Life — January 2, 1913 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A New Year's Resolution" - Life Magazine Satire This page presents a poem by Gordon Carruth about making and breaking New Year's resolutions, accompanied by two satirical illustrations. The top vignettes show figures attempting to "crush sin" through yearly resolutions, which the poem suggests is futile—resolutions are historically "a lasting institution" that people never keep. The larger bottom illustration depicts an angelic figure being literally pulled apart by competing forces labeled 1913, with small devils and demons tugging in different directions. The caption "THE SPEED REGULATIONS NEVER PLEASE EVERYBODY" suggests this satirizes ongoing disputes over automobile speed laws during the 1910s era. The cartoon mocks how no matter what regulations are imposed, different groups remain unsatisfied—a timeless complaint about government policy.