The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-01
TO CHOOSE A POPE
SIXTY-TWO CARDINALS HAVE GONE
INTO SECLUSION.
WHO WILL BE THEIR CHOICE?
NONE WILL SAY, BUT RAMPoLLA
LEADS IN DISCUSSION.

day VIII See the Election of a
Successor to Leo XIII-Cardinals
Went to Their Cells as to a Prison.
Evidence of Decay of Old Customs.
The Talk About the Possible Sue
cessOrs--GibbOns Denies All Inter
views Attributed to Him.
Rome, July 81, p. m.-The largest
conclave in the history of the Catho-
lie Church has now assembled in the
Sistine chapel for the purpose of elect
ing a successor to Leo XIII.
Sixty-two cardinals. with over 200
clerical and lay attendants, are to all
intents and purposes prisoners within
the Vatican. One of them, Cardinal
Herraro y Espinosa, Archbishop of
Valencia, was Frustrated Immediately
after entering the conclave and lies ill
in his cell.
Tomorrow morning the cardinals
will enter upon the solemn duty of
choosing the new Pope by ballot. The
general impression exists that within
two or three days. possibly, though
not probably, tomorrow, a new Pope
will have been chosen.
Representations as to who will wear
the tiara as Leo's successor have lit
tie value, as even the cardinals who
this evening entered their cells seem
to be without definite ideas as to the
issue. Cardinals Rampolla, Seraf1no
Vannutelli, Dipietri, Gotti and Oreglia
continue to be most frequently men
toned as the likeliest candidates, but
the moment the name of one of them
is mentioned, a hundred reasons are
supplied to show that he could not
possibly be elected.
Will BE an Italian Pope.
The rival claims of the leading Ital-
ian cardinals, SO freely ventilated in
the local press are matters which are
all important in connection with the
decision of the conclave, because it is
assumed, as a foregone conclusion, that
the next occupant of the Holy See will
be an Italian. The foreign cardinals
have shown no Indication of opposl-
ton to this assumption. but however
willing they may be to honor an Itai-
ian, it is believed the serious differences
among the italians themselves on the
matters of political and religious opin-
ion must be reconciled before one of
them, suitable to all sections. can be
elected.
May Not BE n Prisoner.
More interesting, perhaps, in cer-
tain way is the impression which pre-
walls in certain sections that, no mat
49,. Of hn r1t1lo Va
may be, great changes are impending
in the policy of the Vatican, and that
within a year or two, the new Pope
will no longer consider himself pris-
oner in the Vatican, but will, unlike
Leo, leave its precincts whenever nee
essary.
BY 5 O'Clock this afternoon all the
cardinals had arrived at the Vatican
and had gone to their cells. The con-
clave has been duly formed, and its
members are now shut from the outer
world. Everything is prepared for to-
morrow's voting.
At the Vatican doors the Swiss
Guards kept back the curious crowd,
among whom were many priests. Pho7
toera piers vigorously snapped the oc-
cupants of the black carriages prior TO
their entrance to what one cardinal
called prison.
previous to 1870 the ceremony of the
cardinals entering in conclave was
much more imposing than that of to-
dav. as it was held in the Quirinal pail
ace They met in. the little church of
San Silvestro AL Quirinale, and from
there walked in procession through the
streets to the palace, or, II the conclave
was to be held in the Vatican, the car
dinaIs met in st. Peters, a procession
was formed there and. after some GER
emonies wended its way to the apos-
tolic palace.
In pleasing confusion, the cardinals,
each escorted by the Noble Guard as
signed to him. went to their respective
cells, or apartments. Some of the
yenera BILE prelates, such as Cardinals
Mocenni, (who was born in 1929: Gre
toni (born in 1889, and Langenieux,
(borne in 1920, were so exhausted that
they had to be supported by the Noble
Guard in attendance on them.
Chances of RampolIa.
Just before going into his cell to-
day pronninet cardinal threw an in
teresting side light upon the chances
of RampolIa. Leo's secretary of state
has been persistently abused recently
by the government papers for his tenn
poral power policy
to the representative of the Associated
Press. chat the public attacks upon
Cardinal Rampolla by the government
are not inspired with a view to work.
ing up among Catholics and cardinals
a spirit of enthusiasm for him which
might greatly increase his chances OF
election. Indeed, / am pretty certain
that the italian government would not
be at all sorry to see Cardinal Ram
polIa wear the tiara as. at heart, l do
not believe the government has any Sc
rious disposition to alter the existing
relations between the Vatican and the
QuirinaL"
There is no doubt that Cardinal
RampolIa, who is so well-known to all
the cardinals because of the position
he held under the late Pope, has a
strong following.
~ Cardinals Were Green.
One of the interesting features of
to-day's preparations was the compar-
atiye ignorance displayed by some of
the cardinals concerning the conclave's
method of procedure. One of them,
who looks old enough to have particle
rated in any number of conclaves, in
genuously admitted that he had not
read the rules governing the technical
titles Of voting since he was boy at
seminary.
before entering the conclave, Cardi-
nal Gibbons requested the Associated
Press to deny all interviews alleged
to have been given out by him while
in Rome. and also all published ac-
counts Of conversations he Is alleged
20 have had with private individuals
referring especially to the statements