Bankers

May the thousands of investors who bought Kreuger & Toll and International Match securities obtain redress from the bankers of these companies? Last week an answer to this much-asked question drew closer. In Manhattan one Florence Bramson, owner of five International Match $1,000 debenture bonds (worth $17.50 each last week), brought suit against Guaranty Co. and Lee, Higginson & Co., charging not fraud but misrepresentation of facts. Another suit against Lee, Higginson & Co. was filed last week by Alice F. and Edith S. Tilton of Milton, Mass., owners of Kreuger & Toll securities. They too charged misrepresentation, sought their money back.

On the day following Miss Bramson's. suit, Lee, Higginson & Co. announced that it planned to liquidate. During its 84 years the house profited from backing the China tea trade, was prominent in the development of U. S. railways, helped reorganize General Motors in 1910 and organized Nash Motors. Its salesmen sold over a billion dollars worth of securities, its distribution system was nationwide. Last week while many critics of the old house were to be heard its integrity remained unquestioned.

In Paris the firm of Lee, Higginson et Cie. last week announced a similar move but the affiliated London house, Higginson & Co., planned to continue. A new firm will be formed with outside capital. It will be called Lee, Higginson Corp. and will carry on a securities business in Manhattan, Boston and Chicago. It will also do a small deposit business and trade in acceptances. Being a corporation it can belong to no stock exchange. But while this company will perpetuate the name, last week the career of Boston's old partnership seemed ended.

While Lee, Higginson & Co. planned these changes last week the investigation of Herr Kreuger's affairs went on apace. In Stockholm police were searching 150 sacks of waste paper for clues regarding Kreuger transactions. The first actual jail sentence in the case came when Bror Bregberg, one of Kreuger's associates, was fined $162,000 and sent to jail for nine months at hard labor. In Manhattan Anders Jordahl, crony of Ivar Kreuger, admitted that Herr Kreuger might have "been short a few shares" at the time of his death. Other than this he had little to say.

On the New York Stock Exchange there was a sudden rise in Kreuger & Toll debenture certificates. From 1/32 they hopped to 1/8, a gain of 400%.

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