Regarding the Sept. 21 editorial, "Lessons of Lehman Brothers": The fundamental cause of the demise of Lehman Brothers was the casino mentality that was encouraged from the top. If Robert Lehman had still been at the helm, he would not have permitted any of the practices that sunk the venerable firm.
I know that because my father, Morris W. Gardner, worked for Lehman Brothers for half a century before retiring as comptroller in 1968. He often told my sister and me about the importance that Bobbie Lehman, as he was called by his friends, placed on the firm's integrity. He would walk away from any potential deal — no matter how lucrative — if he felt that it reflected badly on Lehman Brothers.
Every year at Christmas, my father took my sister and me to "the office," which was then located at One William Street in the heart of the downtown financial district. On one such occasion when I was a senior in high school applying to college, my father took me up to the partners' floor to meet Robert Lehman (before Lehman Brothers became a corporation). I still remember the event as if it were yesterday. He shook my hand and gazed into my eyes with a look that instilled total confidence and trust. Robert Lehman's death in 1969 ended an era.