Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-22
Sc1zpine in ST. Paul.

Sc1Lping in 81. Paul.
If one is to believe the reports that are
current on the streets, and which are but
the repetitions of what the scalpers say of
the railroad people, and what the railroad
people say of the scalpers, tickets can be
purchased over any of the roads leading
from st. Paul to the east for less than ths
price fixed upon at the ticket offices.
The readers of the GLOBE are aware
that an agreement was entered into be-
tween the Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul,
the Chicago, st. Paul & Omaha and the
Albert Lea route, fixing the price of second
class tickets at $500 and fixing a penalty
for selling for less. This arrange
ment resulted in complete dissatis-
faction all around and a local
agreement was entered into here in
st. Paul, between the same roads, for the
purpose of circumventing the festive seal
per,who was doing very lucrative business
at the expense of some of the roads, which
appeared to be losing their grip on the
business. Finally, after good deal of
trouble, new agreement was entered into
between the railroads and some of the
scalpers. This arrangement did not op-
the first one, and number of cases of vio-
lation was proved under it, and ever
since the difficulty has been gradually and
surely increasing until now, if the reports
of the scalpers and ticket agents can be
relied upon, the price of tickets is really
nominal, and everybody is trying to
get all the passengers they can at almost
any figure. There is no telling how low
hama lint koir MI
have gone good deal below the sum fixed
upon by the railroads.
The assertion was made yesterday, and
that, too, by railroad officials, that Dave
Grammar, ticket broker on Sibley street,
had sold twenty tickets over the Albert
Lea route to Chicago for less price than
they could be bought for at the ticket of
flee. When the subject was brought to the
attention of Mr.. Whitaker, the ticket
agent of the Albert Lea route, he most in
dignantly denied it, and declared that it
was one of those old stories that the oppo-
sition routes were retailing about the Al
bert Lea people because the latter was
beating them so badly in regard to the
passenger traffic. He assured the GLOBE
representative that the Albert Lea route
took out the biggest train on Tuesday
L
When Mr.. Whitaker was informed that
it was currently reported among the scalp
ers and railroad men that the Albert Lea
had been greatly aided in obtaining pas
sengers by Mr.. a. Z. johnson, the emil
grant agent, who has an office in the Sec
ond story over the office of the Albert Lea
people, he was very much
annoyed and could see no good reason for
mn nat W.
He declared it was impossible for the lat
ter to have done so without being detected,
but in reply the GLOBE man informed Mr.
Whitaker that the difficulty was not as
great as it at first seemed. Mr.. Johnson,
1t was said, had an inside track arrange
ment with the steamship companies, and
he could put in the price in such a way
that it would be impossible to figure out
road fare and how much
the steamship expenses were.
1t being impossible to separate the two, of
course nothing could be ascertained about
the scalping. 1t was kind of blind pool.
Mr.. Whitaker denounced the circulation
of such reports as shameful. The Albert
Lea route, he seid, was pursuing its own
straight, forward curse, and if in so doing
as good a thing as he wanted, and it was
not necessary for him to enter into any
swlndling arrangements.
This is what Mr.. Whitaker says, but the
! ticket brokers and some of the regular tick
ct sellers declare that the statement
that Johnston has been playing into the
hands of the Albert Lea route is true, not
withstandIng the denial referred to above.
The brokers are very free in talking
about the matter, and do not let out
any railroad Office, but include them all,
| and assert that they are all cutting, one rs
much as the other, according to their
ability. Each one, they say, is striving to
get the largest amount of the business,
and all resort to the same sort of manip-
ulation to get there" AS to the scalp
ing business, they declare there is less of
1t than people thought there
was, and that defeated roads are very apt
to take hold of this ''hue and cry"
In regard to the extent of the scslping
| done here in st. Paul, there is no denying
that /: is quite extensive. The principal
| thing after all, is TO ascertain what is to be
the result of all this matter. Many think,
, or profess to think, that it will result in a
| regular rate war, but this is not regarded
as at all probable by those whose opinions
| are the most valuable. When they have
| violated the local agreement until there is
| not enough left of it to violate, they will
have the general managers agreement
to encounter. The best opinion is that
there will be no rate war of any conse-
quence here, but that the rates will con-
tinue to be cut, and that there will be q
sharp local rate contest all along for some
| time.
The alleged Sale Of the Manitoba.
In spite of the denials on the part of the