The Omaha morning bee., 1922-10-15
Is tho American hom. totterlng'

Are columbia's lares and penates In
DANGER
rne youth of today demands excite.
mcnt, action, entertainment, which
they seem unable 10 find at home.
Clnndestine meetings, parties AT
rondhouses beckon Is them.
This condition and the perils that
have come with the breaking down
Of the barriers OF convention which
80 rigidly governed until the last
decade are mirrored by Meredith
Nicholson In his latest novel. Broken
Barriers" This In not the usual sort
OF Hoosier fiction, although It's scene
In laid In Indianapolis.
Grace Durland ls a student In the
state university.
Her father. an inventor. has been
forced out Of the business which his
genius, backed by the capital OF n
friend, had helped nurture into a
thriving manufacturing concern.
She Is summarly called home. She
must help with the family support.
! Hor older sister already is I'm an Of.
| lce," but her young brother, who her
mother had determined must become
a great attorney and politician as his
I grandsire was before him, is to re.
main ut law school
Grace, after ths fashion Of tho mod
ern girl, accepts the situation philoso'
phlcally, and In the face Of strong op-
| position on the part Of her mother
and sister who worship family, so
cial position and caste, seeks work
as "A salesgirl In department store.
Her chum Of high schol days. Irene.
had no opportunity to continue her
studies, She entered the business
world and won place at the head Of
department In this shop. '6
Through her help, Grace secures q
position, and as tho nightly harangue
OF mother and sister over the unfor.
tunate circumstances OF the family
begins TO prey upon her nerves. she
turns to a French class In the eve.
nings with Irene.
1t Is then but step to party"
Irene is openly receiving the atten.
tions Of married man, financially
and socially prominent. A close friend
Of his, Ward Trenton. nationally
known engineer. comes to town. and
Irene coaxes Grace to go with them
on party" to Tommy Kemp's coun-
try house. The Shack"
Prohibition has /been several years
In effect. but Tommy has "respecta.
Bile cellar"
While Kemp. proceeds to become
intoxicated Trenton leads Grace to
n corner where he tells her OF his
WE, an "emancipated woman" whose
time Is occupied with lecturing on
| the new woman and her new free
dom.
Trenton returns on business visits
and the parties" become more fre-
quent. lie processes his love for
Grace, and she feels for the man who
belongs TO another
| Grace's first customer is an eccen.
tric maiden lady, known to the girls
Of the store as "Old Money Bags"
She takes a fancy to Grace. invites
her to dinner, and when Grace let's II
be known to her mother and sister.
they cease their nagging long enough
to tell how Miss Reynolds Is an aris.
tocrat Of the old school, lady Of
| position to be cultivated.
Grace chides them for their atti.
\ tude, but goes to dinner with Miss
| Reynolds because she likes her.
! Mrs. Trenton's latest book on the
modern woman is mentioned by the
hoctess.
! I've read it." said Grace tits
certainly revolutionary"
IAN OF that Miss Reynolds re
torted But 1t does make you
think! Eyerybody's restless and
crazy for excitement. My young
married neighbors all belong to
families ! know or know about; live
| In very charming houses and have
| money to spend---too much. most OF
them--and they don't seem to be
able to stand an evening at home
by themselves. But maybe the new
ways better. Maybe their chances
OF happiness are greater where they
mix around more. I'm curious
about the whole business. These
young folks don't 60 to school. Why
don't they, when their fathers and
grandfathers always did? Their par
ents stayed at home In the evening.
My father used to grumble horribly
when mother fried to get him into
dress suit. But there was wicked.
ness, then, too, only people Just
| whispered about it and tried to keep
it from the young folks. .. But
now you might think people were
sending up fireworks to call atten.
| tion to their sins! / remember the
first time | went to n dinner-thot
was 30 years ago-where cocktails
were passed around. 1t seemed
awful. But now prohibitions
driven everybody to drink. )"
She reached for n fresh cigaret and
lighted II TRANQUILITY
As Irene and Kemp. Grace and
Trenton are returning from thir last
party" at The Shack" Kemp. drunk
as usual, tries to take the steering
wheel from the chauffeur: there is a
crash; Kemp is dead
Meanwhile Grace's father is work
ing away at his inventions, striving
to rise again in the world Of finance
and shame his former partner who
ruined him.
! Trenton. through Grace. becomes
interested In Durland's inventions.
success seems jus, around the corner.
As the future Of her love affair with
Trenton looms more hlank and bar
rem Trenton pleads with her that
his wife, apostle ~ the new freedom
VIII practice what she breaches. has
IN fact, told him 10 confide In het
tracts him strongly. Mrs. Trenton
rotnes 90 town to lecture She asks
g. see this girl ~ whom Trenton has
told her aud Trenton hllndlv per
snaeses Grace 20 80 with him L. meet
hts Wlfe
Mrs frsnton laV baek Ia her
chair in p0se Il eNaggsfated ease
ani hsily turned hrr head a. loak
az Grave
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raht eoWpia4u q mY husianaa
taste la4 are very handsome auA
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