The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-07-20
CAN'T BREAK INTO JAIL
Supreme Court Justice Refuses
Gourdain Special Order to
Re-enter Penitentiary.
INSISTS ON SERVING TERM.

Chicago Banker and Former Lottery
Agent Considers Himself Bound In
Honor to Do So and Will Build Pri-
vate Prison if Neoessary-WiIl Wipe
Out Family Later.
New York, July 20.-After an inter-
view with Justice White of the United
States supreme court at Narragansett
Pier, Il. l., Louis A. Gourdain, the for
mer alleged lottery agent who is trying
to be readmitted to the Joliet Qll.) pen
itentiary, from which he was recently
released by pardon, deciding that his
effort to get his petition filed with the
supreme court of the United States was
useless, left Narragansett Pier and re-
turned to New York.
Gourdain requested Judge White to
order the clerk Of the supreme court to
accept his petition for readmission to
the penitentiary, but the justice infoym-
ed him that the clerk was perfectly
right in his refusal to receive the petit
tion without a special order of the
court
In the petition, Gourdain explained,
he had set forth that during his trial he
had given his word that if convicted he
would not appeal from the sentence,
but in some mysterious way an attor-
ney had intervened and had secured a
pardon for Gourdain, which the latter
at the earnest solicitation of his wife
had accepted by signing the required
bond.
Says His Honor Is Involved.
Afterward Gourdain explained, he
repented of his action, as he considered
his honor involved because of his prom
ise made in court prior to his convic-
ton, and he therefore desired to be
returned to the penitentiary.
''What kind of~a country is this, any,
how?" asked Gourdain. Here l am
anxious and willing to don the stripes
and serve my time just as any other
convicted man, and they won't let me
do It,
But I'll beat them yet. I'll build my
own little prison in Joliet and stay
there until the time of my sentence has
expired. If they don't let me build the
jail, why I'll convert part of my bank
In Chicago into a cell, inclose it In iron
bars, put on prison garb and live the
life of prisoner in Joliet penitentiary.
s'I'll be on view in Chicago, and may
be when some one makes kick about
having to come In contact with a con-
vict every time he goes to make a de-
posit some one of those learned judges
will order me confined In prison am
in honor bound to do time and I'll do
it despite ali the courts and lawyers in
the land.
after l get out of Jail I'm going to
rid the earth of the Gourdain family
I'll assemble them on private yacht
and not living soul will know the
yachts destination except those on
board. The vessel will never return y
Ran Lottery In Louisiana.
Gourdain, who does not dislike being
considered a multimillionaire, came
into prominence in $780, when he or
ganized the Louisiana grand lottery as
rival to the Louisiana state lottery.
His system was simplicity itself, Gour-
dain issuing tickets numbered exactly
like those issued by the state lottery
and paying the same numbers drawn
by the state lottery.
''The receipts he explained COM
placently, were anywhere from $780,
900 to $1,50O,000 a month. AS paid
my agents % per cent commission and
the state lottery only paid theirs 10
per cent, naturally sold more tickets
than the state lottery did / didn't
have to pay anything for advertising
the winning numbers, the state lottery
/ publishing theirs for me, and also
saved the expense of the drawings. l
went on doing business until 1894,
when the lottery laws shut us both out.
after the lottery business had been
declared Illegal came to New York
and tried the Stock Exchange game.''