The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-08-03
A Ticket Scalper's Story.
IOriginal.1


much of a position in the world, but
scalper has a human heart, just like
any one else A scalper may feel In
clined to bestow that heart upon a wo-
man. l had that inclination once, but
I'm never going to have it again. Wo-
men are the most ungrateful creatures
in the world. A woman who would
treat a man as one of 'em treated me
isn't Fl to live on the face of the earth.
One day pretty, melancholy looking
girl Of perhaps twenty-five came into
my Office and said she wanted to get
to her mother, who was lying sick in
Cincinnati. She said she was broke
and wanted a ticket for about nothing
| had half a mind to give her ticket
charging up the amount to myself, but
that would be giving a stranger some
thing like $40, and, while, as l said, a
ticket scalper has heart, he isn't the
kind of man to give things away
| that he can't afford to give. l was
| looking among my old stock for some
thing pretty cheap when l came across
an unused half of an old excursion
| ticket, the limit of time of which had
| long ago expired. 1t occurred to me
/ that if the girl worked on the sym
pathies of the conductor as she had on
mine she might induce him to pass her
! through on it. | told her what | was
4 al, hn in
clined to try it on l would give her the
ticket free of charge. She asked If
there would be anything dishonest in
such an act and I told her l didn't
think there would be; there would be
no Misrepresentation. If the conductor
wouldn't accept the ticket the worst he
could do was to put her off at the first
stop and she would be just so far on
her journey. If she got stranded in
strange place she could get on the next
train and go farther on the same ticket,
and so on.
She said she wouldn't do that, but if
the conductor would let her go through
on the ticket she would do SO. The
ticket had been paid for by some one
and she didn't think the road had
moral right to refuse it. | agreed with
her us to that, and she accepted the
ticket with heartfelt thanks and tears
in her eyes. She looked hungry, and l
asked her if she was going through
without anything to eat. She said
she'd have TO, and l felt so sorry for
her that l asked her to go out to a
restaurant and filed her up with oys-
tiers, beefsteak and a lot OF other
things. l remember the bill was $3.50.
Her train went at 1905 o'clock, so l
took her to the theater. If you want
: to love any one, just do something for
EN-. The more did for this poor girl
the more | thought what lovely home
she could make for me- BY the time l
left her at the station l would have
bought her a good ticket, but I'd spent
all my money. l told her to keep up
her courage and she'd go through all
right. She said that l was one of ma
lures nobemen and l would be re
= the train moved away she waved heI
t hand to me out of the coach window
> looking at me with fearful eyes.
1t wasn't a week before | received
a note from the attorney of the road
= over which I'd given the girl a ticket
stating that they had a case agains
me for swindling and must either shu
| up my shop or they would send me t.
state prison. l went at once to the
attorneys office and asked to know
what it meant. He showed me tn,
ticket l had given the girl with a sicl
L mother and asked NE If I'd sold it t.
a deaf and dumb girl l denied thu
charge and admitted I'd given it to 1
girl who could talk as we'll as l could
Then he told me how the ticket ha(
been used.
The girl had pOked it at the conducto
d when he came around, and he told he
d it was no good. She began to talk t
: him with her fingers, and, seeing he
y condition, he had given her a penci
and paper on which she wrote that
ticket scalper had sold the ticket to he
for the regular fare. The road wa
j.. trying to get a case to scare US SCALP
! ers, and the conductor backed by tn
lie passengers. who were indignant q
IS such treatment of a poor deaf an
lie dumb girl. passed her through, but b
ID stipulated that she should give tn
al name of the scalper, which she di
= willingly, expressing the hope that the
J." would punish him sOundly.
Well 1 told my side of the story
and when they sent to the address III
girl had given them for corroboratio
| of her side they found there was II
such street and number in existence
The officers of the road believed tina
the poor girl shrank from appearin
" against me and had, therefore, thu
concealed her abode. But, not havin
any evidence against me. they didn
prosecute me, though l remained III
der cloud with them.
Not long ago In looking over q new
paper my eyes were attracted to a
u item headed. Working the Deaf an
g Dumb Racket" The item stated tn;
re Mary Movers had been arrested II