Cops to Take Steps Against Ticket Resale

Three details of plainclothesmen from three police forces will patrol the Soldiers Field area Saturday in an effort to crack down on would-be scalpers of Yale game tickets.

Cambridge, Allston, and Metropolitan District Police said yesterday they intend to have several detectives in the environs of the Stadium. At least 16 men will be on duty, in addition to the several squads of uniformed policemen normally patrolling the area on Saturday afternoons.

Cambridge Police Chief, Patrick F. Ready, said, "I'll have all my detectives out Saturday. Probably close to 16 or 20 of them will be down where they can catch ticket scalpers--if any are around."

The Cambridge police have jurisdiction as far as the Boylston St. side of the Larz Anderson Bridge. The bridge itself, and sections of the Soldiers Field Road, come under the authority of the Metropolitan District police. An MDC official said several plainclothesmen will be stationed on the bridge and along the road.

$600 Fine

The immediate area of the Stadium, which falls under Allston police authority, will be covered by at least two detectives, in addition to a uniformed sergeant and four uniformed officers.

Under Chapter 140, Sec. 185a of the "General Laws of Massachusetts," scalping may draw a maximum penalty of a $500 fine. According to this regulation, "No person shall engage in the business of reselling any ticket or tickets of admission . . . to any public . . . exhibition . . . without being licensed therefor by the Commissioner of Public Safety."

Police officials contacted yesterday said they had heard rumors of scalping on Harvard-Yale tickets, but had not apprehended any persons. According to Chief Ready, "If any scalpers came back to their old haunts, I think I'd recognize them. I haven't seen any of them yet. But I wonder if there isn't a great deal of scalping going on. All the publicity the game has been getting will lead people to buy from scalpers."