St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-17
TIE SCALPER AGAIN.

THE SCALPER AGAIN.
A gentleman who has had an extern
sive experience writes to the GLOBE on
the subject of the proposed anti-scalper
law as follows: II will not attempt to
defend all railroads, but will say posi-
lively that there are some that have no
dealings whatever with sCalDers, and
never had. Such railroads have never
done anything to produce the sca!per
OF fraudulent manipulation Of tickets.
"Now. if you or had bad tumor,
and 1t was keeping us in a constant
condition of irritation and bad health
and suffering, it Is not at all prob
able that we would attempt to use
salves and ointments and other pallia-
tives, but we would go to a good sur
geon and have it cut clean, and thereby
end all the difficulty.
The ticket scalper has been with the
public. with railway employees, and with
the railway corporations exactly as
tumor would be to a human body. 1t Is
an eXcTescenCe, absorbing large amount
Of money, which is really added to the
cost Of transportation, and for which the
public ultimately has to pay.
The existence of the scalper also
makes possible large amount Of dis
honesty, which would not otherwise be
carried out, for if all incentive for fraud
were removed, there would be none; in
other words, if the tools are destroyed,
fraud cannot be committed.
ITO illustrate more fully what | mean
by a practical example, will say that
some time ago young man employed
in one Of the railroad offices in this city,
in collision with ticket scalper. stole
large number Of blank employees
passes. These passes were completed
from time to time by the Scalper, who
resides in Minneapolis, and by him sold
to different people for a consideration.
These fraudulent passes were returned
to the company by its conductors after
having been used, the conductor having
no means of knowing they were fraudu-
lent. In that way the company became
possessed of the information that its
being manipulated.
"The theft was traced to the boy en-
ploye. who made full confession, and
stated the amounts Of money he had re-
ceived from the ticket scalper, by whom
he was gradually led on to indulge in a
large amount of thievlng. The scalper
and boy were both arrested, the boy
turning states evidence.
THE scalper made a confess sion. ad
mItted having taken the passes and
having received money for them, but
afterwards pleaded mot guilty. The
boy, having turned states evidence, was
discharged and went home. The scalper
was convicted; the case was certified to
the supreme court, which decided that
the tickets at the time they were taken
had no value, and were not property;
therefore there was no recourse what
ever. In fact, today there is not a law
on the statute books Of the state of Min
nesota to prevent any man from stealing
railroad tickets, or railway employees
passes, using them or getting money for
them; nor can he be punished for so
! doing. because the courts say that such
| passes or tickets are not property until
they have been used, and of course after
they are used they are out Of the scalp
er's hands.
"There is not train conductor who
travels the entire length Of any long
road leading out of st. Paul who is not
subjected to personal insult and abuse
from people holding fraudulent and
manipulated tickets, which they have
bought at ScalperS' Offices.
II was shown today pass which a
st. Paul company issued for two chill
| dren of an agent of connecting road
| from st. Paul to point in the far West.
| This pass was stolen, and was finally
presented to a conductor on the road
| which issued il, the names of the chill
! dren having been taken out by acids
| which, | see, are being advertised by
| ST. Paul papers as ink eraSerS which
Will take out ink from paper without
| leaving any marks-the name of an
| other party placed in the pass and the
date of the same changed. And this
is only one illustration of common
practice.
Il do not claim that every Scalper is
thief or manipulates passes fraudu-
lentIy, but | do claim, from personal
knowledge and experience, that a great
many scalping offices are places where
manipulation of tickets and passes in a
| fraudulent manner does take place.
There are large number of persons
in the United States who are apparently
supported by the manipulation of pas
senger transportation. All the money
that these people take-and the profits
of some Of them are very targets a
direct addition to the cost of transport
tation, for which the people have to
pay.
Furthermore, the interstate COM
MERGE law distinctly states that trans
portation company shall not sell its
trans portation to one party for less
price than it does to another under the
same circumstances and conditions, but
the impecuniouS and dishonest railroad
company can sell its tickets in whole
sale quantities to any ticket broker. who
will sell these tickets TO the same town,
on the same train, and under exactly
| similar circumstances, at different rates.
In other words, the individual is per-
mitted for purposes of personal profit to
make discrimination which atralroad
desiring to handle its business in an
honest way is prevented from doing,
and is thereby subjected to competi-
ton which is Legitimate and dishonest.
81 knew nothing of the bill now in
the legislature until saw notice of il
in the paper, but l do say that crimes
should be made punishable i'll the
courts"
THE FUNCTIONS OF A RAIL.
ROAD.