New-York tribune., 1911-12-13
ONE SEAT TRACED IN
SCANDAL OF BASEBALL
Continued from first page.

as TO why q certain section of the upper
grandstand In the second New York game
was unoccupied. Answer-It was because
they had been discovered racked through
error with the third game tickets and were
sent out from the downtown office as soon
as discovered, but it was too late TO sell
Inquiry No. All other information on the
subject that may have come to your knowl-
edge during the period Of the sale Of tick
cts. or previous thereto or since. Answer
Some official of the New York Baseball
club Is publicly charged with being in col
fusion with ticket spectators for the pur-
pose of fleeing the patrons Of baseball:
Having no personal knowledge of this, and
with a sincere desire and determination to
ascertain whether the charge is true, |
have devoted more than "A month of time
10 this subject, employing for the purpose
all the figures, facts, correspondence and
other means at my command and as a re-
suit ! have been able To trace only one
ticket for the worlds series from legltl-
mate hands TO patron through scalper.
and that ticket passed from the hands Of
August Hermann, chairman OF the Ma
tional Commission, to b. B. Johnson,
president of the American League, I'm
Philadelphia.
The gentleman who used the ticket sat
between August Hermann and John f..
Bruce. secretary of the National Commits
sion, in the seat allotted to b. b. Johnson,
for the third game. and he informed Mr..
Hermann and President Lynch, who also
sat next 10 Hermann, that he bought the
seat from scalper outside or the park
for s..
do not know how many tickets Mr..
Johnson had out of the seven or eight hun
drcd secured by the National Commission
In Philadelphia, but do know that Mr..
IIeyder, secretary Of the National League,
reports that he had two hundred and twen-
ty-iive tickets for the series in New York.
This Is the only fact that ] have been able
10 develop capable Of being substantiated
that accounts for the possession OF tickets
BY ScalperS.
In hliing mail orders there is no way
under heaven by which you can detect the
illegitimatc from the legitimate. Where
there are a hundred thousand people de-
termined witnessing event like the
recent worlds series and there are seats
for hut forty thousand, the SpeculatOr runs
no risk in getting all the seats he can at
any price he may be called upon TO pay.
He is, therefore when the public is invited
to send mail orders. the first one TO take
advantage OF II, using every individual that
can be pressed into service to aid him in
securing the limit allotted to one individual
by mail.
The number of tickets secured by specu-
lators through mail orders was. without
doubt. very large Tickets secured by them
at public sale were also, without doubt
very large i'm number: and since there Is
no law TO prevent an individual from buy
ing and selling again, il Is a moral and
physical impossibility TO suppress ticket
scalping.
. Mali orders for the series were deposited
on Tuesday evening, October 10. in time
for night distribution in some districts and
practically a complete distribution in the
city on Wednesday morning, October IL
Spectators with tickets were thus enabled
TO offer tickets a day before the public
sale opened I'm the St James Building.
few tickets I'm the hands of spectators,
no matter how limited the number. on the
day before the public sale. were worth
Just as much to the newspapers and the
individual who. i'm the rush, failed to get
recognition, for the purpose OF abuse and
criticism, as though sCalpers had obtained
them all and that there had been no filing
OF orders by mail or a public sale.
The fact that the commission has
ordered this investigation to take place
nearly three months after the worlds series
had been PLAYED leads me to presume that
It had positive information which involves
some one OF the officials Of the New York
club ana connects them with a system 10
graft upon the baseball public
II the commission has sufficient informa-
tion To establish the guilt OF any individual
connected with the New York club. / am
as anxious as any one TO know who II T.
that is involved. If the commission has
nothing but unsupported hearsay. then II
IL at fault In keeping this natter alive
and subiecting the New York club TO con-
tinued suspicion and abuse and should. II
II cannot prove ,he charge eXonerate the
club ana its officials. and censure the in
dvdual who made Il.