The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-02
HOW GOURDAIN BEAT THE
 LOTTERYAT ITS OWN GAME

I flee himself. leaving Dalton in charge in
 Chicago and allowing the third partner
 to handle the New Orleans headquarters.
 The firm named assumed for the pur- poses of the fraud was w. L. Jackson l Co.,, New Orleans.
 l The 100000 counterfeit tickets were
 made up into packages containing from S20 to $loO worth each. Into each bundle went a circular letter, the tenor of which
 was as follows:
 Dear sir: No matter how old and well established business may be, the time l comes when 1t requires advertising and l We have chosen this means of advertis- ing our goods You have been recom- mended to us as a proper person to act ! as our agent.
 We are sending you a package con lalnlng $lOO of our tickets, which you will sell, retain 20 per cent and forward bal ance to us In a separate envelope you l will find two fractional tickets bearing the same number This number will draw l $10,00O.
 Keep one of these and give the other 1 to prominent citizen who will be willing
 to make affidavit that he drew a prize. If you are as shrewd a person as we be- lieye you to be, 1t is not necessary to send a hammer with this package to ] drive the point into your head" Gourdain's theory that the supply of suckers was inexhaustible was vindicated 1 The returns began to come in by tht
 bushel The officers of the company whose tickets had been eounterfeited ragged and 1 fumed. They finally sued out an iniunc- ton restraining tho express company from delivering the money packages to Gourdain and his accomplies. and if ia estimated that hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent back by the express company to the senders.
 As 1t was, the proceeds of the conn i amounted, far into the hundreds of thou sands of dollars, and may have reached slO00,OOO. Gourdain started bank in New Orleans and began to hurl money away He did not drink gamble nor use to-
 bacco. He did not indulge in any of the common vices of the unpiincpled rich But he burned money with torch in each hand.
 His eccentrcities were construed as
 methodical madness for advertising pur- poses. but after he began to drive through the streets lollng in his sumptu-
 ous carriage. attired in his bath robe, he was "interdicted" and sent to the Louisi- ana retreat, or asylum for the insane, where he was confined for a year. After his release from the asylum he started another doubtful game and served six months in the Topeka jail. From there he drifted to New York and opened a Dank. He was sent to Blackweiis lS- land for year. Then he showed up at Omaha during the exposition He was broke, and got $500 from New Orleans man who was willing to risk the money on the promise that Gourdain would make him a millionaire. Dalton again Joined him and they bought swamp land in Louisiana and sold 1t for oil land. They
 made a cool million out of the scheme
 Now Dalton and Gourdain are both
 headed for the pententiary. Dalton, be-
 sides being convicted with Gourdian for
 fraud Is under sentence for feviclnQ
 young girls. It is apparent that Gour-
 dain,s attempts to break back into prison are made for some ulterior purpose be- cause to remain there when he was in it would only have been necessary to refuse to sign a bond for his release All he has to do to get back Is to get his partner. Jack Dalton, to surrender him on his bond The government officials believe he Is laying some new scheme against the time when he gets out hnally-for he n
 sure to serve his tima.