The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-06
POPE LEO XIII NOW LIES <. =... :. AT THE POINT OF DEATH
Extreme Unction Has Been Administered to His Holi ness and the End is the Matter of Very Short
 Iimc---Reigned Longer Than Any of v. <: His Predecessors.

The first question the cardinals will have to solve will be whether the conclave shall be held in Rome or outside of Italy. It is believed that the supporters of the idea of abandoning Rome will be even fewer than in the conclave held after the death of Plus TX. when thirty-two out of thirty-seven cardinals voted in favor of Rame. The second question will be whether the next Pope must be an Italian or a foreigner. .
 It is generally believed that he will be an Italian, because, in view of the struggle between the church and the State since the fall of the temporal power and the constitution of united Italy, all the clergy as we'll as the clerical party and even foreigners think that an Italian
 
 Pope can protect better than a stranger the advance of the religious and political interests of the church.
 The candidates chiefly spoken of are Cardinal Rampolla and Cardinal serafino vannuttelli. They are both representa- tives of the conservative party. but are bitter antagonists of each other. Cardi- nal Rampolla is a very warm Franco phile, while Cardinal vannuttelli is averse to the policy inaugurated by the present Pontincal Secretary of State, as- suming the position to which he has ad- hered for fifteen years. The most prob able liberal candidates are Cardinal Bishop Asliardi and Cardinal Priest sa- toiIi whose breadth of views and love of modern ideas have been strengthened during his stay in America. The most probable religious candidates are Cardi- nal Priest Gotti. who would carefully avoid mixing in politics, and Cardinal Priest Angelo al Pietro. who also has the desirable prerequisite of old age, being 75 years old. All these candidates live in Rome but a strong party, which might include a good many foreign cardinals, advocates the election of a Cardinal who is not a member of the Curia, such as Cardinal Sato Patriarch of Venice. Cardi- nal Ferrari. Archbishop of Milan. both intranslgeant, or Cardinal Capecelatro. Archbishop of Capua. who is perhaps the most learned member of the sacred col lege and has conciliatory ideas.
 It is believed that the first ballot will be merely a test in which nobody will be elected, but it will be used to see which way the wind blows It is considered certain that if Cardinal Rampolla sees the impossibility of succeeding to the pontihcaI throne, he will throw all his strength in favor of an outsider with a view to preserving his candidacy for the next concIave Under these circum- stances it is supposed that Cardinal Oreglia. dean of the sacred college. Neil be chosen. as he Is 75 years old and lately had a serious attack of pneumonia.
 All these plans, especially those drawn up by the Cardinals of the Curia. may be disturbed by the attitude of the Car dinals coming from outside Rome, prin- cipally foreigners. Things might be pushed to such a point as to induce portion of the Italians from the pro- vinces to ally with the foreign Cardinals, in which case alone there might be a pos sibiIity of a foreign Pope. However. no French or Spanish Cardinal could com mand the votes of the German or Eng fish, or vice versa, so that if an oppor- tunity arises for an outside Cardinal to be chosen. the most authoritative memA bers of the college think that the only one who could obtain the prescribed ma Jority Is Cardinal Gibbons.