on credit.
According to the police, the Barts
deffauded hotels at Berkeley Oakland.
San Francisco and contracted a large
bill at the fashionable Hotel Potter at
Santa Barbara, leaving each place
and usually when all other guests
were asleep.
They are said to have bought large
bills of goods from local stores that up
10 this time are still looking for the
money due on those accounts
In Pasadena Mrs. Barts and her
daughter are accused of having OBJ
tanned credit az the Mather company.
Israel's store. Nickerson g. Bassett
Shoe company and several other places.
AS in the other cases, nothing has
been paid.
Detectives investigating
The detectives say they are investi-
eating several cases in which the
mother and daughter are accused of
having stolen articles from the apart
ments which they occupied and for
which they never paid one cent.
The pair never gave the same name, |
and, although the daughter wears a
cork leg and limps perceptibly, they
shave been extremely clever in covering
their tracks, and only by accident were
they located.
Sometimes they posed as mother and
daughter; at other times they repre-
sented themselves to be sisters. and on
occasions they posed as aunt and niece. |
The detectives are thoroughly inyes-
tigating their past records, and until
Miss Barts Is found and pending tina
result of the Investigations 1t is prob |
, able Mrs. Barts will not be arraigned
on any charge.
In the event the detectives decide not
to prefer charges against her here il is |
thought Mrs. Barts will be turned over
to the Pasadena authorities for violat-
ing the provisions of her probation.