Class Elections.

(We invite all men in the University to submit communications on subjects of timely interest, but assume no responsibility for sentiments expressed under this head.)

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

The editorial, entitled "Class Elections," which appeared in the last issue of "The Illustrated" has come to my attention. There seems to be some misunderstanding as regards the authority and the legality of the nominating committee appointed recently by me to assume the temporary office of conducting the various class elections.

It was ruled by last year's Council, on retiring from office, that in the event of any of the members of its nominating committee being absent from college this year because of participation in military service, those remaining were to carry on the work of the committee.

Upon finding this fall that all the members of this committee including myself, were engaged in military service which kept them from returning to college, I deemed myself empowered by last year's council, through the capacity of presidency of its nominating committee, to appoint an entire new committee to carry on the work of this body.

At the time I considered it vital to have such a committee, for without direct initiative, no organization could be collected to manage the actual clerical data entailed by class elections.

It should be borne in mind, before branding this body as "self-constituted" and "unauthorized", that the nominating committee of the Student Council of any college year, has no real power delegated to it other than the mechanical and impersonal task of printing the ballots, designating the polls, determining the watchers at the polls, and such like detail. As a body it has no further interest in the elections than seeing that sufficient men are nominated for office and the choices of each class are designated. In the event of insufficient petitions being field it may make such additional nominations as it believes would be conducive to the general interests of the various classes. Its function terminates as soon as the Student Council proper has been elected according to the rules of the Council, and thereafter it ceases to exist.

In its only essence it is in no way concerned with whom the different classes elect. It has no controlling vote such as the Prussian delegates have in the German Bundesrath; it neither elects its own ticket nor canvasses for votes. It is the same machinery as is behind any municipal or national elections; which knows nothing beyond the number of ballots to be printed, the places where the elections should be held, and the proper tabulating of the votes.

With these considerations in view, I was concerned chiefly with appointing men who had sufficient ability and competency to perform efficiently the definite duties of supervising, not "running," the class elections.  D. M. LITTLE, JR., '18.