The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-09
IAIPfRs MUST GO
sis ID
OR ST. Louis GETS
NO REDUCED RATES
RI
UItin1asum Is Given That the
Roads Must Have Fair Treat
ment in the Worlds Fair City
or Exposition viii Be Prac-
ticaIIy Boycotted.

No special excursion rates will be
! granted to st. Louis next year on ac-
! count of the Louisiana Purchase ex-
| position, unless ticket scalpers are ef-
fectually prevented from doing bust
| ness in that city. This is the ultimatum
given St. Louis merchants and the ex-
position management by the railroads
entering ST. Louis p
In no city in the United States do
! ticket brokers, so-called, flourish more
than In st. Louis, and in no city do
they more daringly perpetrate the for
geries and alterations ascribed to them
by traffic officials. Not only do the
laws there tolerate and protect them,
but apathy or the influences which the
scalpers control are so great, that 1t
thus far has been impossible to secure
convictions when conclusive evidence
was presented as to most fragrant Of
lenses. .i5s- ~ss y,z~s
Seek Law in Vain.
The railroads endaavored to secure
the passage of, "a bin by the Missouri
legislature to restrain scalpers in the
illegal use of tickets, but the lobby
against it, was so great and the In
and business men in it so slight, that
it was never considered. Then mass
Of illegitimate tickets were found in
the hands of ST. Loiiis brokers, and a
city ordinance was enacted pretending
to license and supervise them. The
ordinance was SO drawn, however, as
to be Intellectual and even where clear
violations of it's terms were brought to
the attention of the courts, the cases
We're continued an1Tfinally dropped.
Then the railroads decided that il
the exposition management and the
merchants would not aid in protecting
the railways, the railways would not
exert themselves in behalf of the fair.
The decision was evident when the ex-
position management and the ST. Louis
merchants began to make requests of
the railroads. Several privileges have
already been requested that are not
ordinarily allowed travellers, and every
request has. been turned down. nard.C
ae,,,. No Privileges Granted
Only a few. days ago stop over priv
ileges were asked for travellers from
the West routed through ST. Louis for
Chicagofiand points East. The exposi-
ton mana cement also, asked for spe-
cial, excursion rates, ON certain, days
+, and for a general reduction in railroad
rates to those visiting the fair. The
railway protection bureau, comprising
practically the transportation compa-
MES of the United States and Canada,
at recent meeting, Endorsed a prop
psition, to make no, reduced or; excur-
sion rates to st. Louis until the scalp
ers were driven out
The railroad officials say that not
only do the scalpers plug, alter. and
counterfeit tickets, forge names and
dates, but that they have corrupted
many of the employees of the roads en-
herring St Louis, and are in league with
them in cheating the railways. It has
also been found impossible to convict
offenders In st. Louis or Missouri
courts.
Meanwhile. the business men of st.
Louis and the exposition management
are beginning to realize that without
reduced rates the attendance of the
exposition will be reduced, probably to
a degree which wifi impair it's success
Until they are. able however, to drive
scalpers out Of ST. Louis, any requests
they may make for reduced rates or
special privileges on account of the
exposition will be, turned down by the
railroads. hss