46
THE SOLDIER ON CRUTCHES
B y E dgar A. G uest
He came down the stairs of the laugh
ter-filled grill
Where patriots were eating and drink
ing their fill.
The tap of his crutch on the marble of
white
Caught my ear as I sat alone there that
night.
I turned— and a soldier my eyes fell
upon.
He had fought for his country, and
one leg was gone!
As he entered a silence fell over the
place;
Every eye in the room was turned up
to his face;
His head was up high and his eyes
seemed aflame
W ith a wonderful light, and he laughed
as he came.
He was young— not yet thirty—yet
never he made
One sign of regret for the price he
had paid.
One moment before this young soldier
came in
I had caught bits of speech in the
clatter and din
From the fine men about me in life’s
dress parade
Who were boasting the cash sacrifices
they’d made,
And I’d thought of my paltry service
with pride
When I turned and that hero of battle
I spied.
I shall never forget the hot flushes of
shame
That rushed to my cheeks as this young
fellow came.
He was cheerful and smiling and clear-
eyed and fine,
And out of his face a white light
seemed to shine.
And I thought as he passed me on
crutches: "How small
Are the gifts that I make if I don’t
give my all.” .
Same day in the future in many a place
More soldiers just like him we’ll all
have to face;
We must sit with them, talk with them,
laugh with them, too,
With the sign of their service forever
in view.
And this was my thought as I looked
at him then:
Oh God! make me worthy to stand
with such men.
— Courtesy of Temple Topics
From Civil Service Assembly
Newsletter
MICHIGAN PLANS LARGE-SCALE
EXAMINING PROGRAM
An extensive examination program,
which will require approximately a
year to complete, is being prepared by
the Michigan State Civil Service Com
mission. The program calls for sched
uling competitive examinations in 814
separate job classes, where provisional
or temporary employees are now work
ing.
The Commission’s records show that,
within the 814 classes embraced in the
program, there are 362 classes which
involve only one provisional employee
each, and 248 classes involving two to
five provisional employees each. There
are eleven classes of positions in which
the jobs of more than 100 provisional
employees will be affected. The first
open competitive examinations will be
held for those classes containing the
largest number of temporary employees.
The Commission reports that there
are 6,491 temporary employees current
ly in the state service, of whom 1,569
hold civil service status in a lower
grade but hold higher level jobs dn a
"provisional promotional” basis.