New-York tribune., 1900-08-09
ROUTING TICKET SCALPERS.
SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
UPHOLDS THE RAILROADS.

Railroads and the travelling public have won
notable victory the pestiferous ticket scalper
by recent decision of the Superior Court OF Penn
sylvania in the case of the Commonwealth against
Keary which affirms the constitutlOnality OF the
Pennsylvania statute for their protection. rms
decision is important one, because II secures 10
the railroads the right to the exclusive sale OF ther
tickets, and the time safeguards the
traveller against imposition fraud at the hands
of irresponsible traders in the various forms OF
railroad transportation. The Court in It's de-
cision says. among other things:
The defendant admits that he carried on the
business of buying and selling railroad tickets IN
the city of Pittsburg. In defence, ne chireIseS sS
under which his conviction was had. The act does
not impair the obligation of coa:raGts since nee tne ne
contracts alleged 10 be affected by the act haG no
existence until nearly forty years after It's pas
provision respecting interstate commerce. IT IS
not an attempt to make rule affecting interstate
person. and conduct Of those attempting do GER
tain acts which have been forbidden under penalty ny
The is in violation OF the provisions OF the
Fourteenth Amendment. The act does not abr1dge
the CONSTITUTION of the United States or by that
of the Commonwealth; nor does it deprive any Of
deprive the holder of railroad ticket of the un-
used portion m of IT. s,ng o 5uy yhe Tbe @ reSus
ton may, in some cases result in the holGer re-
buver On the other hand, the act gives to the
holder of an unstable. unused portion of ticket
of a railroad ticket takes it subject to such rea-
as as the the law my Tb
of the act is to prevent fraud.
The appellant is not in the position of one inno-
Gently selling unused portion of ticket bought
in good faith. He is confessediy conducting
business at which the act of Assembly directly
strikes, and which the Legislature has said is
prolific OF fraudulent results: The appellant is not
the owner is he prevented from prosecuting
a business of a kind recognized by the law as
respectable. The privileges and mmunities pro-
tected by the Constitution are subject to such re-
straints as the Government may prescribe for the
general good Of the whole people. The appellant
has therefore, right to complain OF the restrlc-
J 4Io rfu
tized conducive to fraudulent acts and practlces
To those not familiar with the evils which nave
led the Legislatures of Pennsylvania and other
States to pronounce the business or ucKeI
broker or ticket scaper'' fraudulent and punish
able the examination of the reports OF the Inter
state Commerce Commission is interesting and In
founding; they are too vouminous to embody here.
Some of them follows: In whatever aspect
ticket scalping may be viewed, II Is fraudulent
alike in its conception and In its operations.
Fraud therefore is incentive to the business.
One might suppose that practice or this char-
acter could no more be defended than larceny or
forgery. but strange as 1t may appear II Is ue-
Tended before legislative bodies and elsewhere,
and the right to carry it unmolested is demand
ed While to the legislative body may be con-
ceded a large discretion in pronounclng upor the
thew have legislated yet Is the corrobor1tion or
their Judgment acceptable from source created
by National authority with National opportunity
and obligation obtain accurate ln1ormaIloh'
Their reports further show that, the evil appearing
great the Commission have on more than one
occasion advocated the passage of legislation by
vania act in order that the business of the ticket
broker might be stamped out by Nauoh4 au-
Finding no error committed by the Court below
+he judgment is affirmed and the record Is re-
rnitted that the sentence imposed by the Court
below may be carried out