GOVERNMENT: The Serviceman's Utopia

To 1,683,000 U.S. Army and Air Force men and their families stationed in 27 countries, payday usually means a visit to the PX, the world's biggest exclusive shopping preserve. Last week the payday rush was on in 5,933 PXs, helping to make the Army and Air Force Exchange Service rank in dollar volume below only Sears, Roebuck, J. C. Penney, Montgomery Ward and F. W. Woolworth among retail chains. To maintain its place as one of the U.S. military's greatest fringe benefits, PX branches stock up to 30,000 items, sell everything from underwear to refrigerators—all at cut-rate prices designed...