August 17, 1983

American Brands Inc., the nation's oldest tobacco company, is sitting on so much money these days that it can afford to be patient. When Norton Simon Inc. went on the auction block, American Brands was approached by investment bankers who knew the diversified tobacco company had cash and credit of more than $2 billion for non-tobacco acquisitions. And when Stokely-Van Camp Inc. was looking for a friendly company to save it from a takeover by the Pillsbury Company, Stokely's investment bankers also came to American Brands. American Brands passed in both cases.

''As the investigation of Klaus Barbie has shown, officers of the United States Government were directly responsible for protecting a person wanted by the Government of France on criminal charges and in arranging his escape from the law.'' - Allan A. Ryan Jr., a Justice Department official. (A8:1.)

International U.S. Army officers hid Klaus Barbie after World War II, according to the Justice Department. The department, after a five-month investigation, said that counterintelligence officers had hidden Mr. Barbie, a former Gestapo officer wanted by the French for war crimes, employed him as a spy in Germany and then helped him escape to Bolivia in 1951. The report concluded that Army officers had lied to American civilian authorities to hide the high Nazi official, who is now being held in a Lyons prison. (Page A1, Columns 1-2.) France has expressed irritation at American pressure on Paris to intervene in the war in Chad. In addition, President Francois Mitterrand said he sent troops to Chad to prod Libya to reach a negotiated settlement of the war, believing that a military solution was impossible. (A1:3-4.)

THEY began some 50 strong, song sheets in hand - by belting out all four choruses of ''There's No Business Like Show Business'' in front of Mays department store on 14th Street at Broadway. Mays was once the site of the Union Square Theater and this was, officially, a sing-along salute to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the New York stage. Unofficially, it was an opportunity for would-be warblers to come out of the shower. Or, as Felix Cuervo announced over his bullhorn, ''This is a chance to be happy and have a good time.'' Mr. Cuervo, a retired civil service worker and president of the Native New Yorkers' Historical Association, was the leader of last Sunday's musical excursion to famous theatrical sites north of 14th Street. He said records show that the first stage performance in America was given in Lower Manhattan 250 years ago. The celebration was sponsored by the 92d Street Y and the charge of $6.50 included the lyrics to 33 songs. A few minutes after 11 A.M., the group trooped around the corner to the spot where Wallack's Theater once stood and sang ''Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.''

Marc Rich & Company A.G., the Swiss-based commodity trading firm under investigation for possible United States tax evasion, is in a classic double bind. The company cannot give American prosecutors many of the documents they have subpoenaed because the Swiss Government has seized them to make sure their release would not violate the corporate secrecy laws of Switzerland. But every day that goes by without Marc Rich turning over the documents means that it must pay another $50,000 fine because it is in contempt of court in the United States. Some Marc Rich documents, two trunks full, were seized in New York by American authorities.