Description:

Maxim Hudson 1853 - 1927 Japanese beetle hunter Hudson Maxim warns of invasion

Seven typed single sided sheets, 8.5" x 11", circa 1923, boldly signed by Hudson Maxim on the final page as "Hudson Maxim". Undated (but accompanied by a photostat letter dated March 12th, 1923 which references his manuscript). Expected folds with a small staple hole upper left corner. Lightly toned, else near fine.


Hudson was a U.S. inventor and chemist who invented a variety of explosives, including smokeless gunpowder, Thomas Edison referred to him as "the most versatile man in America". His manuscript first prepares the reader as if Japan is preparing to invade the US and says what our natural response would be; however it then segways into the fact that it is actually a non human invasion. "America is already invaded right here in New Jersey and the conquest of America has already begun. We cannot console ourselves that our Japanese enemy is not a human enemy for an invading army of real Japanese soldiers, even a million of them, would be a less menace ... If we were invaded by a real Japanese army, we might rise up and expel the invaders, or, failing in that, we might purchase our freedom with a heavy indemnity ... The Japanese beetle if the most all-devouring, the most universally destructive insect pest in the world."

However it is perhaps his illuminating analysis, one which can be applied to most all invasions, or diseases affecting humans or plants (think Eboli), or even terrorism, natural preventable disasters, or even the man made destruction of our planet's delicate balance and resources, which all drive home the need for a quick response before things get out of control. In sum, he cites the following example of what happens when things are allowed to develop without checks and balances (think metaphorically):

"The infestation of the Japanese beetle started in 1916 at Cinnaminson, Burlington County, New Jersey. Less than a square mile was infested the first year, when with the expenditure of but a few dollars the pest could have been easily entirely destroyed. The next year only 2.7 square miles were infested and $100,000 would then have cleaned it up the insect. Even the next year, when only 6.7 square miles were infested, a quarter of a million dollars would have exterminated the pest, yet nothing adequate was done, and the next 48 square miles were infested. In 1920, one hundred and three square miles were infested; in 1921 two hundred and seventy and in 1922, seven hundred and seventy-three. It would now probably cost from ten to fifteen millions of dollars to exterminate the pest, to say nothing of the necessary destruction of every growing plant over the infested area. Every automobile and other vehicle passing into and out of the infested areas would need to be rigidly and thoroughly inspected in order to prevent the beetle from being carried into uninfested territory. From Ten to Fifteen million dollars is certainly a lot of money, but if the beetle is allowed to spread over the territory of the United States -- and it will spread over the entire territory wihtin a few years if not prevented -- it will cost the people of the country more than two BILLION dollars a year ..."

A fantastic manuscript with a fascinating introspective on the mathematical progression of a single ripple of water initially created by a tiny pebble (in this case the Japanese beetle) and the vast impact it will have on the planet. And a wonderful signed manuscript by "the most versatile man in America"

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