The Evening critic., 1884-04-04
TICKET sCALPING.

Pennsylvania Railroad Company "ls that 90
per cent. OF tho tickets hanllaf by 'scalpers'
are stolen, and 10 per cent. ~ tickets they
buy OF the railroad ngentafAt regular rates
and sell through tho brakerage system at
slight reductions"
Tho above remark wasyhado to representa-.
tive Of this paper, and ed to conversation
SSSq S Ssss IscHp9g e the oSn manner Sna ShS
"how the company fbuld ascertain whether
or not the tickets sefd by the scalpers were
stolen" MIR. Boyd $blied: "The Pennsylvania
Railroad CompanXfgave special attention to
that business, qtd has been kept we'll In
formed about thotransactions Of the scaipers
In the cities thphgh which their lines pass"
"for instancG he continued, "a ticket be-
tween New Yot and Washington is sold for
$3.50. The rtje has been unchanged for the
past Ave yqqfs, and ticket is as good as
they are sgs2eiimes called, in New York or
Washingtqn, begin TO cell tickets between
those poi9fs for less than that rate, we know
they havebeen obtained by dishonest MEANS"
Blow Profits are Made.
81 haN been asked frequently" he said,
"how 4scalper In Baltimore can sell ticket
from tHnt city TO New Orleans for S31, or one
dollaMless than tho price charged. by our
tran4ectlon. That seems like pretty DIM
culf1roblem; but It can be explained In this
weE We sell tickets by thirty different
sBbrt line distance is 1,105 miles, while by
pe longest route tho distance is ], 1000 miles.
Fnder the rules OF our company the ickot
Mgent Is Obliged to sell tickets by the most
direct route, unlees tickets arc asked for over
other routes. The great majority Of persons
prefer the shortest route, provided other
things, In the way OF accommodations, are
equal. 10 get their proportion OF tho travel
the long routes employ travelling passenger
agents. The duty OF these agents is to In
duce, IL possible, tho ticket sellers In differ
ent cities to dispose OF az many tickets by
their route as possible. They also 60 TO tho
ticket-scalper, and, II is said, offer him one
dollar on every ticket he sells over their
route.
"For the purpose OF illustration we will
tnko ono OF the long routes, composed of Ave
different railroads, beyond the lines con-
trolled by our company. The ticket scalper
receives one dollar from each of the flve roads,
thus making his proft i've dollars on the sale
Of but one ticket. The scalper buys the ticket
from the Company's agent for $50 and sells II
10 the passenger for $31, at the same time put
ting his private mark on the coupons as evil
dence OF his sale and as his voucher to the
companies forming the routes, from which he
is to collect his protit. Tho passenger is one
day longer on the road than is necessary, and
the price he pays for his meals more than on
sets the difference in price he pays for the
ticket. Where tho person Is travelling for
pleasure the loss OF time does not make much
difference, unless objection is made on ac-
count OF the fatigue occasioned or bad accom-
modations. But to business men the loss of
an entire day in going from one point to an
other Is often matter of serious moment.
The Association.
''Tho scalpers have q regular association
and a system by which their orders are hon
ored by members located In different cities. A
ticket from Baltimore TO New Orleans contains
seven coupons, each coupon carrying the pas
senger frem one prominent point 10 another
on the route. The traveller Is furnished with
ticket by the scalper over the fret stage or
TO the destination OF the first coupon ut q re-
duced rate, but he requires of the passenger n
deposit equal to the price OF the ticket from
Baltimore TO New Orleans. In return for this
deposit the buyer is furnished with the ad-
dress and an order an another scalper mt the
end OF his journey. Upon delivering this or.
der and tho portion OF the ticket unused the
traveller receives back the sum deposited less
the special rate charged by tho scalper Tor tho
first coupon. The ticket is then agaiu sold aud
used as far as the next point, and 80 on until
the entire distance has been covered. The
pront to tho scalpers In such n transaction
arises from the fact that the rates made by
The railroad companies for Journey such as
that between Baltimore and New Orleans are,
say 2l2 cents per mile, while for tho shorter
journeys between the prominent points along
the route the rates are 3 cents per mile. Thus
the scalper, with tho facilities Afforded him
by members OF the association In different
cities, can sell n ticket at a lower rate than it
can be purchased for at the railroad compa-
ny's Office, and at the same time he makes u
slight pront.
