Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-05
A BITTER WAR
Now Being Waged Against
the Ticket-BrOkers.
THE CIRCULAR ISSUED.
Likelyhood of the Fight Being
Brought to This Coast
Very Soon.

Very Soon.
The HERALD's representative yes
terday stepped into prominent ticket
scalper's Office in the city in search of
news. As result Of his inquiry, be
was handed the following circular,
which has been sent to every mem
ber Of the American Ticket Brokers
Association in the country. The cir
cular reads:
CONSPIRACY.
THE AMERICAN TICKET BROKERS Asso-l
CITATION, GENERAL OFFICE,
LOUISVILLE, February 81
Circular No. 109.
To aU members: The suspicious. of the
Executive Committee, as announced in Cir
cular 10Y, have been verified.
We are to be made victims of cunningly
devised scheme by which we, ourselves,
shall work our own destruction.
The recent flood of local tickets dumped
into the market at every point are direct
from the offices OF the various railways
over which they read, aud the inducements
held out to our members to purchase these
tickets in the interest of justice and moral
ity to procure the detection and conviction
of the supposed thieves, are to W TX our
own undoing.
The alleged stock company, with head
quarters in New York, which seeks to make
us agents Tor supposed honest purpose, is
swindle and a combination for immoral
and unholy ends.
To checkmate this latest ana most william
Gus combination for our destruction, it is
ordered
That all members treat any parties who
may offer them, suspicious stock ef any
kind, as provided for in our bylaws; Turn
them over TO the police at once, and report
the facts to the lines in interest.
That any and all correspondence with the
spurious Detective Agency above referred
to be sent to this Office without delay, and
all further communication with that quar-
ter cease OF once.
Give all the facts, as they may transpire,
to the local press Let there be no con-
cealment and no evasion whatever. Hum
mate every crevice OF this darkness wi h
the honest sunshine of publicity.
We have nothing to fear If we are but
true to ourselves.
We are approaching period In our his.
bear his share of the brunt of the fray; the
, Executive Committee will direct your
action to the best of their ability. but mem
bers must do their part. The cooperation
effective it must be shown that our pur-
loses are honest and that our acts will bear
the closest scrutiny. With right upon our
SIDE we nave naugnJ 10 Iehr.
= GUSTAV. G. LANSING. Chairman
THOMAS O'BRIEN. H, z. MEADER.
z. w. WARD. L. SALoMoN.
The Executive Committee.
The war between the railroads Of
the country and the members of the
American Ticket Brokers' Association
has been going on for quite a long
time, and now it is assuming more
serious dimensions that was at first
expected, and the probabilities are
that the fight will be bitter one Of
long duration. Some of the stronger
lines, in order to strike their weaker
rivals, who are reputed, in a
manner, to work to the ad-
vantage OF the "scalpers," have
for some years been endeavoring
to shut their hated rivals out COM
pletely. A bill. is now in process of
preparation to be presented to Con-
gress to allow no one but authorized
railroad agents to handle tickets, and
the ticket brokers have been paying
much of their attention to this por-
tion of the field. Recently, however,
it became evident that efforts in an
other direction were being made to
their detriment, and that some of the
roads were endeavoring to obtain evil
dence of hurtiul character against
the standing of the association. to be
used in the scheme to make the ex-
istence OF the ticket broker an ille-
gality.
"Some weeks ago word was sent to
the headquarters of the association
ia Louisville, Kentucky" said a
scalper, "that bill had been reported
upon favorably by one of the commit
tees OF the Virginia Legislature, tend
ing towards the immediate suIeres-
sion OF the ticket brokerage business
there. Upon receipt of the news Mr..
Henry G. Meader, OF Louisville, and
also of the Executive Committee OF
the Association, and Mr.. Gustav
G. Lansing, of New York, Chair
man of the committee, proceeded
to Richmond. They lost no time
in appealing to the members OF the
Senate and securing an entire recon
sideration Of the bill. A day was set
for a new argument, and Mr.. Meader
and Mr.. Lansing, as the Legislative
Committee on the Ticket Brokers' AS
sociation, appeared against the bill,
together with an eminent attorney of
Richmond, while Charles G. Eddy
Vice-P President of the Norfolk and
Western, and George w. Royd, Jr.,
Of the Pennsylvania road appeared
in advocacy of it. Evidently
a great deal of new light was shed
upon the subject, for the Senate Com
mittee has not yet determined wheth-
or it was right in recommending its
passage in the first instance"
The brokers recognize in the Vir-
ginia bill an effort to drive them out
Of business, and since the fight is fair
ly started, they say they are able to
trace the present situation back to the
month of December, when the Central
Traffic Association announced official
ly from Chicago that an effort would
be made during the coming session of
Congress to secure two amendments
to the Interstate Commerce bill. One
of these proposed amendments was
to punish under billing of freight, and
the other was to prohibit the traffic in
railway tickets by brokers or others.
This announcement naturally excited
the immediate and active hostility of
the ticket brokers, who thereupon be-
came alert to watch for every move.
ment on the part Of the railroads, and
to apply check wherever an act OF
antagonism appeared. Nothing came
to the surface for several weeks, when
it was noticed that large numbers OF
"lifted" tickets were offered for sale
at the offices of brokers in various
parts Of the country.
Investigation into this proceeding