Evening star., 1944-10-08
1900 pxs Scattered
Over World Bolster
Yanks' Morale
~ the Associated press

~ tne Ass0clated FreSs.
NEW YORK, Oct. .7.-Col. r. r..
Kerr, chief Of the Army Exchange
Service, sees his worldwide network
OF post exchanges d weapon Of
war.
cts used by the Army to combat
homesickness and to satisfy that
American desire to pay ones own
way-at least part Of the way" he
says, adding with emphasis:
and it works, Handsomely"
Under the management of Col.
Kerr, prewar business executive
and former deputy director Of Civil
Service in Rhode Island, the AES
sells over loot. .o00,000 worth Of
merchandise each year through
some 1900 post exchange units,
5000 Of them overseas, many within
earshot Of the big guns.
Its a key to morale" he says.
Through the PIX, a man gets those
things he used to get at the corner
drugstore" The CT gets a mental
boost from buying beer, a ham on
rye. or pack of cards from q
civilian-even II the civilian is q
Solomons Island native. Six out of
seven PIX employees are civilians, and
there are Is, 900 of them.
1t was i've months after the land
ing on Bougainville Island before
the troops there had q full grown"
PIX. But, when one was established,
1t came complete - with wrist
watches, alarm clocks and electric
fans.
At Anzio, the PIX was built under
ground while the Germans were
Smelling the beachhead every day.
Some Housed in Tents.
There are PXs wherever the
American Army stands on sound
footing. Some are modern buildings
like those at Army camps in this
country, others are tents or dug
outs, still others are In buildings
captured from the enemy. In all OF
them the principles Of the AES are
carried out: Prices must be sus-
tanning but profits low, and the vari-
ETY. of merchandise must be based
upon the wants of the men.
PIX officers are encouraged to buy
locally. They're better bargainers
than are the average soldiers who
want souvenirs.
So when the CT goes into the PIX
for soda, he also can buy a cameo
or painting if he's in Italy, precious
stones if in India, q $3.50 grass skirt
in the South Pacific, an alligator
handbag If In Latin America, q Mo-
roccan leather wallet at $l.65 In
Oran, real tortoise shell in Naples.
The PIX will pack and ship his souv-
enirs home. too.
A typical PIX is really a general
store, where the soldier can satisfy
his needs, his Withstand his appe-
tite.
Experienced in Business.
Most exchange officers were cho-
sen from civilian life. They were
buyers for department stores. They
knew novelties. They were sound
advertisers, leaders in their busi-
nesses. Some now are being taken in
iioAl VIC AlhAy, Uug dt llIob IllUSt
were civilians trained at AES schools
at Fort Meade, Md, and Prince
ton, N. ].
Col. Kerr is a mixture of Army
and business. He's a West Point
graduate, class of 1914, andsof the
reserve classes of the Command
and General Staff School and the
Army War College. After the last
war he became associated with the
National Drug Stores Corp, of which
he became vice president. "a
He's not an armchair strategist.r Y
To see that PIX material was getting
through to CT Joe and CT Jane he
has made two long trips, the last
more than the distance around the
world-to England, North Africa,
Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, Egypt, the
Persian Gulf. India, Central Africa
and back through South America
and Puerto Rico Previously he
visited PXs in Ecuador and Peru
and the Galapagos and Ascension
Islands.