The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-25
THE ANTI-SCALPING LAW
CONGRESS TO BE sPURRED TO AC-
TION on THE PENDING BILL.
o. r.. II. Men Having "a Pleasant Time
in Their COnyenticn-Arrangi
for More and Faster Trains.


which has received the signature of Gov
ernor Black and becomes effective Sept. l.
seems. from the tenor of the press of that
State, to have been greatly favored by the
business men, and is a great victory for
the railroads, although restrictions are
made on the sale of tickets and their re-
demption that are more binding than here
tofore. 1t is noticeable that a number of
the leading papers are advocating that the
much similar law now pending in Congress
be passed, taking the position that if, as
claimed, ticket scalping works an injustice
to one state, it is wrong and indefensible
everywhere. The New York Mail and Elk
press says: 'At last the railroad ticket
scalper in this State is doomed. Governor
Blacks signature of the anti-scalping bill
yesterday closed the long fight with vic
tory for the railroads and for the public,
who have for so many years been made the
victims of a business used as a cloak for
theft and forgery. On and after Sept. l
the sale of railroad and steamboat tickets
except by authorized agents of the COM
panies will be criminal offense. The new
law represents a triumph of right and JUS
tice. Its defeat would have sgnitied guber-
Material sanction of the most dishonest of
business methods legalizing of practices
which common honesty must condemn.
This statute will provide that protection to
invested capital and to the travelling pub
lie which should have been provided long
ago, and should go far toward securing ia
vorable action early next winter on the
federal bill of the same character now
pending in Congress-.
The New York Daily News says: Now
that the anti-scalpers bill has become a
law in New York 1t might be well for Con-
gress to consider a similar measure that
was brought before it some time ago. State
legislation on this subject is doubtless a
good thing in itself, but it is not equal to
that of the nation, and if the full benefits
to be derived from the abolition of these
traders III railway tickets are to be enjoyed
the same rule must be made to prevail
throughout the country. The scalpers are
given until Sept. l. to get out of business,
and the railroad companies are put under
obligations by the new law to redeem all
unused tickets-something which many of
them have done for a long time past
Mr.. Thomson on Business Outlook.
President Thomson, of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, has returned to Phil
adelphia from an inspection trip over the
lines between Philadelphia and Pittsburg
and the Pennsylvania Company's lines west
of the latter city. In an interview with a
reporter yesterday Mr.. Thomson said: Il
am very much pleased with the general
condition of the property, Notwithstanding
the enforced economies of the past eight or
nine months. My time was principally de-
voted to an actual inspection of the prop
erty, and l did not, therefore, have as
much opportunity to meet representatives
OF important business interests as 1 would
have desired However, from those l did
see l learned that the volume of business
had not as yet increased, but there is E
decidedly more hopeful feeling. In the
cities of Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Louisville, Indianapolis and Chicago
found that the tendency towards improve
ment is strong. The universal opinion in
the West is that the crops of the coming
season will be unusually heavy Altogether,
l came back with the feeling that the time
is not far distant when we will see a
decided Improvement in railroad traffic. If
it is possible to obtain some favorable leg
islation at the hands of Congress which
will enable railroad managers to feel more
that the additional expenditures by the
railroads will contribute very largely to the
restoration of good times
lis the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
contemplating any extensions or improve
ments?'
up to this time we have felt it neces-
sary to suspend the expenditure of any
large amount of money for improvements
ard extensions, but as soon as we ind that
the traffic is increasing and other condi-
tons warrant it we are prepared to eX-
pend the usual amounts for improvements.
The commercial depression has been felt
ness, and, as the Pennsylvania system of
railroads passes through the districts most
directly interested in that kind of traffic,
we naturally feel the depression more Keen
ly than some of the other roads. AS
said before however, the tendency towards
Improvement is strong, and l believe that
the country will in a short while begin to
feel the effects of a general trade revival"