"During the past six months Investigations
Were made by the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company, by which It was shown tnat certain
conductors had been stealing a large number
OF scalpere. The tickets were agaiu cold to
passengers, who supposed they had made
legitimate purchases, The company was thus,
in many casee, obliged to carry two passengers
on one ticket and for one fare.
Detectives mt Work.
SIN speaking OF tho manner in which these
transactions were discovered, Mr.. Boyd IN
stanced the cases recently tried in the Quarter
Sessions Court in this city. He gave a his
tory of one case. II was that OF a
Pullman Palace car conductor on the route be-
tween Now York and Washington. The ac-
lions OF the conductor excited suspicion, aud
II was thought ho was selling tickets to scalp
ers In New York. 1t was known that he could
only procure the tickets In one way--by mp.
propriatlng them after they had been col
lected from passengers. After he had been
seen 10 enter n ticket scalper's ofllce, the COM
pany placed secret service men on his train
and they watched him for over two weeks.
Finally, on one OF his trips, In November OF
last year, Ave detectives had berths In his car.
They travelled from Jersey City to Washington
on tickets purchased from the company's agent
in New York. out of the 1ve tickets collected
by the conductor, three were retained. Whom
the train arrived In Washington, four OF the
detectives changed their disguises, purchased
return tickets and returned TO New York on
the same train. on this occasion two OF the
four tickets were stolen by tho conductor.
This evidence was deemed sufficient to war
rant his arrest, and on being tried In court he
was convicted and sentenced to an lmprlson-
ment OF siX months.
"rhe company watches the operations OF
the scalpers very closely, and when they be.
gin TO sell our tickets inquiry Is at once made
70 ascertain how they were procured. II Is
thus we get our clues. Our system OF collect
ing ana cancelling tickets is very near perfec.
tion, but further protective measures VIII soon
be adopted. Our conductors are selected be-
cause OF their peculiar fitness for the position
and are men OF more than ordinary intel
ligence, and nre possessed OF good business
qualifications. Among tho many hundreds
employed on the main limo and leased roads
| the proportion of dishOne5 mon has been
| found TO be very small. As a matter of accom-
mediation to the travelling public conductors OF
tho Pullman cars collect the tickets from pas
| sengers before they retire 80 that they need
| not be disturbed during the night. 1t is the
| duty OF the train conductor to got from the
| Pullman car conductor the tickets collected
| sengers In the car TO ascertain II tho number
| OF tickets returned tallles with tho number o
| passengers. In the past ltwas found that trair
| conductors would occasionally become care
| less and accept tho tickets rendered by thu
| Pullman car conductors withoutquestion. I'm
! der such state OF affairs the Pullman car con
| ductor could retain several tickets on eact
| trip without much fear OF detection, but thi
| matter has now been corrected"
Legislation so be Asked For.
| There are no tlckot scalping onlces 10 Phill
delphla. In New York there are seven, In Bal
| timore four and In Washington six, Mr.. Doy(
| believes that all tho tickots stolen from thu
| Pennsylyania Railroad Company during thu
| past two years have been on tho line be
| tween New York and Washington, and the In
| vestigatious made led TO the discovery tha
the stolen tickets were disposed of to scllper
| In New York, Baltimore and Washington
| There Is q law prohibiting ticket scalplng II
the State OF Pennsylvania, but none In Neg
| York, Delaware, Maryland or the District o
| Columbia. Such prohibitory bill is nov
| pending before the Maryland Legislature, ant
similar bills Will II is said, be introduced Il
| asked for Is q law TO prevent tratilc In rail