TEA DRINKERS, who have increased their consumption between 10% to 20% since the first of the year because of the high price of coffee, will pay for it probably with a 25-c--a-lb. price increase within the next few months. The increased demand has caused importers to raise prices to packers and blenders 18P: to 24-c- a lb. on popular grades, and the jump will be passed on to consumers as soon as retail stores start replenishing their stocks.

ADMEN are cutting down on their smoking. Tide, advertising trade magazine, polled 2,200 U.S. advertising and marketing executives, found that of 1,466 who smoke, 35% have switched to filter-tip cigarettes within the last year, 28% have cut down on their smoking, and 23% have stopped smoking altogether.

WAREHOUSE sales to clear out inventories have proved so successful that Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott department store is setting up a warehouse store on a permanent basis, thus hopes to win back some of the business lost to discount houses. The store will sell everything from TV sets to towels at bargain prices because of its low overhead, give shoppers a chance to save even more money (delivery cost ranges from $1 to $3 an item) by carrying their own purchases home.

MERGER of 31 oil unions into one big industry-wide bargaining group is in the works. Delegates from the unions (mostly small independents, representing 212,000 workers), meeting in Philadelphia, have agreed on a constitution, will present it to the membership for ratification at their convention next August. Possible boss of the union: O. A. ("Jack") Knight, head of the 125,000-man C.I.O. Oil Workers' International Union, who will try to keep the whole big union in the C.I.O.

NEW YORK Central is negotiating to lease Canadian National railroad's 40-mile branch line between Massena, N. Y. and Huntingdon, Que. The Central sees the short, easy-grade line as an important link in its plan to do a heavy freight business by picking up Labrador ore at the Montreal terminus, shipping it southwest to U.S. blast furnaces.

FORD bumped Chevrolet out of first place in auto sales during 1953's last quarter for the first time since 1935. Final figures: Ford, 328,306 cars; Chewy, 314,827. Though Ford's lead was due largely to Chevrolet's model change in December, Ford claims it continued to lead the field in January.

WALT DISNEY is planning an $11 million combination fair and amusement park for Los Angeles. To be called Disneyland, the project will cover 152 acres, will show the world of the past, the world of the future, and the. world of fantasy, with sets from such Disney movies as Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and Cinderella. Rides for the kiddies will include a 40 ft. rocket, supposedly giving the sensation of space travel.

PAY-as-you-see TV experiment in Palm Springs, Calif, is going over even better than expected by the International Telemeter Corp. After three months, 148 of the town's 614 sets are equipped with meters to handle the average fee of 95-c- for each program shown, are returning an average of $10 per set a month.

THE UNION SHOP, which is barred in 14 states (TIME, Feb. 15), was barred in a 15th. Mississippi, by a vote of its legislature, passed a "right to work" bill providing that no one can be fired for refusing to join a union.

ETHYLENE gas, used in ethyl alcohol, synthetic rubber, etc., will get a 10% production boost in the U.S. next year. Gulf Oil will build the world's biggest plant at Port Arthur, Texas, and will be able to produce 3 billion cu. ft. of the gas annually. Cost: between $10 million and $12 million.

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