New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-08-05
PIUS \.

| -, oonfdonca from the business point
of view It has conducted ltseit WIN auiiiii D-o
dignity. 1t has had no sensational eplsouo0' ~
scandals no Ieakages of news. IL mas uone 10
| work neither hurriedly nor tedlousV' "a'
| chosen as Pope not one of the TWO VI Inc
foremost candidates, nor yet an uheApe''eI
| ond oil bu+ unknown man. The Patriarch OF
| Venice was a prominent candidate 'nO"sH ~
= seIf-seeklpg one. he is said to have oeen re-
80 80 Inv, tba late Pope as his probable sue
cessor and he is also said at the DeslhAlns y,
| TO ooncIava tn have decried his own chances OIL
election telling his friends that he mad pur-
| chased a return ticket to Venice. 1t Is ihueeu
! doubtful if he had any serious expectation VI
! being elected Nevertheless our reaueEs WIN
| recall that in The Tribune of Monday iast MI
| Ford who had gone from London to Rome TO
| cand ms the news of the conclave, reported that
| Cardinals Rampolla and Serafno Nannutelll
| the two leading candidates, were beheveo 10
have beaten each other, and that Cardinal Sarto
was looked to by good judges as the most nat
uraI compromise candidate. Readers may also
remember that so far back as April 20, IN an
article describing the Patriarch of Venice, Elk
Attacbe designated Cardinal Sarto as the most
probable successor of Leo XIII. That PRESIDENT
forecast has been exactly fulfilled.
The conclave has also, we may well believe,
done we'll from higher points of view. 1t has
chosen that man whom probably the consider
able majority of informed and impartial oDserV-
ers would declare to be on the whole the besC
qualified to fill the place of Leo XIII and his
| iIIustrious predecessors. Plus y is, of course
an Italian. 1t was foregone conclusion that
an italian would be chosen, and it was best that
| one should be. He is a man well past middle
| life-sixty- weight years old-but apparently still
| in the prime of his intellectual and physlcal
| powers. He was a cardinal-bShop ana mas
| been Patriarch of Venice for ten years In
| that place he has been eminently successful
The Church has greatly prospered under his di-
| rection and he has enjoyed the unchallenged
reputation of being an ideal bishop. If we add
| that he is a fine scholar, an eloquent orator
and man much esteemed by ProteStants as
| well as Catholics for his piety and good works,
| we shall have fairly complete and decidedly
| engaging outline sketch of the new Pope's char
| acteristics.
| Most curiosity and interest will probably be
centred upon his attitude toward the Italian
| Government. In connection with that two Incl
| dents may instructvely be recalled. When he
/ was appointed Patriarch Of Venice sharp con-
| troversy arose between church and state, which
caused some delay in his taking his seat. This
| was because the italian Government held that
the patriarchate was part Of the ecclesiastical
| therefore the right of naming the candidate.
| This the Vatican denied, and thus the dispute
| arose. 1t was ended by virtue Of Cardinal
| Sarto's own personality: for, loyal and ardent
| churchman as he and is, he was also per
soma grata to the King and government to such
a degree that had the King exercised in the first
| place the privilege of nomination it is proba-
| BILE that he would have named Cardinal
| Sarto, and it is certain that he could have
named one more acceptable to himself.
| Again, at later date, the Patriarch attended a
| royal reception. contrary to the animated de-
sire of Leo XIII, thus apparently indicating
| that his feelings toward the Quirinal were more
! friendly than those of the Pope himself In
these two incidents we may not unreasonably
| see a promise of something like approach
| ment between the Vatican and the Quirinal.
| True, the POpe's personal predictions and poll
cies do not always prevail. Account must be
taken of the traditions of the Church and of
the influence of the Curla. But the Papacy itself
is, after all, the chief force and there seems
reason TO believe that it will now be a force
making toward better relations between church
and state.
Some curiosity and speculation may also be
piqued by the name which the new Pope has
elected to bear. From it little can at present
be inferred. 4 newly elected Pope takes the
name of some predecessor whose character or
career has particularly impressed him as worthy
of emulation. II may be any predecessor of
the name however, and not, some seem
enormously TO suppose, the latest one Plus X
therefore, may be expected to cherish the ex-
ample not necessarily of Plus TX, but of any
one of the nine who have gone before. Pres
emily we may know which one he has in mind.
For the moment that is unknown. The first
Plus was a martyr and is enrolled among the
saints; the second, Piccolomini, was a great
scholar; the third Pope for only three
weeks; the fourth, a Medici. was the founder
of the Vatican press; the fifth, Ghiseri was a
man of great piety and energy. and is now
canOniZed; the sixth was dethroned by Bona
parte and deposed; the seventh crowned
BonapaTte as Emperor, communicated him
and made the Concordat with him; the eighth
had brief and insignificant reign; the ninth
began a liberal and ended as a cOnserva-
tive, promulgated the doctrine of infallibility
lost the temporal power and made himself the
first prisoner OF the Vatican" Among these is
ample range Of precedent, both suspicious and
Ominous, for the latest Pontiff of that name
\ 1t will be earnestly desired and may well be
anticipated, that one of the best OF these ex-
amples will be emulated by Plus X.
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