The Minneapolis journal., 1906-07-07
TICKET SCALPERS
CALLED PARASITES
OFFICIAL OF RAILROAD PROTEU-
TIVE BUREAU TELLS HIS MIND.
Shows How Cities, Roads, and General
Public Suffer from Work Of Brokers
Who Defeat Ends for Which Excur-
sion Rates Are Designed En-
forcement Of Law. a

| H. A. Roach, assistant chairman of
the. Railroad Ticket Protective bureau,
is in Minneapolis to push the fight
against the ticket scalpers and If pos
which has been on the statute books Of
there appears to be. general miscon-
ception in the public mind as to the
benefits conferred on the community by
the ticket broker or scalper.
sho.Eh9 public mi mind 4 wsro would ld.zes es
ticket scalper or ticket broker as he
prefers to be called, involvese participa.
tion, to a greater or less degree, in
frauds upon the railorad companies.
These se1f-constitute ticket agents are
parasites subsiting upon the revenue of
the railway,
normal rates Of fare it makes. as It
rightly and reasonably may, certain
stipulations, such as non-transfer. time
limits, fxsd dates, availability on spe.
Gifted trains, etc. Acceptance Of such
tickets carries with it moral and legal
obligation to observe all the governing
conditions. It Is a covenant in good
as upon the other. Without these limi.
tations the railroad would not be iusti.
fed in making concessions from their
| regular fares, the measure of which
the laws Of both state and nation keep
| within just and reasonable bounds.
How Fraud Is Worked.
eff, however, by the intervention
and solicitation Of the ticket scalper
the public Is induced to purchase such
tickets for the express purpose OF using
them fN q rnGY1of}nn from r
one-way fares, and of disposing Of the
portion which there was no intention OF
using legitimately, by the act itself, of
entering. into the conspiracy, the pur'
chaser lends himself an accessory be-
fore the fact to premeditated fraud
And when the second purchaser, again
thru the mediation Of the scalper, delib'
erately represents himself as the origi.
nal party to the contract, by using the
ticket, he becomes q participant in the
fraud and invites the penalties which
the law affixes to such acts.
I'm the light of these transactions,
| extending thru many years and repeat
ed In many hundred instances stance the & ct:
ment IS that Of unwillingness to expose
legitimate earnings to such depletions
and, .perforce, to confne concessions to
the fewest possible cases.
."If this demoralizing and lawless
ticket-scalp lping traffic could be sup
pressed, whether by enacting adequate
| forcible laws or by arousing the public
to full realization Of it's immoralities
and iniquities, thereby inducing the
traveller to withhold his support and
consequent completely, the public would
eventually be greatly benefited. With
could broadly recognize the eexpediency
and mutual advantages of liberal ex-
cursion fares for gatherings Of public
and patriotic interest, and full scope
would be given by means of attrac-
tive fares, to develop and foster travel
at opportune seasons and intervals. =,
Conventions Are Hurt.
"In view Of the fact that large gath
Minneapolis this summer, such as the
Grand Army encampment and Others
it Is unfair to the railroad companies
especially those not terminal in the
twin cities, who have seen fit to grant
low excursion rates from eastern and
western territory to Minneapolis, that
they should suffer from this unlawful
traffic.
1.-THE Minnesota anti-scalping law
has twice been appealed to the state
supreme court and has been sustained
both. times. Now, the law as passed
easE or { 0Ga is w b% nna a% ahd shPqd hou ID
be repealed, and both state and mu.
nlcipal authority should compel its en-.
| forcement.
1T is obvious that were someone to
! open saloons and refuse the payment of
license, the authorities would imme.
diately close them out. I see no rea.
son why the same procedure cannot be
taken with the scalpers. The scalpers
claim that they have appealed from
the state supreme court to the United
States supreme. court, claiming that the
stitutional. It is true they have served
notice of appeal, but have made no
| further efforts, and even if this were
| so, there is no reason why they should
| not be compelled to abide by the state
| supreme court g decision until a deci
| sion has been rendered by the United
States supreme court. = !.
1.-THE interstate commerce commits
sion in 1889 condemned the scalpine
business and recommended its prohihi
tion by statute. In its annual report
for 1890 the commission saws: In
whatever aspect ticket scalping may be
viewed, it is fraudulent alike in it,
conception and in It's operation. The
Railway Protective bureau will con
tinue to wage fight against the ticket
| scalper both here and In st. Paul. W.
I have recently succeeded in eliminating
the ticket scalpers from the states Of
Colorado, Oregon and Washington, anc
still continue to have hopes that Min
nesota will enforce it's anti-scalpine Law
| and relieve us of this parasitic -