Life, 1914-07-09 · page 13 of 40
Life — July 9, 1914 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains two distinct pieces: **"A Fish Story"** (top): A sketch showing what appears to be working-class men and a woman at a table with a barrel, likely depicting a humorous anecdote or domestic scene. The exact narrative is unclear from the image alone. **"Bullets"** (bottom): An article discussing General Villa (likely Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary general) and bullet effectiveness in warfare. The text debates whether bullets are sufficiently lethal, arguing that modern warfare requires ammunition that kills instantly rather than leaves victims lingering. This appears to be satirical commentary on military efficiency and the brutal calculus of warfare. **"Puzzle Picture"** (right): An illustration showing two figures in swimwear with the caption about finding "the girl who is soon to be rescued from drowning"—a visual puzzle for readers. The page reflects early 20th-century American satirical commentary on military matters and popular entertainment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A FISH STORY J Conaress the other day a Senator read a description \ of General Villa, copied from an English paper, in which it was stated that General Villa, in order to save bullets, was in the habit of placing persons in a line close together and then shooting through them from one end to the other. Thus, with one bullet, he can dispose of a number of human beings, upon what might be called the modern efficiency system of getting rid of the enemy. General Villa would not have been able to accomplish this result, however, if it had not been due to the extraor- dinary advance which has been made in the reduced calibre bullet, which is exceedingly destructive, especially in cases where the material is soft and tends to spread under contact. The new bullet, however, is still far from being ideal. There is no method by which it can be guaranteed to kill quick enough. Unless it strikes some mortal part, the victim lingers on for hours or days. What is really necessary is a bullet that kills at once. Only in this way can war become so perfected as to kill itself, for when our engines are so effective that the man who moves first kills all of the enemy, then there will be no excuse for icture—FIND TUF GIRL WHO 1S SOON TO BE RESCUED warfare. FROM DROWNING comicbooks.com,