Life, 1910-06-30 · page 13 of 41
Life — June 30, 1910 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains two distinct elements: **Top image**: "Army Manoeuvres" depicts a military officer addressing soldiers in a field, captioned with dialogue about pardons and battle conditions. This appears to be satirizing military hierarchy or wartime command decisions. **Main article**: "Independence Day Lockjaw" critiques the Board of Health's approach to Fourth of July celebrations. The text argues that lockjaw (tetanus) mortality from fireworks requires stricter regulations on firecrackers, bombs, and toy pistols sold to children. The satire targets government inconsistency: they ban dangerous items yet allow their sale annually, resulting in preventable deaths. **Right cartoon**: Shows a child with a dog, captioned "Fit Guaranteed"—likely sarcastically commenting on the risks to children from unregulated fireworks. The page advocates for public health safety measures during Independence Day festivities, a recurring early-20th-century concern.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: 1181 ARMY MANCUVRES Lieutenant Dubbs. 1 866 youw PARDON—ER—CAN YoU DIRNET MN TO THR FIELD OF BATTLE Day Lockjaw crackers. The old-fashioned torpedoes ledependence ‘Day 1 and Chinese firecrackers seldom hurt and O you know how the Board of anybody. Firecrackers small and bi; Health of the State of New York — fireworks cause fires, and fireworks blow gets ready for the celebration of the up a good deal and hurt people, but what glorious Fourth? This is how: It lays makes lockjaw is cannon crackers, in a large supply of lockjaw medicine. bombs and toy pistols. The board announced some weeks ago It is criminal nonsense to put these that its preparations were complete and things in the hands of children. Fourth that it was well stocked up with tetanus of July 1s suffering just as football has antitoxin to be distributed where needed suffered—from its improvements. There In New York State alone the annual must be restrictions on the noise-making grist of deaths from Fourth of July lock- apparatus that is sold for Fourth of jaw is about one hundred. The State July use. If the tes can't attend to board by its timely preparations hopes it every community must look out for doubtless to reduce this mortality itself. The brains of government ought The board 18 of course to he com- 10 be equal to discrimination between mended for doing what i can, but was what celebration material is permissible ever anything more absurd than the and what is murderous. For that mat- course it has to adopt toward a prevent- ter, the brains of parents ought to be able disease? The way to treat Inde- equal to it, but they are not pendence Day lockjaw is to remove the _ cause of it. The things that do this killing are the infernal toy pistols, the ROCRASTINATION is one of the dynamite bombs and the giant fire most expensive forms of happiness FIT GUAKANTEED comicbooks.com