The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-29
ON DEATH BED.
L. A. GOurdain, King of Lottery
Sharks, Dying.
In Last Stages of Consumption
at Wife's Home.
IN JAIL AT TOPEKA.
He Served a Sentence of Six
Months.
Convicted Before Judge Foster
of Lottery Operations.
N JAIL AT TOPEKA.

New Orleans, Nov. 29.-Louis A.
Gourdain, the king of lottery sharks, is
dying at the home of his n1other-in-
law in this city. He is attended night
and day by his wife and son. His
malady is consumption in its worst
form. The end is matter of only a
few days.
How he feeced his thousands of vic
Tins throughout the United States, how
this master of frenzied finance, without
one cent Of capital, accumulated in ten
years $500, 900 to $1.eoO,0O0, building a
mansion in fashionable St. Charles av-
enue with a fence tipped with pure
gold; how Gourdain, the same daring
adventurer who, in his declining days,
sought to regain his lost notoriety by
buying a plot of ground adjacent to the
Joliet prison in Illinois, on which to
erect a Jail for himself and serve the
sentence which was denied him in the
federal court at Chicago, is partly re-
vealed by the opening of a package Of
literature purchased for so cents at an
.old hoss'' sale OF an express company
hero.
Gourdain's million dollars has been
squandered, and there is no hope of
restitution for the duped widows and
orphans
He attained notoriety in many ways.
When arrested by the New Orleans de-
tectives some years ago on a fake lot
terry charge he appeared for trial be-
fore the late Judge Noise and insisted
on being allowed to plead his own case
On the day of the hearing he came into
court wearing IN alpaca coat, white
flowing bosom shirt, thin trousers and
velvet slippers. 1t was the dead Of
winter and fires were roaring in the
court room furnaces. He sent a court
attache to a jewelers. and bought an
ivory fan, and While everyone else was
budding around the stoves in an effort
to keep warm, Gourd9in, erratic and
smiling as ever. piled the fan, trying.
as he did, to cool himself.
With native French grace this urbane
schemer captured the crowd and when
he began the CROSSE examination of wit
nesses for the prosecution the Jury ig-
nored repeated warning from the bench
and became hilarioas Gcurdain was
acquitted while the 5utymen sat in the
box.
The "old hoss" package had lain In
the local express office for year. It
contained option tickets of Gourdain
to the value Of $123.50. together with an
invoice and letter of Instructions. Ths
bundle and letter were addressed to c.
Doris. OF Derby, Pa. and had been sem
to Gourdain at New Orleans.
According to the date en- the letter ad-
dressed to Doris, the package was ex-
pressed to him from New Orleans via
Chicago. on November "A. 1905. The
letterhead is handsomely enbla zcned.
In the left corner is the figure of blind
Justice holding in her hand a cornuco-
pia, from which flows large stream OF
coin of the realm. Above the figure, il.
large lettering, are the words
''Prepa yment. Privilege. System
In the right corner is the figure of a
pelican feeding its young, and above
are the words:
Lots Money Option
Between the two figures is the name
of one of Gourdain's many banks. "the
Louisiana Trust Banking company,
Chemical, Building. New Orleans, La