The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-06
Not Sufficient Evidence Is Found By the National
 Commission
MORALLY CERTAIN
 OF GUILT, HOWEVER
Tickets in Large Numbers Were in Hands of Spectators and News paper Criticisms Were
 Warranted

Cincinnati, January 5.-The final lid was clamped and sealed here today the celebrated ticket scalping scandal that clouded the baseball horizon immediately after the worlds series in New York and Philadelphia last October While the national baseball commission gathered enough evidence to assure it that whole- sale ticket scalpng took place in both towns, this evidence indicated neither the New York Nationals or Philadelphia American League club owners. managers. play CTS or employees were m collision with tho scalpers.
 The commission holds that the charges of the press at the time were justified. but generally scores number of persons who at the time of the episode offered to produce proof as to the alleged eoi- l hsion but failed to do so. In addition to exonerating both clubs the commission praises them for the extra precautions that were taken against scalp Ing, state and municipal legislation against sealpine is urged.
 The finding in part follows.
 Finding in Part After a thorough investigation of re- 
 ports from newspaper and other sources that ticket scalping was openly practieed in each city of the world series of 19il. the national commission has reached the following conclusions.
 Tickets in large numbers were in the hands of speculltors in both the cities of New York and Philadelphia. and were sold al eNorbtant prices
 Newspaper criticisms were to lhfs eS- tent warranted and justined.
 Insofar as the clubs or officials of tho two clubs are concerned there has been nothing developed. even by ntimation, that would in any way impcate any of them as having been in collision with the ticket speeulators. but on the con- trary it has been shown that every reas- onable preeaution was taken by both clubs to protect the public
 -flt isassident that | was tllc aln of both clubs to provide adcanatelS for their regular patrons. In Philadelphia the nunl- Der of reserved seats held for tho first day ayas s93S. or this number the club Itself distributed siSl tickets among ls persons, consisting of club officials. pubic officials. Philadelphia newspaper men,
 
 names of all of the persons having been furnished the commission. In addition to this, that club has also furnished lho commission statement showing to whom the tickets furnished these persons were afterward allotted, thus making com pete record of the disposition of slsl tick cts out of total of S9Js sold The tick cts representing the difference between those properly accounted for and tho total number sold were sent out tu hll mail orders. It must be apparent there fore, that whatever tickets eventually found their way into the hands of scalp CTS was through method best known to those engaged in the business of spec ulatlng in tickets and in small numbers in each lot and for which neither the club owners their officials or employees were responsible.
 New York Situation
 Tn New York the tickets for the first game were disposed in the following man ner:
 "A. out of a total of Sii boxes the com. mission was furnished with list showing the names of persons to whom 39e of these boxes were sold directly to tho purchasers by the club.
 "I3. The club has also furnished the com mission with statement showing tho name of inviduals t95l to whom they per sonally distributed 4OOS tickets. This num- Der included 15i9 tickets furnished tha National commission. Included in this number were the tickets distributed by the commission to the newspapefs throughout the country
 "C. The club has also furnished the com mission with sworn statement show ing that there was sent out by them through the mails 1914 tickets.
 ID. The club also states that they sold at their offices on the day before the games to newspapers. friends and priyi- legged persons total of 1873 tickets. The names of these persons were not sup- mltted to the commission. The total num- Der of tickets sold Geserved) for the first game. exclusive of box seats, shown by the record was BAY. It is the contention of the New York club that the difference between this amount and the number Of tickets "B" and "D' represents the to- tai number of tickets sold at the public sale on Thursday. viz: 12,62i.
 Spectators Successful
 "It is also the contention of the New York club that tickets secured by spec
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