Downtown

P: Two weeks after Edward A. Crawford's fantastic pyramid of wheat, corn, rye, silver and eggs toppled to earth (TIME, Aug. 7), the little onetime country sawbones filed a debtor's petition under the new bankruptcy act. His wife, as the Co. in E. A. Crawford & Co.. joined in the petition. Meantime auditors had discovered in the debris what even Doc Crawford himself did not know: that his assets were $1,200,000. his liabilities $2,500,000. Last week he offered to settle with his creditors for one-fourth cash, the balance in notes running up to three years. A majority of his creditors accepted the offer after his attorney. Samuel Slote. confided: "The doctor is supremely confident that he can come back, as he has done twice before. However, he says hereafter he will stick to his specialty which is cotton."

P: Ever since he was ousted from his film company in 1930, William Fox has spent his time scheming for a return to power, collecting modern and antique musical instruments and practicing golf, which, because of his crippled arm. he plays with one hand. For one brief interlude last year he returned to the spotlight when the U. S. Senate Banking & Currency Committee summoned him to Washington. There he promptly ducked into bed. Physicians bickered for days as to whether he was really sick or not. and Mr. Fox never testified. The Committee was puzzled by his income tax return in which he had reported a $3,000,000 loss in Fox stock. Fox Theatres Corp. had also deducted the same loss from its return. Last week the U. S. Government filed a $1,980,000 lien against William Fox for underpayment of taxes in 1929 and 1930 together with interest. Observers believed that the Government , thwarted by a jury in its effort to collect back taxes from Banker Charles Edwin Mitchell, was now abandoning criminal prosecution in income tax cases, would henceforth stick to civil action. P: Of all the many millionaires who lost fortunes in the 1929 stockmarket crash none has been more eager to admit it than Funnyman Eddie Cantor. In 20 days he lost the $2,000,000 that it had taken him 20 years to save. Recouping in part by sales of 'his book Caught Short, he described himself as ''not in the market but under it.'' Eddie Cantor's steepest losses were in Goldman, Sachs Trading Corp., that fabulous creation of Waddill Catchings, loudest prophet of the New Era. Nathan S. Jonas, ousted head of Manhattan's Manufacturers Trust Co. and Eddie Cantor's friend, neighbor and financial mentor, persuaded him to buy a huge block of Goldman, Sachs and put it away. For the next three years Funnyman Cantor devoted his life to making the mere mention of Goldman, Sachs a sure-fire gag from Broadway to Hollywood.* But the more fun Eddie Cantor had with Goldman. Sachs the madder he got. Finally last year he sued all the partners of the sponsoring firm of Goldman, Sachs & Co. for a cool $100,000,000. Other stockholders joined him in the suit, and Wall Street japesters used to annoy Goldman, Sachs telephone operators with requests for "the litigation department." To the dignified partners the vision of Funnyman Cantor on the witness stand became a haunting nightmare. Last week the nightmare evaporated. Goldman, Sachs & Co. offered to turn over 100,000 shares of stock and $85,000 cash to the corporation if Eddie Cantor and other stockholders would drop all suits. Goldman, Sachs & Co. was careful to point out, however, that they still considered the charges ridiculous.

P: Errett Lobban Cord, who last fortnight added ships to his transportation empire (TIME, Aug. 14), last week annexed another province--taxicabs. His loyal, hardbitten Lieutenant Lucius Bass Manning quietly announced that his boss had obtained control of $4,000,000 Checker Cab Manufacturing Corp., largest U. S. company building taxis exclusively. As is almost always the case when Cord Corp. buys up a company. Mr. Cord stepped in as chairman, Lou Manning went on the executive committee.

* When Floyd Odlum added Goldman, Sachs Trading to his swelling portfolio of investment trusts last spring, he prudently changed the name to Pacific Eastern Corp.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.