The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-19
ONCE IN FOUR HUNDRED YEARS.

The cleaners formed an army greater
than that the popeS commanded when
they were still kings.
The brooms used up would supply a
big town for year, and the house fan
rels generously contributed by Irish
Catholics would clothe 10000 shiyerine
people during the winter months
There is no royal residence or other
bulld1ng, in the world even approaching
the Vatican in vastness. The papal cas-
tie is not a regular structure, but a col
lection of separate buildings occupying
space of 3S4 yards in length and zJ5
yards in breadth. 1t has eight grand
stalrcases and 200 smaller ones, and it's
inner apartments receive light from 20
inclosed courts The number of its
chambers, halls and galleries exceaIs H.
These 1900 rooms. including the pope's
private quarters, the SiStine and the 9th
er historical chapelS, hadn seen a tidy
housemaid since the glorious reign of
SiXtuS V.
This. notwithstanding the fact that the
vatican was always noted for its air OF
SpotleSs cleanliness, even though ru one
was ever seen to handle a .rcotn there
The ban placed upon female help was,
however, sure To make itself unpleasantly'
felt sooner or later.
Like his friends and the numerous vis-
ltors 10 MS great palace, Leo saw that
the vatican was clean, but after ne be
gan taking an interest in bacteriology-
q study which he took up at the begin
mng OF the new century under the guild
ance of his physician, DR. Lapponi-he
concluded that it wasn't clean enough.
Under Zeiss microscope Lapponi had
exhibited before his holiness the bacilH
OF typhus, diphtheria. etc, had told him
that germs were everywhere, and that
art meant continued life to them. This
demonstra ton" said the pope recently
set the little old man thinking" ("little
old man" is the title by which Leo
refers to HIMSELF, and the order for a
general cleanup was forthwith Issued
The monsignors Of the household were
sorely perpleXed when Leo ordered that
500 able-bodied scrub women be hired,
besides double that number of male clean
ers, but the supreme pontiff's word is
law, and on July l. 1901 there assembled
IN the square OF st. Peters j 500 persons
men and women, to receive commi ssions
as house cleaners to his holiness"
When this little army first began NOV
ing upon the Vatican, the sentinel pa troll
ling the Italian territory opposite the pa
pal domain called out the guard Ac-
countred with broomstcks hatchets and
similar implements, as they were, he
thought the people bent on riot. But the
enemy in the uniform of the papal
SWISS walking in the shadow of the Nati-
can gates. called to him not TO make a
fuss as the men and women had heen
invited to the Vatican, and indeed rank
ed from now on as papal employees.
All the men and women brought recon-
mendations from priests and mobiles in
nigh favor with the Vatican. The exam
nation into the fitness of the candidates
VI
Workday; after that the cleaners were
shown through the apartments to which
each troop was assigned, whereupon the
Holy Fathers chief steward addressed
the crowd in the great servants hail,
cautcn1ng them to work industriously.
and, above ALL to avoid breaking things.
Many OF the greatest art treasures the
CHRISTIAN world over looked upon will be
turned over to YOU he said, land the
Holy Father prays God that He may
guard your hands and inspire your minds
with a proper consideration of the task
before you"
After the steward, the pope's head
valet spoke, Leo XIII. had empowered
him to- bring his fatherly blessings to an
entering upon their duties with the firm
resolution not to soil their hands by
theft
That some of the invaders might sue
cumb to temptation and carry off smaller
objects or art and decoration was a fear
that haunted the Master of the Apostolic
palace, Mgr. Lepidi o. P, from the
start and that his suspicious were well
founded was proved afterward.
On the morning Of July 2 1000 cleaners
ana nall as many scrubwomen began to
attack the layers of century old dust and
dirt that covered the floors ceilings and
walls of fully $500 of the palaces 11,O0O
rooms.
Nightly, after returning to his own
rooms from his little palace in the gar
den, Pope Leo received detailed reports
or these strenuous doings and it soon
the task finished in his own lifetime, 1t
would be necessary to employ more
hands. SO the good priests and the
mother superior of the great Roman con
vents We're notified that the holy father
would be pleased to give employment to
a good many more cleaners, male and fe-
male and presently these began pouring
in in troops
When he had 5000 at work" declares
the major domo's report, 1T began 10
look as if we We're making some Kind of
progress the | 5e0 that frct
simply swallowed UP in the palace vast
ness and their presence was hardly no
ticeable by the amount of rubbish carried
cut.
There were 1927 acres of wallpaper to
be cleaned, not to mention many miles
of silk hanSings,. frescoes and the hum
dreds and thousands OF yards Of tapes
The official having charge Of the wall
paper cleaning ordered 1000 loaves of
bread daily with which to rub the diIt
OF, but even this quantity proved en-
tirely inadequate. Still more was used
until the daily bill for bread assumed
such proportions that the pope's treasurer
refused to further countenance such wan
ton extravaganza, as he called it. The
work threatening to come to a stadlstill,
the dispute was submitted to the pope,
who, in his usual shrewd way quickly
found a solution. He bethought himself
Of a series of bake ovens which one of
his predecessors erected hundreds os
years ago. The cleaners We're let loose
upon them, and within ten days they
were in working order
Next a host of bakers were engaged,
who turned out all the bread needed for
cleaning, and besides enough for each
workman and Workwoman to take Il loaf
home at night. By giving away 500
loayes daily, Pope Leo meant to show
that the revival of the Vatican ovens
was not merely due to a desire TO cut
down expenses.
To keep this mass Of workpeople IT. or
der and direct their work, 200 oyersears
We're appointed, while all papal soldiers
and gendarmes not on actual duty were
ordered to patrol the halls, chambers and
corridors In plain clothes to protect the
pope's property.
They caught several hundred petty
thieves red handed, SO to speak, all
OF whom were turned over to the judicial
authorities of the Holy See. for the pope
is still sovereign and judge within the
precincts of the Vatican.
The thieves were tried in proper order
and condemned to various terms of inn
prisonment. the pope granting fun par