The Prince Steps Down

To the American Tobacco Co., which he headed for 20 years, the late George Washington (Lucky Strike) Hill left some famous slogans and a poser: How would the company do without his lurid, armor-piercing salesmanship? Part of the solution was left to George Washington Hill Jr., whose loud advertis ing talents were learned from his father.

As vice president in charge of advertising since 1938, young George had worked hand in glove with old George in perfect ing the technique of noisy repetition (L.S.M.F.T. and the auctioneer's chant) which was credited with keeping Lucky Strikes on top of the cigarette market.

But American Tobacco passed up George Washington Hill Jr., now 39, when it came to making a new president 18 months ago. To succeed old man Hill the directors picked Vincent Riggio, 71, who was vice president in charge of sales. Un der Riggio, Lucky Strike advertising went along as noisily as before, but Luckies' sales were no longer as good as they should have been. There was talk of trouble in the biggest tobacco company in the world.

Last week George Hill Jr. dragged it into the open. He quit his $230,000-a-year job as vice president and fired off a blast at American's management. Hill said that American, which had once sold 15% more cigarettes than second-place Camels (R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.), was now barely ahead. In 1947, Camels had come up till its volume of production was only 1 1/2% under Luckies. The fault, said he, was in the advertising, and "executive decisions with which I am in fundamental disagreement, and in the making of which I have had a progressively diminishing voice. . . ."

There was more to the case than that. The men who know tobacco best said that Riggio, who had brought in his son Louis, 38, as assistant to the president, had gradually added to his own authority and influence at the expense of the younger Hill's. Another reason for Luckies' narrowing lead last year was the fact that Camel production had been stepped up so that Camels could stop rationing dealers, thus boosting sales. (Luckies had dropped rationing in 1946.)

Though Hill Jr. kept mum on his plans, tobaccomen did not think he intended to stay out of the company his grandfather and father had built to its present size.The scuttlebutt was that Hill Jr. hoped to stir up enough support from stockholders to get back in on his own terms.

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