The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-07-27
WILL BUILDPEN
OF HIS OWN
Millionaire Gourdain is Determined
to Serve Prison Sentence.
IS A MATTER OF HONOR
Angered at Attorney for Securing His
Release He Seeks Aid of United
States Supreme Court.

Usually men fight hard to keep out
Of the penitentiary, but Charles A.
Gourdain, member of a we'll known
Louisiana family, is fighting with all
the means at his command to get in
the peniteniary at Joliet, Ills. He is
busy seeking a United States judge
who will sign a mandamus that will
open the gates of the pen.
GOuardain declares that he has
pledged his whole energy and large
private fortune to the cause OF his
honor, which he staked in court when
he was on trial for fraudulent use
of the mails that he would not appeal
should he be found guilty.
He hopes to be able to reach one
of the supreme court justice with his
plea, or else find some other plan
to get back into the Joliet penften-
riary If he fails, he says, he will
build a private penitentiary at Joliet,
and serve out his sentence in his
own penitentiary under exactly the
same conditions as If he were a pris-
oner in the government penal insti-
tuition. Gourdain. estimates his own
fortune at $5O,O0O0OO
Some men worship money Some
men worship God. Others worship
other things l worship honor"
This is the motto of GOurdain that
has brought about the most remark
able appeal that ever was called to
the attention Of the supreme court
of the United States.
Eearly last year the United States
authorities got after Gourdain on ac-
count of land scheme he was con-
Quoting from Chicago, involving lands
near the oil fields of Jefferson, La.
The case came to trial in May last
in Chicago, and Gourd2in put in no
defense. He said he would make no
appeal, but would serve his sentence
and at the conclusion of that SEN
fence would turn over his entire for
tune to the postofIice authorities to
pay back every person in full all that
they had subscribed toward the land
scheme and the entire GOurdain fam
lily would then quit the United States
forever.
The jury was out fifteen minutes
and returned with verdict of guilty.
Gourdain said that he was satisfied,
and asked for immediate sentence, and
demanded that the sentence be all
that the law provided for in his Of
Tense. Judge Lands said he would
comply with the demand, and SEN
fenced Gourdain to four and half
years in Joliet, and the next day,
June 8, he entered the penitentiary.
Although Gourdain is Of slight
build and weighs only 100 POUNDS,
he picked out the job Of shoyeling
coal for himself, and told the keep
er he would shovel more coal than
any other prisoner, and lived up to
the agreement.
While he was cheerfully serving
time, his lawyer, as he claims, with
out his knowledge or consent, WAS
working for his release, and through
A writ of supersedeas before Judge
Grosscup had Courdain transferred
from Joliet to Chicago, on July 8, and
LODGED in the county Jail Gourdain
was very angry and declared that this
proceeding was against his agreement
with himself, and demanded that he
be taken back to Joliet. The only
way he could obtain selease from the
county Jail was to sign a bail bond,
and he took this course and was
let out on bail.
Gourdain Immediately returned to
Joliet and demanded to be received
again as a prisoner, but the warden
would not admit him. Defeated at all
noints in his effort to get back into
the penitentiary, Gourdan conceived
the idea of appealing to the supreme
court of the United States for writ
Of mandamus committing him to the
Joliet peniteniary.