The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-13
What Is the Truth About the Recent
COnclaye?

In former days the incidents attend
ing the secret election Of Pope were
discoverable only by the explorer of
historical materials which might be
centuries old. To-day the facts are
moro quickly and easily ascertainable.
The London Tablet, which. it will be
remembered, was the organ Of tho late
Cardinal VAUGHAN, published some time
ago detailed account Of what took place
in the recent Conclave. The account is
said to be based on the authority Of
Cardinal OF the Curia, or Papal Court,
and it bears all the marks of anthem
ITCHY.
1t was foretold by the press that the
members Of the Sacred College would
be at the outset very much divided with
reference to the choice Of successor
to LEO XIII, but that Cardinal RAM
POLIA and Cardinal GoTTI would be the
favorite candidates. The outcome Of
the first scrutiny, which took place on
the morning of Saturday, Aug. /, justi-
fed the prediction, for, while no fewer
than fourteen Cardinals received one
or more votes, RAMPoLLA headed the
list with "a, while II were cast for GoTTI
Even on this first ballot Cardinal SARTo
received votes, and it is an interesting
circumstance that he and RAMPOLLA
voted for one another from the beginning
to the end We are told that, among
those who supported RMPoLIA were all
the French and Spanish Cardinals, to-
gether with several Cardinals Of the
Curia, who were alive to the extent to
which the policy of the Vatican had for
many years been moulded by the Papal
Secretary Of State. In the scrutiny of
Saturday evening, only seven Cardinals
received votes. The ballots cast for
RAMPOLLA were now increased by 5,
so that he had %; GoTTI lost one, securing
but l8; while, on the other hand the bal
lots cast for SAETo rose to 10. Cardinal
OREGLIA, the Camerlengo, who had OBJ
tanned votes in the morning, got none
in the evening SERAFINo VANNUTELLI,
also, who was at one time supposed to be
Papal possibility, dropped from 4
votes to 1 vote.
On Sunday rumor spread through
out the city that the election would
take place that day, but the crowd
that assembled in the piazza was des-
tined to be disappointed, for both in the
morning and in the evening it was COL
umn Of black, not white smoke that rose
thick from the pipe rising above the
near end Of the Sistine Chapel Inside
the sealed doors Of the Vatican the day
had been an eventful one. The position
at the end Of the morning scrutiny was:
KAMPoLLA 20, SAITo 81, GoTTI 8, Greg
LA, DI PIETRo and CAPECELATRo, each.
Evidently the choice Of the Sacred Col
lege would lie between RAMPoLLA and
SAITO. Each of them voted for the
other, as we have said, and each now
earnestly sought to persuade his re-
spective supporters TO vote for his com
petitor. According to the authority on
which the Tablet relies, the anguish of
Cardinal SARTO was intense when he
recognized on Sunday morning that the
voting was steadily bearing him into the
shadow Of the Tiara With tears in
his eyes he implored his fellow Car
dinals not to lay upon him burden
for which he felt himself untitled.
We are told that Cardinal SAToLLI,
speaking to the Tablets correspondent,
expressed the conviction that the extraor-
binary humility thus exhibited CON
tributed as much AZ anything else TO
throne OF PETER.
1t was during Sunday afternoon that
dramatic incident caused much excite
ment In the first Conclave Of the TWEEN