Evening journal., 1914-05-26
BY HENRY WOOD.
Rcme Correspondent OF the United
Press)

(Rcme Correspondent OF the United |
Press)
ROME. May 26.-Four American
cardinals, for the first time In the
history Of the Vatican. yesterday
attended a consistory of the Sacred
College. They were, Cardinal Glib
bons. of Baltimore; Cardinal Farley,
of New York; Cardinal 0'Connel, OF
Boston, and Cardinal Falconio, for
merly Apostolic Delegate at Wash
ington and a naturalized American
citizen, of Rome. The votes Of the
four Americans went with those OF
their church colleagues for the rails
ing to the purple of 10 new princes
of the church.
The presence OF four American car
dinals. to permit OF whose attendance
Pope Plus had postponed the consis-
tory from Easter until yesterday, con-
tributed to make the function almost
as famous as that of 1871 at which
of the American cardinals we're
created. Cardinal Gibbons, especially,
who after % years Of service as a
member of the Sacred College ranks
next to the cardinal dean for
seniority was the recipient Of hearty
congratulations at having again been
! able to make the pilgrimage to Rome
In pursuance with the country-old
traditions of the Vatican the consis-
tory yesterday was secret, being
participated in only by the pope and
the members of the Sacred College.
/ Following the formal opening, each
cardinal in turn, beginning with the
dean, Cardinal Serafini Vannutelli,
was called to the foot of the papal
throne. There Pope Plus whispered
| to each, the names of the 13 prelates
whom he had decided to raise to the
| purple. To these nominations, each
cardinal in turn gave his whispered
approval.
Although the consistory' failed
to attract the attention of that
of November, 1911. in which Is
cardinals were created, an import.
ance nevertheless attached to il that
may have the most vital effects on
the future conduct OF the Catholic
church. This importance lies In the
number of foreign cardinals con
/ tanned in the list as compared with
the Italian ones. Until the con-
sistory of 1911, the popes had for cen
| turies past never failed to maintain
in the Sacred College a majority OF
\ Italians sufficiently large to insure
\ always the election Of an Italian
\ pope. A radical departure from this
was made BY pope Plus in 1911 when
the majority was reduced TO anything
but a safe one, from the Italian point
/ of view. Although a vigorous pro.
test was at once made to his Holiness
by a goodly party Of the Italian pre-.
lates. who pointed out TO him the
many dangers which they believed
the possible election of foreign pope
might entail. they apparently failed
to swerve him from the purpose h'
had in mind--if purpose he had
when he began the reducing Of Tn,
Italian majority.
Before the holding of the consistor.
the membership Of the SacreS
College has been reduced by
recent deaths to SO. OF these 20 were
Italians and "a we're foreigners. Will
the creation this morning of only fiv,
new Italian cardinals against eigh
foreign ones, the membership of the
Sacred College is now composed o
"a Italians and 80 foreigners.
or the former, several such as Car
dinal Di Pietro, who is SO years o
age. and has been bed-ridden fol
years, are unable because Of physica
inhrmities to attend a conclave foi
the election of a new pope, and 81
the Sacred College for the first tim'
in centuries can now be regarded al
at least evenly balanced. The per
sistence of Pope Plus in the polio!
that has resulted in this is general.
interpreted in vatican circles a
meaning that he at least is of tn
opinion that a pope, other than al
Italian, might be beneficial to tn
church at the present time.