Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-03-22
SCALPERs AND SCALPING.
Business which Has Reached Vast
Proportions.

From the New York Times
Thirty years ago, when r. C. Stevenson a
young man with more enterprise than capital.
opened an obscure Office in the city of Pittsburg,
Pa, for the sale of railroad tickets at reduced
rates, he did not dream that his small beginning
would reach the large proportions which the
business aggregates to-day. Few persons have
an adequate conception of the extent of the in
terest and the influence it welds. The offices Of
the brokers, as they are pleased to title them
selves. usually unpretentiOus places but at
all seasons of the year scenes of busting ac-
tiyity.
The general public knows absolutely nothing
about the scalpers' business In the first Mace
people suppose that the brokers make their
money by selling tickets which they buy from
private individuals This is not SO. Many of the
railroads give commissions to the scalpers to
sell tickets for them, and others sell them tick
cts Dy the hundred at a discount. If all brokers
were tricksters the railroads would probably
have nothing to do with them. One broker in
TINS city buys thousands of dollars worth of
tickets at time and gives his note to secure
payment for them. The question might be asked.
what incentive Is there for the railroads to deal
with brokers? Upon this point hangs ticket
brokerage. There are railroad lines that enjoy
natural advantages often so great that other
roads running to the same general centers can
not compete with them. The first are called the
could offer special Inducements they would fare
poorly. The less favored lines i'm order to obtain
asare of the business sell the brokers tickets at
reasonable discount or give them commissions
outright The brokers are thus enabled to
afford better rates over their lines than over the
popular routes. which are sure of a certain
amount of business and will seldom make terms
with the scalpers- Travellers, if they can get q
low rate. care little as a rule which line they
take, and they will invariably go the cheapest
way. Startling as it may seem, it is neyerthe-
less true that the brokers' in New York supply
more than One-half of the tickets to through
passengers for Chicago and other points i'm the
west. and it is plain to be seen how great help
they may be to line that labOrs under disad-
vantages. In railroad parlance the preference"
OF the scalpers is worth counting. Take New
York for instance The Central and Pennsyl-
yania roads are popular routes" The Erie and
the Baltimore and Ohio are not so well situated,
and by enlisting the brokers they obtain vast
amount of traffic that would otherwise go to
the other roads. They have nothing to lose by
the arrangement and everything to gain.
Their cars are comfortable, their rOadbeds
are smooth. and their trains are fast. but their
routes are not so advantageOusly situated, and
their facilities are not so great. The western
roads rely very largely on brokers for business
and they make better terms with them than the
powerful and more independent eastern lines
Thus it is. perhaps, that the popular routes are
opposed to brokers. The discount given where
tickets are bought is from 10 to % per cent.
nom the regular rates, and the commission
where they are sold by the scalpers as agents of
the company is from 10 to 20 per cent. During
the piping times of peace there is more money
In the business, except where binding agree
ments exist, than when wars are in progress
In strife the railroads make nothing and they
cannot afford to Increase a dead loss by giving
discount or commissions. Just at present an
agreement exists among the great trunk lines
and they have cut off the brokers. The western
lines, however, continue to make a reduction to
the dealers who are able to cut under the regular
rates While the long fight was i'm progress last
summer many of the railroads in the west issued
orders TO passengers going east for return tickets
TO be obtained in New York. The scalpers bought
large numbers ofthese. and held them until the
rise IN price. The wisdom of their course has
Deen proved. asthey are now doubling the money
on the investment. The business is almost en-
tIreiy IN limited tickets good for continuous trips
only. The railroads will not sell the unlimited
tickets in quantities. and besides as they cannot
De purchased at as good figures the scalpers do
not care TO deal in them. People unaccustOmed
TO dealing with brokers do not understand the
rebate system. and are apt to be distrustful when
asked to pay full fare and receive the difference
1T the destination There are two reasons for
the use of the rebate or drawback voucher One
In to ''guard the rate" In other words. if a
broker sold straight ticket for less than the
regular price the buyer could take it to the of
nee OF the railroad company and obtain the face
Eaiue for 1t. The other is when the ticket extends
Ing it. The ticket brokers have correspondents
In every city who pay the rebate. The ticket eX-
tending beyond the end Of the journey of the pas
senger Is almost invariably limited and is there
lore worthless unless used in a certain time. To
make sure that the holder of ticket purchased
IN New York. and good to Kansas City, would
take IL i'm nedately upon his arrival in Cleve-
land ONO his destination. to the correspondent
OF the broker of whom it was bought the fare
OF the full distance is required When such a
NnrL-f calln lola
70 his correspondent in Cleveland who finds a
buyer TO take the ticket on arrival and continue
the journey on it. If there were nothing to bind
the passenger to secure the broker the latter
would lose great deal in this manner. ''rate-
BOOK is Issued once a month and distributed
among the brokers throughout the Union giving
the prices which shall be paid for tickets and the
prices at which they shall be sold. Tickets pur-
chased from individuals do not comprise one
quarter OF the business. The profits are so small
that this branch alone would not support adeal-
er. Brokers have become chary of buying tickets
In quantities OF persons. as they may be stolen
or obtained by fraud. The other day man
evidently brakeman offered a bundle of tickets
Tor local points on the Central railroad at the
once OF one Of the scalpers. The scalper re-
FUSED 10 purchase at any price and reported the
incident at the general office of the railroad
company. rule recently added to the bylaws
Oh the Brokers Association makes it incumbent
on tne members TO break up operations of this
SOFT oy refusing to buy under suspicious cirCum-
stances and informing the managers of railroads
that may suffer by the dishonesty of employees.
Several brokers have been expelled from the as
ISOLATION for engaging in questionable and
fraudulent transactions. There are dishonest
men In this business as well as others. but the
upright ones say they are trying to drive them
out. The brokers sell steamer as well as rail-
road tickets. This part OF the business is con-
Quoted in the same manner as the other but it
does not amount to nearly much in dollars
and cents Steamers that run i'm opposition to
railroads will usually make greater reductions
70 the scalpers than the rail routes.
The business OF the leading broker Of this city
last year amounted to $1,000 900 i'm round
ngures- Resides having 81. 600 invested. he
ouys largely with his paper. Where he uses
money directly is in buying heavy stocks of
unlimited tickets in wars when they are low and
holding them until rates go up. All brokers
bought heavily last summer when tickets were
down to one-third the regular prices, as they
knew full well that the improbable strife could
continue no great length of time If it were not
for this precsution they would now be in bad
strait, inasmuch commissions and discounts
"haye been cut Of on all eastern lines. This
state OF things, they believe. however cannot
last long. and they look for an early return of
the privileges that they have hitherto enjoyed
hnv uwl.