The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-04
Came to That City With Big
Schemes and Certified
Check for $2S0,OOO
BIRMINGHAM MAN
BLOCKED THE GAME
Prominent Mobile Men Were Taken
In for a Time by the Plausible
Story Offered by the
Promoter

Mobile, July s.-(Special)-D David La
mar. central figure in the lobby investi-
cation before the United States Senate,
Wednesday, once promulgated and very
nearly consummated a scheme in Mobile
which rivaled In extensiveness and dar-
ing the operations of j. Rufus Walling-
ford, and which reads like piece of fic-
tion. This fact was brought to light
Thursday, when Mobilians read the ae-
counts of Lamars testimony before the
committee and when they saw his pic
ture as it appeared in the Register.
Lamar, coming to Mobile with large
amount of cash, took rooms at the Bat
tie House. employed the firm of Pillans.
Torrey & Hanaw as his attorneys and
after securing The interest of leading
business men in his schemes proposed
to buy the franchise of the Alabama Gas.
Electric and Power company and of the
Progress Electric company, both Of Mo-
bile, to expend $50, coo in improvements
upon the Battle House and to invest
100000 in short time mortgages on Mo-
bile real estate
Account of Operation
In the Mobile Register of February 81
1892. appears an account of the opera
tions of Lamar The article states in
brief:
David Lamar, claiming to have come
from Chicago where he was park COM
missioner, registered at the Battle House,
with his wife. He spread money lavishly
and after getting the interest of business
men, unfolded a scheme startling in its
magnitude and dazzling in its brilliancy.
He went to r. W. Warner, at that
time head of the Alabama Gas, Power
and Electric company, and told him of
his plans to buy the plants mentioned.
and won Mr.. Warmers confidence He
laid his plan before Mr.. L. c. Irvine, who
was at first suspicious of Lamar, and
who refused to take any part in his
schemes until he had brought Siegfried
Steiner of Birmingham. member of a we'll
known banking firm, to Mobile, and had
Mr.. Steiner to indorse the project. He
displayed at this time a certified check
for s2SO00O from the Mississippi Valley
Trust company of st. Louis, which he
said he represented
"At the time the city council was at
tempting to get a lower rate on current
for street lights Lamar went to Mr.
S. S. Rubira of the Progress Light and
Power company. and told him of his plan
to buy and consolidate the electric light
ing companies, and told him that at the
next meeting of the city council he would
bid $40 light for each street light, where
as the city had been paying $100
Had to Cut Figure
when the bids were opened at the
council meeting Mr.. Rubira was found
to have cut the figure to s69.50 a light,
and the bid of Mr.. Lamar was found to
be unaccompanied by any check making
it void. Lamar claimed then that Stei-
ner, who had been in Mobile for some
time, had double crossed him, and had
substituted one envelope for another. the
first containing the bid with the check
and the second a bid without any check.
Lamar then went to the home of
Mr.. Rubira and found Steiner He seized
Steiner by the coat lapels and dragged
him into the street.
'"The scheme had proved failure and