Omaha daily bee., 1918-08-18
OMAHA GIRL S EXPERIENCE TEACHES HER
SOCIETY'S WAYS IN HOME AND KITCHEN

Her room was cool and comfortable
and theskitchen clean. Hardly had she
started to get dinner when she heard
the loud voice of neighbor raised in
excited protest. A blueberry pie and
half a watermelon were disappearing
from her refrigerator on the back
porch in the hands of three boys and
two little girls. The leader turned out
to be John adams, the terror of the
neighborhood.
Neighborhood Terror.
That was the beginning of a series
of events. John was not normally a
bad boy, but he was nervous and con-
stantly seeking excitement. His mo-
theirs feeble protests against his dep
relations on her own property and
those of the neighbors were worse
than useless, and his fathers thrash
ings made him angry and were rap
idly brutalizing him. The younger
brother and sister adored John and
followed him into all his mischief, as
did most of the neighbor children.
For two weeks Lorene stayed. Her
clothes and money were not safe, for
the children had never been taught
the law governing personal property.
The food in refrigerator and pantry
disappeared when counted on for
meals. The house was constant
scene OF neighborhood chickering's, as
Mrs. Adams could see no harm in her
children and would always side with
them when accused with futterings
like those OF a hen whose chicks
turned out to be ducklings. Her
seedlings, when she did side against
them, we're of the same character.
This is no place for nerves." de-
cided Lorene, and departed as others
had doubtless departed before her.
Mrs. Adams tagging her as ungrate-
fu, because she would not stay.
A registry company placed her in
her next few positions. There was
one that promised to be very pleas
ant, with an old couple and a grown
son. The son had evidently gathered
his impressions of life from a very
poor class of literature and from loaf
er companions. ! After several little
unpleasant encounters with him in
which he refused to be rebuffed with
out personal violence, Lorene decid-
ed there were safer places for her.
Socially Rushed.
The next woman was socially
rushed She appeared and disap-
peared at most unusual hours and
without the least regard for anyone's
convenience but her own. Lunch at
|, often meant that another lunch
would have to be prepared for the
lady and her friends again at or
later. Breakfast was a movable feast,
varying from o'clock to nearly
noon, with no warning as to its time
beforehand. Mr.. Scott had to have
his meals at given hours. but Mrs.
Scott popped up at any hour demand
ing food. A few days. suficed for
Lorene.
She tried a place in the suburbs,
where the grocer was unable to make
deliveries on account of the mud and
she was scolded when meals were
late, 1t was rainy that summer and
Lorene felt her whole existence was
being passed in a sea of mud-mud
on the floors. mud to wade in on the
streets, mud in the distance as far as
eye could see. No friends. no library,
no walks, nothing but a dingy exist
ence in a cherries house surrounded
by a waste of sticky, sloppy slush.
Place after place she gave up for
one reason after another. One wo-
man watched her like detective and
criticised her every move; another
scolded her when she caught her TAX