% American Express

The outlook for European travel brightened last week. The American Express Co., which for 30 years has shepherded U.S. citizens in & out of the cities and art galleries of Europe, announced that it now has 17 European offices operating again. More important, the U.S. State Department lent a hand to U.S. businessmen, Paris-bound on business.

The State Department, with the cooperation of the Army, will supply housing & travel facilities, at nominal rates, for essential travelers in Europe. As a start, the State Department turned over Paris' small, comfortable Hotel California to 'civilians. There businessmen-trippers will be housed for $4-$11 a day; will be served meals for $2.75 a day, thus dodge the fantastic restaurant prices (cost of a good meal: $15 to $25).

From there on. American Express expects to take care of them. Its smoothly functioning Paris office has already conducted over 200,000 G.I.s on tours of Paris and the French Riviera. The famed office at 11 Rue Scribe (which in prewar years thought nothing of distributing 21,000 letters a day to American tourists) is again operating, though partly occupied by the Army.

Surprisingly, American Express profits soared during the war. Last year's net of $2.4 million was better than in any prewar year except 1929. Though 34 of its 59 pre war foreign offices were closed, and civil ian travel dropped out of sight, American Express was busy arranging trips for thou sands of globe-trotting officials connected with OWI, RFC, the Navy, and other Government agencies.

But the biggest profits came from the boom in the sale of money orders and travelers' checks sold to essential travel ers, and to servicemen and their families. This year all classes of business done by the American Express Co. may reach $1 billion.

Now American Express expects to be busier than ever. Air cruises to Latin America, in specially chartered planes, are being planned, may start some time this winter. In the first full year after all travel restrictions are lifted, and transportation is available, it is expected that U.S. tour ists will spend $10 billion for travel and recreation.

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