Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-08-18
LOW RATE TICKETS
CLOSELY OBSERVED.
Railway Officials Making Every Effort
20 Stop scaiping OF Nontrans-
ferahle Transportation, to
St Louis


Passenger officials are, making every
effort to prevent the nontransferable
railroad tickets to the Fair being
used by any other than the original
purchaser.
Legislation. both Federal State and
city. has been invoked. and the courts
have. without exception. held that the
sale Of nontransferabre ticket such
as Is used for excursion trafiie to the
Fair is illegal and the purchaser is in
many instances liable for forgery, in
asmuch as these tickets have to- be,
signed in the name Of the original pur.
chaser
With the law behind them. the
steady fight which the passenger men
are making against the ticket brokers,
II is believed, is bearing fruit
At the same time. an enormous num-
her OF cheap tickets are sold to- per-
sons either passing through St. louis
or returning from the Fair
In many Instances the conductor
Goes not discover the fraud until the
purchaser Of the ticket is far out on
the line from st. Louis, and the pas.
serger is unable to pay his fare.
In this instance it is the duty of the
conductor to put the purchaser OF
the train.
AS result the passenger Offices are
Hooded with complaints made by per.
sons who have suffered this treatment
and who have made their way back
to st. Louis and are. unable to get
home.
The only recourse for them is to
prove which was the broker from
whom they bought the scalped ticket
and demand the return of their
money. In this case they get their
money back, but generally the assist
arce of the police is required.
In an affair of this sort the railroad
renders all possible assistance, but in
many instances women, not informed,
tf the law providing that brokers'
shall give receipt, purchase scalped
and changed tickets, and, unable to
pay their fare, have been put off the
train, suffering many hardships there,
by.
In order to prevent instances of this
sort many Of the st. Louis lines have
arranged for system of ticket inspee
ton before the person can get ON the
train at Union Station.
In this way the fraudulent ticket IS
often noted and the person saved tina
discomfort of being put off the train
when St. Louis is far behind.
Many incidents wherein not only
men but women and children are put
off trains because their tickets are not
valid have come up since the cpening
CT the Fair, all of such incidents be
ing presented to the notice of the
Chief of Police and Mayor.
On the desk of almost every passen
ger official in st. Louis can be found
large lunches of tickets which have
been manipulated by brokers.
In many instances not only has the
date teen changed, but the original
destination erased and another sub
stituted. in which way a ticket cost
ing originally 81. or So may be good
for a passage costing $50 or $50. -~
At the three validating offices estab,
lished by the railroads many tickets
which have been manipulated have
been detected, and the purchaser
saved not only the discomfort and hui
n:iliation of being put off the train.
but directed as to the best means by
which he can recover his money.-St.
Louis Republic