Cigaret Mystery

The best-seller cigaret among U.S. troops in London last week was Chelsea, a comparative newcomer, which outstripped all combined old-established brands 2 1/2-to-1. The best-seller in Australia was a onetime "10-c-" brand called Domino, followed by Wings, Raleigh and Avalon. Reason: there were few if any Camels, Chesterfields, Lucky Strikes, Old Golds and Philip Morris available. At the Army canteen nearest MacArthur's headquarters, Avalons had been for a fortnight the only cigaret available.

To overseas soldiers one of the minor mysteries of war has been the cigaret supply. In the Philippines men who had to eat carabao and mule meat could understand why their cigarets dwindled to a pack a week and finally disappeared. But U.S. troops in Australia whose supply has never been seriously impeded do not know yet why they smoked a low-selling brand like

Piedmonts for months, followed by Kools, Raleighs and even some brands of which they had never heard. They knew that those brands took up just as much cargo space as the big-five cigarets most of them had been accustomed to smoking. Troops in England spread a rumor (false) that the U.S. Government had taken over a plant in Richmond, was making its own cigarets and calling them "Chelsea." This probably sprang up months ago when soldiers ordering their favorite brands were given Chelseas in the ratio of three to four of the favorites.

The Army Quartermaster Corps in Washington had no explanation to offer, released some statistics which only deepened the mystery: enough cigarets are being sent overseas to give every man on foreign service (more than one million this spring) a pack a day. The percentage distribution seemed to be normal: Lucky Strike 21, Camels 21, Chesterfields 18, Philip Morris 12, Old Gold 11, Raleigh 6, Twenty Grand 3 1/2, Chelsea 3, all others 4 1/2. Army Exchange Service, which with the quartermasters buys cigarets for overseas distribution, was surprised to hear about the cigaret-supply mystery, which had already gone 16 months without solution.

Army officers rank cigarets among the big three in their list of morale necessities (the others: mail, food). The importance of fags to fighting men was illustrated last summer when General MacArthur had to take time off from strictly military duties to work out a plan with Prime Minister Curtin allowing Aussies to buy cigarets in U.S. post exchanges. Result: long lines of Diggers at PX doors three times daily, a tighter supply for U.S. troops, and bitter words. Today the situation is smoother and U.S. soldiers get a pack a day.

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