The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-01

telligenCo ana energy.
In official circles 1t Is no longer regard
ed as e secret that the soyereigns of the
| triple alliance have an understanding be-
tween them, according to which Prince
Max is to assume the tiara after Leos
successor lays down the burden. "A
German pope" the politicians argued,
would mean peace, and that lasting p, ace
| between vatican and quirinal. and so
lead to better relations between Austria
and Italy, and that involves firmer ce-
| menting Of the triple alliance
The allied sovereigns further calculate
that a German pope would bring them
peace at home. The leading political part
of the Reich, the centrum, would certainly
rally around the kaiser after bringing
about such a triumph of their cause. The
emperor OF Austria hopes that the s ep
would strengthen his own party in Hun
gary. while Umberto expects his Ital ans
to pocket their chagrin at the non-suc-
cess. of one of their own countrymen--
considering that Prince Max is a nephew
Of their king.
OF course, France will frown. but Ger
many. Austria and Italy are used to her
| displeasure, and 1t will be outweighed b.
sides. by the sympathy Of Catholic Bit
ishers for the dreibund.
The kings of Belgium and Portugal are
said to have promised to back the kaiser
| In putting Prince Max forward as plpal
| candidate; both Of them are closely relat-
! ed to the house OF Saxony. especially
| King Carlos, whose aunt, the Infanta
Mary-Anne,, is Prince Max's mother. The
| holy see has considerable influence Will
the Belgian Catholics. and in case of war
| between Germany and France pc
| friendly to the first power would be the
most desirable of allies.
To show how public opinion is system
| atically prepared for the consummat iou
daEaf
| only point out some of the features OF
! the press campaign conducted III the Of
| fetal papers for his royal higness' bere
| At One writer compares him to the ate
Pope Pho Mono, because his holiness, like
| Max was a cavalry officer before he en-
tered the priesthood. Other writers lay
| great stress on the fact that many an-
| cesters of the young priest achieved dis
| tinction as members of the hierarchy, ana
| as bishops vested with temporal power.
| The last Of them was the Eiector OF
| Treyes, Clement whom the great Napo-
| leon deposed
The real danger of the situation is sum-
med up In the possibility that Max may
! one day be king of Saxony. This Is the
! line of successors. King Albert, being
| childless, will be succeeded by Prince
George his brother. Prince George has
| four sons, the eldest Of whom, Frederick,
! is blessed with three sons. If all these
five persons should die then the success
| sion would pass to Prince George 8 second
| son, John, who is already married. Prince
Max Is to be considered only after the
| death of Prince John and the latter
male heirs, If he has any
| Max's chances are, therefore, rather re-
mote at present; still, for Ill that, he
| may be called upon to assume the crown.
| The retgning King of Denmark was even
! further removed from succession than
| Max Is, yet long line of accidents call
! ed him to the throne. 1t viii also be re-
menqbered that the British regard Lady
| Alexandra Duff as a possible future IN
!. cumbent of Victoria's crown.
True on becoming a priest, Prince Max
renowned his hereditary rights, but with
! the provise that said remuneration shall
be null and void for all future If at any
time l shall be the only surviving male
prince of the royal family
This means that Prince Max would be-
come heir presumptVe the moment any
| of the persons mentioned, being king. Is
without male issue If Max was pope
when the crown came to him he would
! have to accept. He solemnly sweFe' he
would do so, The consequence of such a
| step would undoubtedly be of the most
| far-reaching political Importance.
/ For that reason Kaiser William is said
| to have managed to enlist the sympa-
| thies of many learned theologians for his
| scheme A pope who Is temporal mead or
| q considerable kingdom in the heart of
! Germany would be, indeed, a proposition
that readily appeals to politician hler-
archS.
| And in this connection it must not be
forgotten that the German emperor
| would be constitutional suZerain Of this
| king-pope, and that he has the constitu-
ttonaI privilege to administer the king or
t Saxony's foreign policy to such an, eX-
! tent as to forbid him to employ ambassa-
doris, to wage war and raise loans With
| out his sanction.
"Why," said a person near to Prince
Hohenlohe. the kaiser's chancellor the
other day "the prospect Is too vast to be
considered offhand. If 1t came to that
a long succession Of wars would certainly
ensue, for the balance of power would
| be Immediately upset in the interest OF
Germany, and neither France nor Russia
could stand that for moment. Read
the history of the church and see what
| followed whenever an emperor or king
beasted of momentary power over the
holy see The first Napoleon was the
last to attempt St. Peters subjugation
| by foul means, but Plus VII, though not
! a great man and physically unsuited for
fighting, gave the emperor more trouble
than all the rest of the sovereigns, and
never budged an inch from his stand
point"
| The speaker regards as an alarming
| symptom of how far the conspiracy has
| progressed that the leading British
! Catholics look upon Prince Max man
of the greatest possible consequence in
| the church politics of the future. The
kaiser is said to keep up lively CORE
| spondence with the Dowager Duchess of
| Newcastle, the Duke of Hamilton, Lord
| Beauchamp aid others on the affairs Of
his protege, who is personally a favorite
with the leading English and Irish Catho-
| lies since he engaged In mission work
| at Whitechapel.
| The subject of all this strife and the
| grave political apprehensions connected
with his. alleged candidacy is meanwhile
living quietly In the rustic town of EiCh-
| stadt, tending to his unimportant duties
as the shepherd of a small flock that
knows little or nothing of the temptations
of urban life. He is unassuming, almost
severe in his every day dress, but prefers
the most magnificent ecclesiastical robes
for mass. Some of them are the work OF
the pious queen Caroline, who, though a
Lutheran, is In heart sympathy with her
nephew's chosen profession.
The prince is beloved by his parishion-
ers as a mild and ever helpful pastor
whose, door is wide open to all deserving
poor. irrespective of creed. Among his
clerical superiors Prince Max has the rep
utation of a person Of naturally fiery and
explosive temperament. which he Is
known to keep in bounds by the exercise
of iron Will-power. AS politician he IS
regarded as a visionary, but his admin
iStrative talents are much admired He is
well schooled In law, and is now engaged
in most exhaustive studies of the history
of the Catholic church