Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-17
HUDSON VERSUS HIRAM
The Two Brothers Maxim Up in Arms
Against Each Other.
Missives Almost as Deadly as Their
Own Missiles-Some Rather
Tart Criticisms.

o. war which predisposes the inventor and
| manufacturer to belligerency?
This is question which is naturally sug-
| gested by the state of war which is at
| present existing between Hiram Maxim,
the ihventor, among other things, of the
famous Maxim gun, and his younger broth
| er. Hudson Maxim. who is also responsible
| for a number of high explosives. He is the
| joint inventor, for one thing of the Maxim
Schupphaus smokeless powder which is
| new used in our navy.
Readers of The Star will remember that
some time ago Hudson Maxim wrote to
| The Star and other American newspapers
as well as directly to the United States
government, offering his inventions and
services absolutely free of charge, even for
personal expenses, to build and erect one
o. his torpedo guns for the defense of New
York harbor, and also to build a fast
cruiser and equip the same with guEs for
throwing aerial torpedoes. and rendering
his services as well TO serve on board in
the present war.
In few newspapers particularly in Eng
land. the credit for this offer was given to
Hiram Maxim, but it seems that he did not
appreciate the honor that was unintcnton-
ally done him. He at once rushed into
print dsclaiming any responsibility for the
offer and characterzing it as foolish, absurd
and ridiculous. 1t was rot clear just why he
| should take so much umbrage at the mis-
that he has solved the problem, as the fol-
lowing letter goes to show:
Brother Against Brother.
ITO the Editor of The Evening Star:
My attention has been called to numer-
Gus disclaimers of Mr.. Hiram s. Maxim.
which have recently appeared in American
newspapers. and which originally appeared
In the Pail Mall Gazette of London May 8
last under the head, Hiram S. Maxim AMI
SPAIN Enclosed I send you my reply 70
the said disclaimer. AS Hiram's disclaim-
err appears to have been written to curry
favor with Spain for the benefit of his
Spanish interests, as will be seen further
| on, hope that you will publish this letter,
together with the inclosed cutting from the
Pail Mall Gazette, in the interest of what
is right. wholly American and forever anti
Spanish
'Hiram's statement in his disclaimer that
he and the firm of Ficker's Sons & Maxim
are annoyed with the fear that my claims
should be attributed to him, together with
certain statements made by him recently in
the London daily papers, will. l think,
throw some light upon the purposes of his
disclaimer. and which may be of interest to
the American public.
In the London Daily Mail of April "a
1893, Hiram says: Everything except ships
has been purchased of us by one or both
OF the countries. I have been requested by
Dcth the governments interested not to give
out too precise information, but there are
some facts l am at liberty to communicate.
Or the great quantities of ammunition and
OF all sorts Of war material we have been
selling to both governments, it would be
easier to say what the orders placed in our
hands have not called for than what they
have. The making of Maxim automatic
guns is being pushed forward rapidly in
Spain. too. where we have the only author
lied private arms factory
AS Nicker's Sons & Maxim have a fac
tory in Spain, where Maxim guns are being
turned out for employment against the
United States. might it not be thought
prejudicial to the interests of Messrs. Wick
er's Sons & Maxim that Hiram should ap-
pear too active in his enmity to Spain?
thought he who had offered his services
and Inventions free of charge to be used
against Spain.
Hfrnm's Position.
"Hiram's statements that he believes that
II was the Cubans instead of the Spaniards
who blew up the Maine, his sentiments
against the war and his reference to the
Cubans half breeds expressed in the
following sentences, copied from the Lon
don Globe of May 3 last, will enable intelli-
gent Americans to read between the lines
OF his disclaimers Hiram, while deprecat-
ing the interference (by the United States)
on behalf of the Cublns,' states that ne
| is positive as to the cause of the Maine
disaster and tfat the most likely solu-
probably fired by Cubans from a rowboat
| TO enlbroil Spain with the United States, ;
and he adds: 1 shall never be got to be-
/ lieve that the bulk of the hardheaded sen
| sihle American population really wants to
| nix itself up in foreign complications on
| account of "a few thousand half breeds in
| Cuba
He said in his disclaimer that he is a
| good and patriotic American. 1 am glad
| he said that That he said it is evidence
| that it needed saying. Two of our
| brothers, younger than Hiram and older
| than 1, the younger enisting when only
| fifteen, gave up their lives in the service
! OF their country in the great American re-
| bellion.
| Hiram enlisted but was like Mark
| Twain's Innocents, who, when they saw
| Bedouins, all charged to the rear, fearing
| an attack from that quarter, Hiram
| charged over the line into Canada. Such
| patriotism resembles that of Artemus
| Ward, who said he would rather sacrifice
| all his wfe's relations than that one single
state should be left out of the Union
| Faithfully,
HUDSON MAXIM"
The cutting from the Pail Mall Gazette,
| referred to by Mr.. Maxim, is a long letter
| from him on the same subject, of which
| the following is an extract:
Evident Jenlousy
1T is not exactly apparent in Hiram's
| disclaimer what it is that he characterizes
| as foolish absurd and ridiculous. Is it the
| offer of services to the United States gov
| eminent. or 10 it that 1t is foolish, absurd
| and ridiculous that he should be connected
| with or be the author of a system of throw
ing aerial torpedoes? Let us examine this
| Hiram has himself invented a torpedo gun
| for throwing high explosives 1t has been
built and fired. He employs an explosive
| mixture of compressed air and gasoline va
por. The projectile is started with the
pressure of the gases, and after it has
| moved a certain distance along the bore of
the gun, the explosive mixture is fired Civ
| ing the projectile extra push. Hiram
| has also proposed to drop aerial torpedoes
| on warships, Notifications and towns from
| a flying machine; but after expending a
| large amount of money the longest flight
| that his machine ever made was when it
| broke loose from the rails on which it was
| confined, and flew about as far as a loco
| motive would under the same circum-
| stances.
| LAS counter to my proposition to the
| United States government. Hiram has Of
| fered his advice free Of charge, and rec-
| ommends the pouring of oil upon the
| troubled waters in the event of New York
| being attacked, and setting fire to the oil
| There are. however, too many American
| citizens who are offering something more
| substantial than advice and who intend