New-York tribune., 1922-03-21
An1orous Butler,
Held as Insane, i.
IAN - - y o
Asks Court Aid
Probs,, Who Says Wealthy
Clique Kidnapped Him to
Keep Him From Girl, Gels
Writ Returnablc To-day
Names Pittsburgh Persons
Meanwhile Officials at Ellis
Island Are Unrutfled:
Call 1t SsRolitinc Affair"

There are two possible explanations
Of the situation of August Probst, who
|. nov detained as a dangerous nara
,oiae and an undesirable alien in the
osvchopathic ward of the hospital on
rllis Island Either he is suffering
from, an hallucination suggested by the
,omance Of his fellow countryman. Max
nser, and Miss Mathilde McCormick. or
Ne Is the victim of q kidnapping plo.
engineered by men representing one Of
The richest families in the United
States, after he had Won the love Of a
Pittsburgh heiress.
whether this French Swiss serving
mans story is fact or notion should be
,.vealed this afternoon when he is pro
aueed before Fedora, Judge John c.
vnoy on q writ of habeas cornus that
vas served Sunday on the immigration
oSc;als at Ellis Island. There it is in
sisted thst the detention of Probst is
hut a routine affair that followed rs a
natural sequence the reporting by the
White Star Line last June of his de
ssrsion from the stewards department
o,the steamship Olympic.
PyOOkL was diltSISN III pO01Ol0E
house in Trenton, n. j.. on February 27
ou % teiegraphic warrant from the Sec
r,.sry of Labor's office, in Washinp-
ton. and before that midnight the Swiss
vas locked up on Ellis Island. On
March 8 his friend, Max Zimmerman.
also Swiss, retained Attorney Stein
bardt, who went to Ellis Island and ap-
oNed for bail for Probst, pending
hearing of the charges against HIM
Rail in such cases is fixed at $500, but
S.sinhardt was told that his clients
sanity had been questioned and that
Il was not permissible to admit him to
ha;l. An investigation into Probst's
sanity had been ordered by DR.. G.. NJ
ccrbut, acting chief of the Public
geslth Service on Ellis Island Then
s.einhardt retained Bernard Sander as
associate counsel and together they ap-
plied for writ OF habeas corpus.
Doctor Calls Him paranoiac
This investigation. which took the
March Z by two other physicians of the
public Health Service. DR.. II. Y. Wild
man jr. and NJ. +. Shockley. DR.. Wild
nan said yesterdays:
"This man is paranoiac, with anti
social tendencies. The story he tells
nav be based on facts, but his conclu~
SONS are utterly wrong, and even the
trc.s have been enlarged upon. A lay
nan talking with him might be CON
-incsd foi a time that the man was
sas'
Ins story referred to by Dr. Wild
nsa vas not repeated by him, but At
s.lnsy Sander, after a long confer
plnvth his client in the Ellis Island
iespasl psychopathic ward, told in de-
hi Enat it was.
This man is not crazy" declared
Sndlar. az propose to make the peo-
pie Rho say. he is prove It, may ash.
That g number Of persons socially
pro,ainen. in Pittsburgh come to New
York and tell what they know about
t'sis case, and what they may know
about the kidnapping of Probst. Of his
confinement in private prison IN
West l3Tth Street in this city.
"Probst is twentyfour years OLD. FOR
three years of the World War he was
with the colors of his country, cor
poral. Then. after he was demobilized,
ko finally entered the stewards depart
n.nt Of the White Star liner Olympic.
He made several trips to this country.
Last June when the Olympic landed
here Probst met his friend Max Zim-
norman, who told him of position as
butler for the Rolling Rock Club. an
exclusive outing place near Ligonier,
Pa. This is the story Probst told me
just now in his own words:
"1 went to work al Rolling Rock in
June, 1921. | was there until February
%, 1922. Because Of my musical ability
! ,yodel--I was popular with the
membership, which was limited. | was
attracted to one of the wealthy young
Nomen who came to the club and she
vas fond Of me. We exchanged vows
0, love. This girl IS twenty-five. Her
e1osest friend is a girl of nineteen. We
Fefe constantly exchanging letters and
"hen she came to the clubhouse she
vas much in my company. A man of
hef own station in life, and the one who
Usually escorted her TO the club. was
MADE very jealous because of these at
tsnuons. l ignored his glowerine and
lais seemed to infuriate him all the
more.
Threatened Him With Pistol
Once as I was serving him break
iast he pulled big army automatic
pistol from his pocket and laid it or
.ne table beside his plate. Then he
upofaided me about the service and
sought In every way to provoke me.
MY last evening at the club with