The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-03-09
ANOTHER STEP
BY Pope Plus
Vatican Military Order Of the Noble
Guards Has Been Reduced to
All But Plebian
Basis.
NO MORE ARIsToCRATs
Corps Was First Organized In 1744
and Consisted Of Ninety Mem
bers But Now Has
Less.

by Henry Wood, Rome Correspond
ent of the United Press
ROME, March S.-Pope Plus X has
just taken another most important
step in his well-recognized policy of
changing to a strictly democratic
basis what has heretofore. been a
rather noble and aristocratic admin
istration Of the Catholic church. This
is his recent order reducing to all but
a plebian basis the vatican military
order of the Noble Guards.
In making this change Pope Plus Is
admitted to have been largely in.
fluenced by the desire of reducing ex-
penses at the vatican, or rather, by
the desire to change expenditures,
now going to the keeping up Of old
time traditions of pomp, ceremony
and state, to actual religious upbuild-
ing and extension of the church.
While this was the outward reason
is pointed out in vatican circles that it
Ihas been this switching about of ex-
| penditures, consciously employed to
! that end or not by Pope Plus. that
/ has done much to render what was
( formerly royal court and royal adj
ministration into one of the most
democratic institutions or the worln.
With the vatican revenues being
thus more largely used than ever be-
1 fore for the great democratic body OF
Catholic adherents, the vatican has
practically ceased to be an attraction
! for the nobility and the aristocracy
| who often found little financial help
| from some source or another neces-
sary to help out their depleted fortune
] Every possible sinecure at the vatican
] has now been entirely wiped out. Not
a single appointment of any kind has
! been made-not even of the members
isof Pope Plus family except as a re
ward of merit. And last, but not
least, every one connected with the
vatican is being obliged to work.
AS result of this policy, the vati.
can finds itself today almost entirely
1 in the hands of prelates who have
risen from the mass of the people
There are still among the older cardi
nails. few who come from the old
noble families, and there are still a
few scions of these families who have
recently been appointed into the dip
Tomato service of the vatican-oply
4 however when they have shown the
required ability-but the great bulk oil
the appointments by Pope Plus have
Ebeen. and continue to be made from
the same class from which he himself
came namely. the humblest of the
4 humble.
4 AS a consequence of this gradual
! but sure change of ambient at tho
vatican. the sudden order of Pope
\ Plus SO seriously affecting practically
4 the last of the noble and aristocratit
institutions, which formerly were
4 characteristic of the papel court, ha.
not come at Rome exactly as a sur
4 prise. In fact. it is declared tina
Pope Plus, coming himself from a fam
lily of peasants, has looked with dis
trust upon this galaxy of nobility, al
most from the very day he was cleo
ted to the papacy
! This distrust became even more es
tablished when, some time ago. it ap
peared that the entire guard had be
come innoculated with the doctrine o