Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-10-30
FREEDOM BECKONED
To ARNOLD HENCKEL
WHO PLANNED ESCAPE
German Officer Never Wants
to See FatherIand Again, but
Longs for the Open Road, He
Tells Journal Reporter
BY WARD GREENE.

ITO be free! To 30 where YOU will
and do what you please; to be out n
the open like other men, with the wind
in your face and the sun in your eyes.
Not 10 be cooped up in chicken wire
under a sentry's gun, but to be free.
That's why we did it,"
Arnold Henckel, the German officer
who has won the name of The Modern
Monte Cristo." by his five attempts to
escape from his enemies. thus gave the
reason for the tunnel flight from Fort
Mcpherson, just before he, with four of
his companions. was placed i'm a sheet
iron cell AT the war prison barracks at
a late hour last night.
Il had no friends on the outside. I did
not want TO go back to Germany, /
never want to see Germany again. I only
wanted to be free he told a reporter
for The Journal, as the two sat side by
side I'm the automobile that bore Henckel
through the night from the Terminal
station to the war prison.
WILL TRY 1T AGAIN.
Yes. I will try again." he nodded. his
white teeth breaking into a jolly smile.
How don't know. Underground was
the best way: right now / don't see any
other. No"-meditatively- don't
know-yet. But / will try again. think
] need an aeroplane-yes?"
With an engaging frankness and IN
English marked only by n slight ac-
cent, Henckel spoke freely. relating
every incident of the tunnel escape,
from the time he, an officer of eng!-
neers. drew the plans. until he was cap
tured Friday by Georgia farmers at
Surrency. Ga. and brought back TO
Atlanta by the Surrency city marshal
and Surrency justice of the peace.
HE PLANNED ESCAPE.
1t was Henkel who planned the escape
five hours after he reached Fort McPher-
son from Oglethorpe. 1t was Henkel
who had a sailor steal a pick and a
shovel Ii was Henkel who connected
the electricity with the tunnel and got a
score of men to dig day and night. 1t
was Henkel who picked the nine men
20 go with him and persuaded a hundred
others not to try il. 1t was Henkel who
led them to the Terminal station and
bought their tickets for south Georgia.
1t was Henkel who stuck by them be-
cause they could not speak English. al
though he himself might easily have
escaped alone. And ii was Henkel who.
after their capture. turned to l.. J. Bailey.
Atlanta, chief of the departmnt of JUS
tice, and said:
Say, Mr.. Bailey, if there's any blame
for this, it's mine-see? / planned 1t
and 1 engineered ii all. 1 don't know
what they do TO a prisoner of war for
trying TO escape, but whatever it is, do
it to me, and let the others 60"
The return of Henkel and the four 9th
ers to Fort Mcpherson was the main de-
velopment of the day Saturday in the
south-wide man hunt for the escaped
Germans. With the capture of Henkel
and his four companions, Carl SchultZe,
nd
Granz Beer, added to the capture Of
Johann Adlehardt at the j. K. Orr Shoe
companys factory Friday, and the cap
ture of Paul Falk. the first to be taken,
on Carroll street last Wednesday, only
three of the escaped prisoners are still
at large.
They are Lieutenant Hans Berg. the
Romeo captain of many sweethearts, and
two sailors, Alfred Goescher and Paul
Sadel. officials believe that they are
still in Atlanta, but so far no clue to
their whereabouts has been reported. A
telephone call to police station Saturday
night said that a German was seen near
the Fulton Bag & Cotton mills disguised
as a woman, but investigation proved
this a false alarm.
Henkel. SchultZe, ct al. arrived in At
Ianta at 500 o'clock Saturday night on
board Southern railway train Number 26
from Brunswick. Ga They had been
riding all day in the Pullman. with
Robert r. Newman and Howell F. Jack
son. two secret service men from At
lanta: J. II. Carroll. city marshal of Sur
rency; and G. L. Sykes, justice of the
peace of Surrency. The two latter were
the leaders of the farmers who caught
the Germans near Surrency, and they
will collect S25O-S5O a head-as reward
before they return to Surrency some time
today.
Quite a flattering reception committee
was on hand at the Terminal station to
greet the prodigal sons" as somebody
called them. but there was no fatted calf
in sight. Only half a score secret serv-
ice men, newspaper reporters and a pho
tographer who had his camera all set up
and waiting.