QUESTIONS OF POLICY 85 
The commission afterward received from the Messrs. 
Ballantine a gift of thirty-two acres, and from Z. M. Keen 
and William A. Righter one of about twenty acres, all 
valuable land in northern Newark, and now included in the 
northern division of Branch Brook Park, north of Bloom- 
field avenue. In 1896, a number of public-spirited citizens 
in Orange and East Orange made a donation of $17,275 in 
cash toward the acquirement of the triangle tract there, now 
the Orange Park. 
REAL ESTATE EXPERTS. 
As the preliminary work of the board early in 1895 con- 
tinued, it was found that one of the intricate, if not difficult, 
obstacles to overcome would be the acquirement of the land 
needed for the parks. It is unfortunate, but true, “and 
pity “tis *tis true,’ that whenever realty property is re- 
quired of private owners for public uses there is, in most 
instances, an immediate increase in the owner’s estimate of 
the value; and not infrequently the demands become so ex- 
orbitant as to price as to leave no other resource excepting 
either to abandon the purchase or resort to troublesome and 
frequently costly litigation. Although the commission had 
guarded its plans, as had the previous board, there was a 
general impression that soon appeared to pervade the dis- 
trict immediately contiguous to the reservoir site that a 
park would in all probability be located there at an early 
date. In order to accomplish, as far as possible, the acquire- 
ment of the land by purchase, it was decided to employ, as a 
part of the working organization of the commission, two 
real estate experts, who would undertake this important 
work of land purchase, and on July 18 Messrs. B. F. Crane 
and E. E. Bond received the appointment of land agents. 
Both of these gentlemen performed most valuable service, 
especially Mr. Crane, who was continuously active and 
earnest, and by kindly and tactful effort was very successful 
in acquiring a great number of the small lots and residence 
properties within the Branch Brook Park area. His loy- 
alty to the istefests of the commission won the confidence 
