He is not heavy, Father — he is my brother!

ordered him to move west, where the pure air would help him regain his health, so he traveled to Omaha — the city to which the boys would later flock, seeking a refuge and seeking Eddie Flanagan. There he rested, and there he met a spiritual superior who strength-ened his resolve to pursue his aims. At the end of that summer he went to Rome — the utmost ambition of a student of theology, but for Eddie it was the opposite: he lost even this attempt, for his health could not bear the climate, and he saw that if he stayed he would lose his life. So he turned back to Omaha in 1908, to fill a clerk's post in one of the companies — but he did not lose his faith. Two years later his doctor gave him a report enabling him to resume his studies, and he chose to return to Europe to finish his preparation for the priesthood at the University of Innsbruck, where the pure air helped him.

In the summer of 1912 Eddie knelt before the altar to vow his life to the service of the King of Peace — at last he was a priest! He celebrated Mass the next morning, then made up his mind to return to Omaha, and six months after his return he became assistant to the head of its church. This brought him closer than ever to the poor, the sick, and those in need of spir-

itual consolation. In 1913 the poor farmers came in from the western country and found the harvests meager — where were they to turn, with no shelter and no money? They needed help, and Father Flanagan, the young priest, answered the call. Here began his idea of establishing a hotel; the parish helped him, and he received aid from some comrades; then he searched for a building to be rented in return for its repair. His answer to certain scoffers, who did not believe in his success, was: 'Faith, my brother, is my capital.'

He went out to the idle and the homeless and told them that he had made a dwelling

Boys Town ... a dream come true

for them. The hotel consisted of two floors, and a hundred men came to it the day after his invitation; they set to work repairing some of the ruined places, and within days the hotel was ready, registering fifty-seven guests in the first week. Here Father Flanagan turned again to thinking that a larger hostel must be found to shelter anyone in need — and indeed he found a hotel with room for hundreds of workingmen, and soon it was serving food to five hundred workers every night. Sometimes small children would visit him,

and these created a new problem, so he set up sleeping rooms on the upper floor reserved for the young — and these were the seed of Boys Town. He thought of saving these unfortunates from a life of crime, and began attending the juvenile trials, following the news of their offenses, and informing himself of every-thing, until he was convinced that what they lacked was love and tenderness. So he began to care for them and show them affection; often he would walk with them and talk with them as a friend, and go so far as to persuade them that they would become good men. He found that he needed to give this matter all his time — indeed, that he must devote his very life to it — and so he had to give up the hotel, which belonged to the parish. His religious superior consented, but he was unable to supply him with money — and here miracles played their part in the cre-ation of that town. The priest looked about him and saw that all the capital he possessed was five boys, three nuns, and some assistance in foodstuffs from benefactors. The number of his guests began to grow day by day, and to them he stood in the place of father, mother, and teacher. On Christmas Eve he had twenty-five boys, and they all gathered merrily for supper while he ladled the food onto their plates, sowing steadiness in their troubled souls!

The year passed, and the house grew too small for its inhabitants, so the Father was obliged to find a larger house, and they all moved to a spa-cious lodging surrounded by gardens and playgrounds. The assistance kept increasing, and he did not marvel at it, for he was sure of himself and full of faith. One night there came to him a young woman with a child of eight; her