Life, 1912-06-20 · page 33 of 44
Life — June 20, 1912 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical article—not a cartoon—criticizing the dangerous practices surrounding Independence Day celebrations. Life magazine mocks the reckless use of fireworks in crowded American cities, treating the holiday's carnage with darkly comic exaggeration. The piece highlights genuine hazards: fireworks factories exploding, workers killed, firecrackers maiming children (costing them eyes, fingers, ears), and Catherine wheels endangering horses and women. Life sardonically celebrates the coroner's busy schedule and notes that explosives originally meant for military use are sold openly near pedestrians. The satire's target is adult complacency—the article argues that while fireworks display *is* beautiful, this cannot justify the predictable mutilation and death inflicted on citizens, particularly children. The final point is caustic: even deaf-and-dumb asylum residents cannot escape the three-day "hideous din" preceding July Fourth. This reflects genuine Progressive Era concerns about industrial safety and child welfare, deployed here through exaggerated mock-celebration of preventable tragedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Glorious Fourth of July (As it used to be) For weeks before the Fourth of July the approach of the National Anni- versary is heralded by the blowing up of manufactorics of fireworks and the diffusion of small particles of exploded workmen over miles of startled country. The coroner wears a happy and confident expression of face, and hopefully lingers in the neighborhood of shops where fire- works are sold. Now that fulminate of silver, nitroglycerine and other violent explosives have been converted into play- things for juvenile patriots, the blowing vp of a single small boy may furnish business for a dozen coroners, cach of whom may reasonably hope to pick up a finger, an ear, a jackknife, or other organ of the victim, upon which an inquest can lawfully be held. Not long ago a manufactory of nitroglycerine torpedoes exploded in New York and scattered finely comminuted workmen all over the neighborhood. To-day there are scores of shops in our crowded strects where tons of fireworks are so recklessly ex- posed that the spark of a cigar may sud- denly fill the air with vagrant rockets rushing with murderous intent upon un- suspecting pedestrians, and with flaming Catherine wheels revolving among the legs of passing horses, or dashing against the skirts of terrified women, In the midst of life we are also in the midst of fireworks, and no man knows at what moment his ears may be deafened by an explosion and his hat flattened over his eyes by the parabolic descent of some total though mangled stranger. There is something to be said in de- fense of ornamental fireworks as a means Cleanliness Comfort Charm Colgate quality — ask your dealer the price Automobile | Tires IK : = DP aa for 4cents ¢ 4 OLGATE & CO. Dept.23.199 Fulton StNY. A trial tube, dainty and attractive, mailed Every owner of an auto- mobile who has formerly driven a carriage knows what Kelly-Springficld means on a tire. The great thing about of celebrating the Fourth of July. They panies by burning up a whole city, the Kelly-Springfield Auto- are frequently beautiful in themselves, not be pleaded as a sufficient compensa mobile Tire is that it has the and the extent to which they set build- tion for the torture which he inflicts rubber composition that will ings on fire endears them to mechanics during the twenty-four hours of Inde- eae. in search of employment. Mere ex: pendence Day. If there has been any ponies seer: are utterly sae cer of Lingle among mercans ensible except from the coroner's point! of late years, the cause is to be- sought KELLY-SPRINGFIELD TIRE CO. of view. Firecrackers, torpedoes and ja Areciieis! No aad weulalde of & 20 Vesey Street, New York toy pistols are the instruments with deaf and dumb asylum, who is awakened - pase ence ae eee Phasetohia, Boston, St. which the small boy’s love for noise at midnight on the third of July with a -Wasuegton: Betae, Clevelany Atlanta and Akron, O: makes deafened millions mourn. That hideous din that he knows will grow worse eee OR, DON CON a, the small boy frequently puts out his and worse for the next twenty-four Rubber Co., New Haven .Conn. eyes, or ruins a dozen insurance com- hours, can help feeling that the Declara- (Continued on page 1275) 1273