New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-05-14
WELLS'S BILL F1VORED.
Tribune,s Exposure Of Ticket Szcin-
die Generally Praised.

Approval of AssembIyInan Wells's bill signed by
Governor Hughes which aims protect the i'm
migrant from the fraud ana trickery OF the small
private bankers" and ticket sellers ~ the East
Side spoken emphatically last night by mem
bers OF societies that working To save the
thrifty foreigners from those who prey upon them
The only regret al present is that tho bin does
not go into effect Immediately and that the pass
has not vet been effected of Mr Weiss sec
ond bill (No 1899. which prohibits the business Of
men who not regularly authorized by the COM
panies to sell steamship tickets
To aid in arousing interest in this second meas
ure Miss Frances kelor. head of the research
department OF the Women's Professional League
went 10 Albany yesterday. Members Of the Edu-
cational Alliance in East Broadway are also using
every effort to that both these means Of pro
lection may be brought into force.
There have been almost nuUlherless cases where
recently landed foreigners. ignorant OF the Ian
guage and customs of This country. have been
swindled either by men with whom they deposited
their savings by so-calIcd agent" from
whom they bought tickets for the transportation
Of relatives from Europe In the latter instance
the hardship has been doubly severe. since those
whom the tickets sent often did not know
the bits Of pasteboard were worthless untll they
arrived at the steamship port, sometimes hun
dreds Of miles from their home village. few Of
these cited In The Tribune yesterday.
and there many more record.
The bill which is to regulate the banks provides
that any person who intends 10 do private bank
ing and steamship ticket business must furnish
bond Of $1,000 Before this goes into effect. how
ever. there is danger for the small dcpostor.
cording to a who has followed the banking
conditions Of the East Side closely. This man said
last night:
In the italian quarter alone there are probably
a hundred and twenty five small banks under
the deposits and YET believe there is as much as
a million dollars distributed among them all % il
the hard-e earned monej of lahorers who have saved
1t dollar at "A tim. Leaving out the dishoncst
bankers. among the Others who wish to do right
there is often lack Of ability in investing 1t would
be found If an investigation were held that large
proportion ol the money IS sunk in chattel mort
/ believe that during the time that will elapse
there viii be number Of failures. That is to
say those of the bankers who are dishonest will
take what they have and detFmp before they are
fewer cases Of npan dishonestv among the Italian
private bankers than among some other nationaii
some excited depositor is likely to take vengeance
Only five or six years ago am Italian banker
away With a large sum Of money: \ few days later
his body was found oil Staten Island. lie had been
1t is not generally known, perhaps. how easy the
recently arrived Italians are for these bankers.
Why it has only been within the last year that
any interest whatever deposits Recently a
number of them have been offering per cent in
the money has beer deposited for a fun year Some
their charge and this represents the scant overpus
OF countless days of toll by the little dark skinned
men
DaNlu BlauStcln, superintendent OF llle EuuCd-
tonal Alliance, In East Broadway. in discussing
the fraudulent ticket selling practsed the
Jewish and Russian residents, said:
1t is most difficult draw line between the dis
honest and the honest ticket sellers. Two instances
came to attention recently that would like to
add the list that The Tribune published.
A young woman came to me and asked for loan
of Si5. She said she wanted to pay ii to ticket
agent first instalment for the transportation
her he could give her ticket for $50, cash in ad-
vance, and $40 the instalment plan. l told her
that | would lend her the entire $50 providing the
gent would assure the ticket valid. She
have nothing to do with my Interference.
Still another instance of the way in which some
of these men fear investigation: A young man told
me he wanted to buy ticket to bring his aged
father here from Russia. l told him that 1t would
be best for the ticket agent to prove to me the
ticket good. The next day the agent came to
me and talked very angriy. He said was Inter
Injunction to stop his business.
one reason why these agents are not brought To
justice is that II takes long time for the tickets
tives on the other write that the tickets
not accepted, the poor dupes here are assured by
the agent that there has been some mistake. This
means letter writing. So the months roll by
that he will merely lose money If he tries to
prosecute the agent
James e. March, of No. go Lafayette street.
formerly leader of the Italian Republicans of the
l4th Ward expressed his approval of the passage
Of the Wells bill He said:
Eight years ago l tried 10 the passage of a
Continued fifth page.
AFTER ALL, USHER's THE SCOTCH.