New-York tribune., 1897-01-31
FIGHTING TICKET sCALPERS
THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMIS-
SION URGES ACTION BY CONGRESS.


scALpERs USING EVERY EFFORT TO DEFEAT THE
PENDING BILL CHAIRMAN CALDWELL
STATES THE CASE FOR THE RAILROADS.
Washington. Jan. So.-The Ticket Scapers Asso-
caton Is using every means possible to bring In
huence to bear In opposition to the bill now before
Congress to amend the Interstate Commerce law
intended to afford protection against counterfeit.
forged and other forms Of fraudulent tickets the
issuance Of which. the railroad companies say has
become so frequent as to be alarming. The Inter
state Commerce Commission has urged Congress to
take immediate action to suppress ticket-scalpng.
II Is alleged that the public has been made to
understand that the bill emanated from the rail-
ways and was In the interest Of higher rates. while
In reality 1t Is a measure presented by request OF
the Interstate Commerce Commission. after investi
eating the matter for several years and becoming
satisfied that the ticket scaper's business ad-
verse to the interests OF the public we'll as the
railroads. In being. the Commission expresses IT,
"hurtful both to the roads and to the public In
financial sense. and the extent Of the injury Is
scarcely possible to measure"
Chairman Caldwell Of tho Western Passenger AS
sociation. who asked 10 appear before the SEN
ate committee to present the situation as viewed by
the law-abiding carriers Of the country. has fed
with the committee a written statement In support
OF the bill.
The report OF the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion the subject OF ticket-scapers or brokers
says:
I'VE can discover no legitimate field for the opera
tons OF the ticket broker. His occupation is essen
TALLY lawless his activities have no legal sanction
and are entirely at variance with any defensiblc
prn cipe upon which pubic transportation can be
conducted. Nevertheless. the business has many
followers and Is not withou; apoogiss. In view Of
the practical impossibility OF Identifying given
passenger the purchaser who commenced a
journey through ticket. it is quite easy in
most to dispose Of the unused portion Of such
a ticket; and to such extent has this evil grown
that quite large portion = tr ve,lers do not pui-
chase tickets their real destination but to some
point long distsnce beyond such destination. buy
ing these through tickets from some scalper at the
point where the journey Is commenced and receiving
from him orGer for a rebate drawn on the
brokers' confederate at the station where the rav-
eller actually stops. lie thus secures his trans
portaticn at Illegal rate and puts In circulation
ticket upon which others who succeed him in the
Of 1t may likewise evade the law against dis
elimination. In this way the earnings of railroad
companies heavily depleted. the passenger traf
fc Of the country is demoralized, and the business
driven out Of legitimate channels tc be conducted
wthou. responsibility.
tlon. In our judgment it should be made a penal
tickets unless he is an agent of the railroad issuing
the same. duly constituted such by written appoint;
ment: and every such person should be requir ed
under appropriate penalty TO expose In his place of
business certifcate or MS authority. Under such
a law a.. persons selling passenger tickets would be
readily identified the agents OF the carriers whose
commissions they hold. the carriers would be
sponsible for the action Of such agents, and the
agents themselves held 70 strict accountability for
any misconduct As the law stands, and
especially in where the custom: of paying
missions prevails and there Is no visible evidence OF
the agency OF the ticket seller, it Is practically i'm
possbl: to connect the irresponsible broker. who
with the carrier who equally with the broker should
be held to account for violation OF the law. Such
a law thus suggested would be most saiutaiy ex-
Of has bppu
demonstrated that the different States cannot cope
with this evil by such restrictive measures as are
within their province.
'Aimos all this Illicit traffic pertains to interstate
business and II TO be assumed by the various
State authorities that State laws have no application
that in States which have such laws, like Illinois ard
Pennsylvania, there are armies OF brokers who deal
ton Even II State laws were held to te effective it
would nevertheless be far mere suitable to remedy
the abuses by an &C: OF Congress ~hlch wou.d be
Most OF the important railroads State lines and
not only from the methods OF their business but by
roads. and for that reason Federal statute which
would be OF equal authority the entire line
would be manifesly better than local tutes differ
ing according to the varying views OF local legisat-
There are other branches of the business which
ard passes that have been stolen and tickets that
have already been used but not defaced cancelled
In respect dates extent OF Journey and spurious
tickets to which the OF some artfll device gives
the appearance Of genuineness. In such an i'm
position Is practsed either on railroad o. upon
passenger certainly upon the latter II the fraIi be
detected. Whether ali only brokers engage
In these fraudulent practices whether the frauds
by which stolen defnct altered tickets are lined
of on the public and the railroads well are per-
petrated by broker. Themselves by others acting
in colusion with them. .erial. The acts
are incidents Of the business and arguments o.
potency for legislative action 10 eradicate the evil"