The record-union., 1898-12-08
TICKET scALPING.

OUT the asking, the very active cO-op-
GRAFTON of the mercantile men Of the
United States sin the warfare against
the ticket scalpers. A powerful move
ment is now on foot backed by most
organization, and it extends
well over the Union, to crush out the
ticket scalping business. Organization
has been effected among commercial
men, money contributed and regular
system set up to bring
about abolition of the scalping business.
The headquarters of the organization,
located in Chicago, is flooding the
country with literature on the subject,
all of which proceeds upon these three
grounds: Ticket scalping is against
public morals; 1t burdens the business
man: it creates criminals. J. v. Far
we'll, Jr., of Chicago is the General
Chairman of the organization, and he
has behind him some Of the foremost
business men of the country, repre-
senting the greater communities Of the
East.
The claim of this association Is that
ticket scalping produces forgers, be-
cause whoever purchases a non-trans-
ferable ticket from a broker, in using
it necessarily must initiate and use the
signature Of the original purchaser.
Brokers who sell an expired ticket must
forge the railroad dating stamp upon
the ticket, or 1t will not be accepted
by conductors. Changes in the limits
of tickets by plugging, erasure and sub
stitution necessary to give it CONNER
cial value must be direct forgeries.
All such business, therefore, stimu-
lates dishonesty, encourages thievery
that amounts to robbery of service.
An example is given by the associa-
ton as follows:
A convention rs to be held in Chi
cago, and railroad makes a round trip
rate of one fare from Cincinnati to Chi
cago. 1t receives from the sale Of this
round trip ticket the price of transport
ing the holder one way only. Because
this business moves by wholesale this
railroad makes a low rate. When the
holder of the return portion sells it to
a broker and that broker in turn sells
it to another, the railroad transports
back to Cincinnati person, who, but
for the scalper, would be obliged to
pay regular tariff rate, because under
the law Of wholesale and retail he
could secure no reduction. If this reg
ular tariff rate be $40, the railroad has
been robbed of $40 by a criminal con-
spiracy between the broker and his
customer.
Take another case:
The round trip ticket may have been
sold at a rate of one and one-third
fares for the round trip. In this event
the purchaser pays for his going trans
portation full fare, and If he use the
return portion he pays one-third of the
regular rate. IF he sell 1t to a scalper,
and the scalper, after having forged
the signatures necessary to make this
return portion acceptable to conductors,
sells it to a third party, the railroad re-
ceives nothing for the transportation
of such third party, when under the
laws OF wholesale business it should
receive one-third of the regular tariff.
This transaction deprived it not only
of the one-third which it should have
received, but of the entire value of a
regular ticket covering the return trip.
The broker and purchaser who were
parties to such a transaction, conspired
criminally to deprive the railroad of so
many dollars and cents, and they di-
vided the fruits Of the conspiracy.
1t is represented that ministers half
fare permits, often stolen and some
times lost, frequently turn up in brok-
ers' Offices bringing disgrace not only
upon the ministers whose names appear
thereon, but upon the entire ministry.
So, too, the return portion of tickets
sold on account Of large gatherings Of
Christian societies, sometimes lost and
sometimes stolen, frequently appear in
brokers' offices to the disgrace OF such
associations.
All this business, says the association.
increases the cost of travel to honest
persons, for the companies transporting
must produce for themselves q revenue
sufficient to meet the losses it SUSTAIN
ed, by charging the more to travellers
who honestly deal with the carriers.
House bill 7,130, now before Congress,
is a copy of bill which PASSED the
House Of Representatives of the last
Congress, but reached the Senate too
late for action by that body Tt is this
bill which the mercantile organization,
known as the Anti-Ticket Scalping AS
sociation, desires passed, and calls upon
the people to support. Its provisions
substantially and briefly are, that all
ticket agents must show proper author
ity for sale Of tickets, thus protect
ing the public against imposition. II
restricts passenger officials from sup
plying transportation tickets for sale
to other than authorized agents, and
provides for resale of transferable tick
cts for personal use in the prosecution
of journey. It provides punishment
for the railroad officials. or agents, oil
other persons who violate the Act. It
compels a proper and safe redemption
of whole or partly used ticket, and
provides redress to the aggrieved party
in case Of failure to redeem. 1t pro-
vides that refusal to promptly redeem
shall be misdemeanor, and it provides
severe penalties for forging or counter
feiting transportation tickets.
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