The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-09-21
TO stop THE SCALPERS
A Remedy for the Evils That Affect
the Western Passenger
Situation.
General Passenger Agent Eustis,
Of the Burlington, Has a
Scheme
Seattle to be Made Headquarters OF the
Union Pacific System-SoMe
@ Changes. .

che Western Passenger association agree
ment so as to make it satisfactory to all tn,
members of the association and at tho sam,
time bring it into perfect harmony with til,
Western Traffic association agreement Il
laboring assiduously at the task assigned it
it might lessen its work considerably il
some attention wore given to a very simple
plan proposed by General Passenger Agent
p. s. Eustis, of the Burlington road. when
the matter of drafting an agreement for the
Western Passenger association WAS prsvi.
ously under consideration. 1t WAS not
not adopted then, but nothing that has oc-
CURED in the meantime has caused General
Passenger Agent Eustis to Change his views
in regard to its efficacy. Indeed, the more
he has considered the matter the moro thor
oughly has Dasheeaaaa convinced of the
soundness of the principles On which he
proposes to base his remedy for the evils
that affect the western passenger situation.
In seeking for q remedy for those evils
General Passenger Agent EuStis went about
the matter in a scientific manner. He hrst
sought to ascertain the cause of the trouble.
His Investigations in this direction led him
to tho conclusion that if two great difficult
ties could be got put of the way the removal
of all other disturbing elements would be y
very simple matter. The probability was
that they would disappear of themselves.
These difficulties were TO arrive at a salts
factory method Of making rates and the
adoption of rules and regulations concern
ing the sale OF tickets. So far as the rate
making difficulty goes, nom exisits in re-
gard to rates by direct routes between lead
:,- k,rr,ir,,In mvavo Tho Thin m Past Hhara
is never any difficulty, for instance, in AZ
irving at an agreement as to what the rate
between Chicago and Kansas City by the
direct routes should be. When. however, a
road not having a direct route, but whose
lines between these points take a zigzag
and circuitous route, increasing the dis
tance by many milos, comes in and
claims the same rate as the direct routes
the trouble begins. In Mr.. Eustis' opinion
there Is no reason in the world why passen-
gers who desire to make a trip around the
world in going from Chicago to Kansas
City should not have to pay more for that
trip than one who takes the most direct
route he can ind. He would not take any
notice of the matter of q few miles differ
ence, bat whom it comes to reaching q do
sired point from another point by travelling
round the circumference of a circle instead
of taking the diameter to make it. or in
sSuA4 ~ lag III 62N4Op SA Is tAhA
instead of taking the third side, he thinks
the time has come to draw the line and say
that the rate for the longer route shall be
the sum of the locals between the points
visited rather than the short line rate be-
tween those points.
Passenger Agent Eustis proposes q very
SIMPLE method. Nearly all the scalping is
done IN connection with round about
routes. For example. tickets between Chi
cago and Kansas City are scalped by the
manipulation of tickets sold in Cincinnati
or some other such outside point, and read
ing to Kansas City via Chicago. That is a
roundabout route. Such a ticket may read
over the Burlington, but it is OF Jar more
Importance to the Burlington to have the
market in Chicago kept clear of scalped
tickets than to get all the traffic that takes
then, Mr.. Eustis proposes to have an agree
ment that each road shall redeem, any
tickets reading over it found on
rates. The B%urlington's proportion of
the the through rate between Gin
not be more than So, while the tariff rate
between Chicago and Kansas City is $40.
If such a ticket is found on the Chicago
market, make she Burlington redeem it at
$40 under all circumstances, and whether
that road is responsible for the ticket being
to it that the market ia kept clear of such
tickets under such circumstances It ia a
very easy matter for any road to regulate
it's connections, and there is not one that
will not do so when held strictly response
BILE for its acts. General Passenger Agent
idea is that business between ter
belongs to the direct routes and it is
the wiser course for any road to content
itself with its direct business rather than to
risk the Generalization of that business
by running after that taking circuitous