Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-22
CASE PUZZLED ROCKVILLE
Young Man Appeared There Mys.
teriously a Week Ago.
COULD NOT TELL WHO HE WAS
About to Be Sent to Asylum, He
Suddenly Recalls Automo-
bile Accident.
Special Dispatch to Tho star.

oPcSSoA DAop3tC0 " Au0 otet.
ROCKVILLE. January 2I-Carl H. Ro-
land. who appeared In Rockville. Nd.
about week ago as II he had been
dropped from the skies and knew abso-
lutely nothing about who he was or
where he came from, has suddenly be-
gun to cross-examine the 5ailers who
have been watching him in the county
jail, and. as the result Of his question
ing, has made 1t plain that for several
months he suffered with q queer form OF
mental malady which deprived him Of his
memory.
Had he not shaken OF the mysterious
aphasia which has held his tongue silent
ever since he received jolt In mys-
terious automobile accident several
months ago he would probably today be
in the Springfield Asylum at Sykesville'
Md. The county commissioners, upon the
affidavits OF two physicians, declared MIN
insane and we're preparing to SEND the
man to the asylum for treatment ana TOT
study by the experts there. AS II Is, the
young man now declares that he is ma
tive Of Youngstown, Ohio. and he will be
returned there as soon as his relatives
reply to kilograms sent last night.
Carl H. Roland appeared in the upper
part Of Montgomery county about
about and could give absolutely no ac-
count of himself. He went from door
to door in listless fashion. soaring chill
dren and women, and men who tried
to get a word from him as to his
identity failed. People asked him his
name, and he either stared blankly at
them or said he did not know. He was
q great mystery in the county, and
people talked much about him. Former
Sheriff James p. Gott ran across the
IRWIN hS has IN
find what the mans trouble. was.
thought 1t best to have him locked up
In Jail at Rockville.
Sheriff Is Mystified.
He was as much Of mystery there as
he was when he was wandering about the
county. The man seemed to know moth
ing about jails. and the fact that he was
behind bars signifIed nothing to him.
Sheriff viett made q special study OF the
| man and could make no more OF him
than any one else. Every day he ques-
toned him. who are your Don't you
want to write q letter home? What
do they give you to eat at homer" All
these questions and scores OF others bear
ing on the generally unforgetable COM
! mon ordinary details OF home and busi-
| ness life were put to the mysterious un-
known, but to every one OF them he an
| swered either with a stare or some unin-
telligible remark that gave no clue to his
identity.
No marks appeared on his clothing.
No names, letters or papers were found
on him. So it became necessary for ply
| sicians to examine the man. They asked
questions. They sought scars or bumps,
but with no success. Meantime lookout
sheets were being scanned, with hope
that some asylum or institution would re-
port a patient missing and wandering
aimlessly abroad. But no lookout sheet
contained any reference to man with a
description to At this Montgomery county
| unknown. The physicians gave afadavits
of the mans defective mental condition
and the commissioners of the county pre-
pared to take care Of an INDECENT insane
patient without name.
Light Suddenly Breaks.
But the day the unknown was to be
| taken to the asylum a great light broke
| on him. He was looking with dull eyes
out the window. Suddenly he turned and
asked the sheriff:
where am I, for goodness sake?'
The sheriff could have been knocked
over with a feather, for instead Of the
| leaden expression Of aphasia sufferers
| the mans face was lighted with the in
telligence of a perfectly normal being.
why, in the Montgomery county jail. p"
Jail! Jail! What have / been doing
| to get in jail. ! was hit In an automobile
| wreck. Where's the rest OF the party ?
Were they hurt?"
And then 1t was UP to the sheriff to
explain. He told the man what he knew,
| and asked him his name.
why. I'm Carl H. Roland"
Where from?'
"Why, Youngstown, Ohio. Where's this
placer"
| I'm Maryland"
Maryland! Maryland! Well, how in
| the name of common sense did I-say.
you're fooling me-"
It took some time for the sheriff to
prove that Rockville was In Maryland.
The last Roland remembers was riding
in an automobile with some friends from
his own town. There was a smash and
q violent blow on the head. How he
came SO far east. where he lived, how
he lived, where he got his clothes and
how he escaped freezing to death during
! the severe storms since his automobile
accident he does not know. and perhaps
| he never will know.