St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-21
CUT RATE TICKETS.
Interstate Commissioners Not Able
TO Touch Them

Interstate Commissioners Not able
to Touch Them.
CHICAGO, Aug. 20.-ShOuld the spe-
cial agents of the interstate commerce
commission undertake to Investigate
the Western passenger rate situation,
with view to convicting certain roads
of discrimination in selling tickets at
cut rates to brokers, they will probably
have their labor for their pains. In the
present state of affairs it is only natural
that brokers should be stocked with
tickets which they are enabled to sell
very cheap.
When excursion tickets were selling
at S12 to Denver and return the scalpers
were not slow to see their opportunity.
The return portions of these tickets
we're good until Oct. IL. Chicago brok-
ers loaded up with whole blocks of these
round trip tickets, paying the full price
of Sl2 each, and sent them unused to
their agents at Denver. The business
Of the Denver broker NwaS to detach tue
return portions and sell them TO East
bound passengers at less than the regu-
lar rate.
The present one-way rate from Den
yer to Chicago is about S25, so that the
scalper could well afford to pay the full
price for the round trip ticket and sell
the return portion at reduction of the
regular east-bound rate. Furthermore,
he could afford 10 lay in a pretty large
stock of them without risk, since the
tickets are good tor return passage I'M
til Oct. IL. One road, which Was ac-
cuSed by competitors of dealing with
brokers, has just discovered that seven
ty-tive of its Knight Templar tickets
were purchased by one scalper i'll the
manner referred to.
Christian EndeavOr tickets were man.
ipulated in the same way, and now the
S. round trip tickets issued on account
of the Knights Pythias convention at
Kansas City are being bought by brok-
ers. All the leading roads are the vic
tins of this sort of competition on the
part of the scalpers, and it is probable
that an investigation would result in
the discovery that not single railroad
company or any of the agents had been
guilty of selling tickets to brokers at
less than the authorized rates.
General Passenger Agent Townsend,
of the Missouri Pacific, replied fully to
the charges made by the Chicago 81
Knights of PythiaS excursion tickets at
the rate of "a for the round trip between
ST. Louis and Kansas City. In a tele-
gram to Chairman Caldwell, of the
Western Passenger association, Mr..
Townsend says:
The action OF the Chicago & Alton in
attempting to force a 81 round trip rate
st. Louis to Kansas City and to place
the responsibility on this line is now
fully explained by the fact of the Alton
having contracted with the German
Veteran Association of st. Louis for
special train leaving Saturday, Aug. 20,
at per capita rate of 81 for the round
trip. in addition to which they carry the
band of twenty-eight people free, prac-
tically making round trip of about s..
As evidence of this statement, we have
in our possession Chicago Il Alton
ticket dated Aug. 20. reading to Kansas
City and return and good until Sept. Is,
for which we paid 81. We will meet the
competition offered by the private rates
and will also use this rate for basing
purposes in the sale of round trip
| tickets to points west Of the Missouri
river, good until Sept. 49,"
Chairman Caldwell has authorized all
the interested roads to take similar
action.