New Britain herald., 1919-04-10
bina at Torreon, Mexico, when the


 An application to the German con- sul for transportation to Germany to enter the army was fruitless, so Rode made his way to the coast and worked his way to Denmark, eventually reaching the eastern front, where ne fought under Field Marshal Macken- sen at Grodno, Sawville, Kalvaria and from Jarslaw to BTestlotovia, being twice wounded and receiving the iron cross May ie, 1915, and also the Aus trian service medal for bravery.
 In the fall Of that year he was summoned to Berlin and assigned to the intelligence department. After having his photograph taken TOO ! marks were given him and he was ordered to report to the German con- sulate at Il Broadway. New York. It was shortly before he sailed from Copenhagen on board tho Steamship , Frederick II. that he called at the American embassy, d fact which re- suited in his subsequent conviction be- fore the court t-martial here The Frederick II. left for New York , october Is, 1915, with Bode listed un- der the name of William Reed. The Prince and Princess von Hazenfeldt were also pa ssen gers. Upon arrival here Bode at once received s2218 from the German consul and started 1 the same night on his way to San Francisco. whence he went to the Far East. Three months later he was on his way back to California on board 1 the Am erican steamship Maru, when Russian general, who was a fellow passenger, became suspicious of him. l So Bode went ashore at Honolulu, 1 catching another liner two weeks la to , and Havana and doing nothing in ! either city, Rode next went to Madrid Spain, where he found himself under
 the surveillance of the Allied secret service.
 His Work in Mexico.
 On July 1e, 1916, acting on orders 1 from Berlin, Rode obtained a Suanish passport under the name of Rafael Rodriguez Gomez and boarded the
 Maria Christiana for Vera Cruz via i Havana.
 'T then proceeded to Mexico City"
 said Bode in his testimony before the i court-n1 artial. "and reported to the
 military attache, a pr. Mangus. I also
 met Ambassador von Eckhardt and
 we talked plans over and he told me to wait the arrival of other agents
 because he disagreed with instruc- tions I had from Berlin and was not
 sure of my identity. My instructions l were to blow up the oil fields at Tam , pico and to embroil the United States
 into war with Mexico.
 Finally agents arrived from the 1 States--Capt. Hinge, formerly captain of the Ham burg American line, and
 Capt. Nekker, who ran the blockade 1 from Cuba to Baltimore in 1914, who
 Is at present chief of the secret serv- 1 ice at Mexico city, with Dr. Brown, ] once a. surgeon on the German cruis- l CT Karlsrue. as his assistant It was ] then agreed I was the mot cax5a.ble 1 man to carry out a project in the l United States to blow up the Laguna 1 Dam and destroy the railroad bridge ] at Yuma.
 Then came the opportunity for ! which I had been waiting, giving me 1 8 chance to connect with the United
 States government. My instructions i were to proceed to Yuma and settle
 there to live. I was to obtain pictures l of the bridge and supposed trenches 1 and artillery easements and wire en- 1 tanglem ents on the American side Of { the border.'
 When Bode arrived at La Bolsa, at
 the mouth of the Colorado river. he 1 was arrested by Carranzista troops. ! He was later released and reached l Padarones, where 8 German resident
 1old him the Mexicans were about to sh., him across the border, on sus- 1 pcion that he was an American spy. 1 Eventually Rode crossed the line him self because. he testified, T saw they
 were still bent on murdering people,"
 He was first taken to San Diego and
 later brought to Governors Island for
 trial. His sentence was passed March
 1s.
 ! Bode, who at various times has