22
The Commission announces as an ob
jective “ to build into the permanent
structure and operation of the civil
service the values and lessons of the
war.” It will seek to foster a career serv
ice embracing all positions not of a high
policy-making nature, and will strive
to attract and retain in the federal
service persons who are among the most
competent in the country. Among its
major activities, the Commission lists
the placement of veterans who qualify
in civil service examinations.
Families enjoying incomes of $2,500
or more will total more than 15 million
this year, twice the number with that
much buying power in any preceding
peacetime year, says Northwestern N a
tional Life Insurance Co. This firm also
figures that for a family of four the
$2,500 is equal in purchasing power to
$1,300 in 1913 and is about the mini
mum sum which will provide such a
family with necessities and basic com
forts.
State Retirement System
(Continued from page 21)
quarters at 210 Governor Building,
Portland. The system belongs to the
membership, and the more each mem
ber knows about the workings of the
system the more smoothly it will func
tion.
T H E VA G A BO N D
To tread the path o f glory needs a
braver soul than I,
A man who will not stop to watch the
white clouds drifting by,
A man who will not pause to throw a
pebble in a stream
Or stretch fu ll length upon its bank,
the captive of a dream.
A braver soul than I must tread the
rugged way and longr
A man who will not stop to catch the
wild canary’s song,
A man who’ll pass a thousand charms
and never turn to see
The beauty of the petaled dress upon
an apple tree.
To tread the path of glory needs a
stronger soul than mine,
A man that isn’t tempted when the
air is sharp as wine,
A man that has no vision save the
golden goal he seeks,
And doesn’t hear the language which
the voice of nature speaks.
But I am prey to woods and fields, to
sunny hills and streams,
And I’ve a soul which likes to drift
and tease itself with dreams,
And weak am I that should be strong
— a sunbeam on a pond
Has but to wink out an eye at me,
and I’m a vagabond.
— Edgar A. Guest