374 



A Ever since it was organized. 



Q. In what capacity ? 



A. In the same position that I hold now, charge of the boots and ' 

 accounts and acting secretary in the absence of the secretary. 



Q. "What are your duties ? 



A. Making out and looking after the payment of the vouchers, 

 keeping the books and assisting in the office whenever there is any 

 work to be done that I can find time to do in addition to other duties. 



Q. You have had charge of the books and of the statistics mainly ? 



A. I have. 



Q. Have you examined the records and the statistics with reference 

 to the quantity of land owned by the State at the time the commis- 

 sion took charge of the forest preserve, land lying within the forest 

 preserve and owned by the State ? 



A. Yes, sir. 



Q. What was the number of acres ? 



A. When the commission was organized the Comptroller turned 

 turned over to the commission 715,000 acres in round numbers; I can 

 give it to you exact if you wish; the exact figures were 715,267 acres 

 turned over by the Comptroller, under date of May 18, 1886, and that 

 was the date on which the first report of the commission was made, 

 and the land so turned over and copied from the Comptroller's books 

 were scheduled in the appendix of the first report of the commission; 

 their aggregate was that amount. 



Q. What do you say with reference to their increase or decrease up 

 to the present time, and how brought about ? 



A. By an amendment to the forest commission act the counties of 

 Delaware and Oneida were added to the counties known as the forest 

 preserve counties; by the addition of Delaware the preserve was 

 increased 12,584 acres State land; by the addition of Oneida we 

 gained 4,808 acres; by the tax sale of 1885 we gained, after the period 

 of redemption had passed, 119,044, making a total of 851,703; that 

 amount was decreased again, as reported De cember 20, 1888, by the 

 Comptroller's office, by redemptions, 3,306 acres, by cancellations, 

 27,500; since December 20, 1888, the office has been officially notified 

 by the Comptroller that further cancellations had been made amount- 

 ing in the aggregate to 24,472 acres, leaving at the present time the 

 State holding in the sixteen counties, amounting to 796,416. * 



Q. Does that include anything acquired at the State sale? 



A. The sale of last fall doesn't enter into this calculation at all and 

 can't until two years and six months elapse from the date of the sale. 



Q. That is the time allowed for redemption ? 



