Hopatcong's Founding Father Hudson Maxim's Movie Ushered a Strong Navy & Brought on a Battle with Henry Ford

Hopatcong can be proud of its founding father Hudson Maxim who advocated for a strong navy defense as the nation marvels over today's new navy ship the USS Gerald R. Ford that had its formal commission on July 22, 2017.

One can say that today's modern day navy got its jump start on September 1915. That is when a Navy Advisory Board of Inventions was formed. Famous members of this team was Thomas Edison and Hopatcong's legendary resident - Hudson Maxim . Hudson Maxim was chosen because he was an explosive inventor but more importantly he was a prolific writer who published an influential book titled “Defenseless America”. His book passionately warned the U.S. about the threat of war with a well-armed Germany and he advocated a strong navy as the best defense. Hudson Maxim's adversary against a strong navy was Henry Ford.

Although Henry Ford was a close friend of Thomas Edison, he felt the best protection was to negotiate for Peace instead of building up a defense system. He set sail with a boat of pacifists to Europe to negotiate an agreement that would end the Great War. His chartered Peace ship the Oskar II left Hoboken, New Jersey on December 4, 1915. It became a very sad voyage. Ford was unable to persuade participation and representation from the warring nations to this conference. His peace plan failed to negotiate an Armistice.

Unlike Ford’s Peace voyage, Hudson Maxim’s book on rearmament (“Defenseless America”) was a big success. His best-seller went on to inspire a movie. "The Battle Cry of Peace" was released by Vitagraph Theater on September 9, 1915. Hudson. Maxim appeared in the movie where he quoted his warning message from his book. Former President Theodore Roosevelt, expressed regrets that he could not be present for the film’s début. The former President was also a fan of the book.

Henry Ford was incensed by the success of the pro defense movement that this movie had inspired and the failure of his own peace mission. On May 5, 1916, he paid to publish a caustic review of the movie in 250 US newspapers. His critical piece was entitled “Humanity and Sanity." These actions caused J. Stuart Blackton, vice-president of the Vitagraph Company of America to file suit in the New York Supreme Court for damages of $1,000,000.

Regardless of all these peace vs defense feuds, Thomas Edison had developed a great friendship with Hudson Maxim. Edison had a high regard for Maxim whom he called “the most versatile man in America.”

Ironically, beside being a big navy advocate, Hudson Maxim's was also a popular socialite of his time. A few years after his movie, Hudson Maxim became King Neptune during the first two years of the Miss America Pageant in 1921 and 1922. However, it is unfortunate "The Battle Cry of Peace" is a lost movie that can't be salvaged like a treasure chest lost at sea even when its owner is King Neptune.