GOVERNMENT: Gambler's Axiom

Washington last week reproved an old gambler's axiom: the best way to make money is to play with other people's chips. While U.S. airlines did their biggest job in history, it was the airmail division of the Post Office which collected over half the ante. The division's reported profit for fiscal 1942, after deduction of its own direct expenses, was a record $8 million—more than half the total net earnings of all 18 U.S. domestic airlines. Next year the division will probably earn a cool $22 million or perhaps better, thanks mostly to an ace in the hole: Though it will slash rates paid to the airlines, it will probably maintain the present 6¢ airmail letter rate to U.S. citizens.