Petitions Place Six On '45 Nominations List

Two years before any correct and traditional Harvard Class would think of electing officers, the Class of 1945 will go to the polls tomorrow to choose eight men from a field of 39 nominees. With war pushing class exoduses, four class elections in all have been held since only last February.

Six men have been added by petition to the list of 33 students named by the Nominating Committee last Wednesday. From the entire bill will be chosen three Marshals, and a Treasurer, Chorister, Orator, Odist, and Poet.

Three for Marshal

Of those nominated, three, Frederic de Hoffman, Douglas R. Spencer, and Richard J. Ward, were for the post of Marshal. Other petitions named Paul D. Tibbetts for Chorister, John R. Kilpatrick for Odist, and David Loring for Poet.

Polling, under the direction of Donald T. Trautman '46, will be in all House Dining Halls, Dudley, and the clubs. Starting tomorrow noon, it will continue through Friday, with resultts announced in Monday's CRIMSON.

Elections Speeded

With Class Elections usually coming in the second semester of the Senior year, this March would ordinarily be just about time to choose officers for 1943. But they were picked, last sprin, and '44 followed quickly last fall. The Class of '45, now part Junior and part Sophomore, has had to rush to elect before its entire membership is called to service, while '46 is not now expected to elect until after the war.

Many distinguished men have held class offices in the past and several of the traditional positions date far back in the history of the College. The oldest office is that of Marshal, which originated soon after the founding of the College in 1636.

Originally planned to keep the parade of graduates in order, the Marshal has slowly lost his functional aspects. Thee governors of Massachusetts, a Supreme Court Justice, a president of the University, and several well-known faculty members have been elected to this highest class post.

Most famed man to have held the post of Orator is probably Oliver Wendell Holmes '61. Included in the distinguished list of former Odists are T. S. Eliot '10, Horatio Alger, Jr., '52, Dean George H. Chase '96, and Kenneth B. Murdock '16, Professor of English.