The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1909-08-13
COLUMBIA CITIZENS
BIT" BY SLICK ONE
WITH LOTS FORSALF
|. |. BARNES ARRESTED HERE
ON CHARGE or DEFRkUplNe
IN LAND DEAL.
WORKED Thu RAzllE DAZZLE
President of Birmingham COMPANY
Visits Columbia And Causes IN.
Incarceration of an Alleged Auer,
VINO Refuses to Talk.

A man who is alleged to be one 4
the slickest artists in the real estate
fraud business was arrested
Thursday night by Officers Lal
caster and lodged in the
county Jail. The mans name is L.
Barnes and he travels out of Birming.
ham, Ala. He has operated in a mum.
Der of towns in North Alabama
among them being Jasper, Russelyle,
Shefield, Florence and Decatur, and
was just about to wind up a success.
full campaign in Columbia when ON.
Ger Lancaster became aware OF the
fraud and placed him under arrest.
Briefly, Mr.. Barnes history with
the land business as recited by Mr..
Frank D. Fuller, President of the Fred.
erick Mutual Development Co, Of Biz.
mingham, is this: Some months
since he and his partner were employ.
ed to represent the Frederick Mutual
Development Co., with Offices at Biz.
mingham, Ala. The company is from
all accounts a reliable one, and is
well established in Birmingham and
other points in the South. Their
proposition is to sell town lots in
Frederick, Oklahoma, a fourshing
young town. The lots are sold at
$4,000 each, and are usually sold In
blocks of ten. The purchasers of The
ten lots meet and agree on repre-
sentative, who in the fall of the year
is furnished with free transportation
to Frederick so that he can see that
the lots are what they are represent
ed to be. Mr. Barnes started out
with the literature of the Frederick
Mutual Development Company and
seems to have been doing tlourishing
business, but according to Mr.. Fuller,
the president of the company, he has
not yet turned in single dollar 10
the office. In addition to selling the
lots straight for $4,000 Barnes began
a scheme Of rafting them off, with
chances from one to ninety-six cents,
and it was by this plan that he seems
to have transacted most of his buSl
ness. AS is stated above, Mr.. Barnes
has been operating in number OF
North Alabama towns, and the people
with whom he dealt not being satls'
fed with the contract wrote to Tue
company. Hearing that Barnes was
now in Columbia, Mr. Fuller, the pres
ident, Immediately boarded the tram
for this city, and upon arriving mere
went to the police court where ON
Ger Lancaster was de- ut,2ed Ter his
assistance. They found Barnes in tne
Bethel House barber shop and placed
him under arrest. AS yet no charges
have been made against him, Ou'
is understood that he will be prose
cuted for embezzlement. When ar
rested Barnes said that he knew nc
was guilty, but that he had been per
suaded to do this by his partner, VINO
is in Nashville. Mr.. Fuller went Oh
to Nashville Thursday night TO nave
him placed under arrest
When seen at the Jail this morning
Barnes positively refused to give ou'
any statement. He said that ne ulu
not know what he was in there loF
and therefore did not know Wha'
would be his defense. When 'oiu
that it was understood that he Wouiu
be prosecuted for obtaining money unI
der false pretenses, he replied lnd'
he did not think that would be tne'
charge.
Among those who bit" on the lV'
terry scheme are some of ColumDia
most prominent citizens, and there
talk about adding 'H
charge of obtaining money under lal''
pretenses to that of embezzlemenN
,,b;ob will ba ,rafarrod nv Mr. Fuller