The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-07-31
STRANGE STORY z,
OF a Man Who Cant Cat in Prison !
Once In Illinois Prison but
PardoAed.. i'&@ r., ..~,

r.. WIN his small, bony, corpse-like
hfst ehuck-full of yellow bills ranging
anywhere from twenty to one hundred
"'l'ars n value, and letting them slip
'hro"gh his fingers at almost every
<.ep he took, Louis A. Gourdain. Of
Nhlcago, claiming to be "convict g.
Hoo at Joliet, scattered sunshine in
wholesale lots along his way from the
'ime ne struck town and drove away
the clouds hoverng over the Raleigh
iln'el last night till his departure
t'lS aftenon for New York in avid
nut calm cndeavor to break his way
mt" prison in order to serve SEN
tence Of "honor," says the Washing
ton Times.
Knocking at the door of the su.
preme court of the United States for
certificate of admission to some
friendly prison proved to be as use
less as his many attempts in courts
OF Chicago which have hroug ght him
widely into public notice the past
few weeks, raising the question as to
the mental condition of the man who
appears to be as same as any Of the
government officials before whom he
earnestly pleads on bended knee for a
chance to keep his promise to serve
ont his sentence.
Gourdain, who was sent up for four
and onc-half years for defrauling
people IN sort Of lottery concern in
New Orleans, declared today that he
believed then aud still believes that
his business was honest and legitimate
he knows he meant to be honest, ut
least, and he had no thought that his
business was not legitimate: Sincere
i'll this belief, Gourdain, like pictur-
"sque orator of an interesting and his
tonc day in the chivalrous past,
fought his case personally, and like
a man. and swore to the court that
If the jury could fail to believe in his
statement, and declared him guilty,
then he would abide by that decision,
no matter if it meant death or life
vi 'Sliai SSi NlluOc.
a man of honor is Gourdain. "Guil-
ty," said the jury, and without
whimper the man firmly set his thin,
pale lips and walked into prison. But
when friends got him out on bail, hop
ing for new trial, his ire has be-
come aroused and across the continent
he has come seeking a friendly hand
in order that his honor may not be i'm
pn"ncd in order that he may keep his
pledge made TO the jury.
of | was dishonest, I did not know
it, said Gourdain, early this morn
ing; "it was my ignorance of the con-
struction Of The law But every man
must know his standard of honor, and
there is no excuse for my breaking
my word. That shall keep. Though
my throat may become parched like
that of pilgrim lost in border
less desert. though the walls Of my
stomach may cave in and lie flat to-
erthcr, and though my body and brain
may become weary for rest and my
cyclids drop for sleep. | will give in
neither [" hunger. nor rravin" for
Slumbcr till | have kept my word. -
Despite this positive assertion Gom-
dain broke the fast he has kept since
he left Joliet On Monday. while at the
capitol this morning. His interview
with the clerk Of the United States
supreme court. in the course of which
he had been refused permission to file
) the queer petition for mandamus he
had prepared, to compel Judge Gross
cup To tlcsnlvr his writ nt SupcrsedaS,
appeared to have discouraged him.
When he emerged from the clerk s
off;ct he was ready to eat--and did
eat. with a vcn9cncc.
Down in the senate restaurant boil
ed eggs. wheat and corn cakes, but
tered toast. coffee. and crab salad
disappeared in quick succession down
Gourdain throat. lie ate aS Il mat
ter of duty, seemingly. aNd with no
particular enjoyment ~ the perform
ance.
"Do You feel any better than YOU
did bcforc?' he WAS asked. the meal
had been concluded
"Not bit he answered. we
been fasting only IL few days and |
could easily have made ii month.
have done it often in the past.
This is what brought Gourdain to
Washington; the motive that he'd him
m the steps of the nations capitol