Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-15
|KREUGER AND TOLL
| ENTER PHONE GAME
Relentless Swedish American
Fight Believed Likely
to Terminate.
BY JUNIUS b. WOOD.

BY Radio to The Star
STOCKHOLM. Sweden, September
determination of the relentless fight
| which has been waged around the
world in recent years between the pow
erful American and Swedish telephone
corporations is foreseen following the
recent entry of Ivar Kreuger, Swedish
match king and financ.er, and the toll
interests into the latter corporation.
In virtually every country from Asia
across Europe to South America, where
a telephone monopoly has beer offered,
the International Telephone & Tele-
graph Co, calling itself American, has
been pitted against the Swedish COM
pany for government concessions. Any
working agreement between these two
worldwide communication companies
will not overjoy the countries which
have not granted a concession upon
favorable competitive terms, while the
smaller American and German COM
panieS will be oyerShadowed by these
giants.
Kreuger World Figure.
The name of War Kreuger, who is
the organization and financial genius
# the firm. appears seldom in the news
papers of the United States, but he is
well known in the financial and politi-
cal holy of holes in every capital of the
world. Kreuger himself, plain and UNI
assuming, is seen in the streets of
Stockholm enc day, then fits quietly
to another capital for loans of several
millions, and is back again with the
same quiet reserve.
Within few years since the war, his
house, the worldwide investment trust
of Kreuger g. Toll, is said to have eX
tended loans to more foreign govern
nth in
or America. Its certificates are the
only ones which are international being
valid in all countries, others being
issued for particular countries. The
company's realty securities have also
spread to virtually every country.
Oppose Destructive Competition.
Kreuger 81 Toll policy is against
destructive competition. Also, Mr..
Kreuger has worked before with owen
D. Young, especially in Germany, which
petition between the two leading tele-
phone producers will be less strenuous
from now on.
The best known financing by the
Kreuger and Toll interests has been in
connection with the Swedish match
company, following the combination of
all the country's independent manu-
facturers. This company now does
business with every country in the
world, has some $50 factories in so
countries. in many countries has
match monopoly, and in return has
granted loans to these countries running
into several hundred million dollars.
In this immense organization, center
ing in Stockholm, but having branches
in every part of the world, Kreuger and
Toll originally started as construc-
ton company. Its activities have added
many lines besides matches, of which it
controls around 80 per cent of the
worlds output, including pulp mills,
chemical works. a mortgage and redis-
count corporation, iron ore and the
largest real estate company in Sweden.
It's rediscount corporation, recently or
ganized abroad on a big scale, is eX-
pected by Europe to attract share Of
Frances gold back into circulation.
The International Match Co. and the
Swedish American Investment Co. are
among the organizations branches in
the United States, though most OF its
financing is done through Lee, Higgin-
son Co.
Diamond Match Control Denied.
The recent American tariff. virtually
barring Swedish matches, brought re-
port from New York last week that the
Kreuger interests had secured control
of the Diamond Match Co, which was
promptly denied at the Kreuger & Toll
Offices here.
When Mr.. Kreuger, who in his
younger engineering days worked in the
United States. spoke before the Indus
trial Club of Chicago last Spring, IN his
first public speech, he declared that his
match interests were prepared to work
behind custom BARRIERS" but his Office
today declined to announce whether he
intends TO build factories in the United
States or adopt other means to hold the
American market.
(CopyrRht. 1930l