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the State; you are pretty well acquainted with the land to be bought 

 up there? 

 A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Did you ever hear any of your neighbors, who had land to sell, 

 say that they were anxious to sell to the commission, if the commis- 

 sion showed a disposition to purchase ? 



A. Well, I have heard — I hear a great deal of talk about forest 

 preserve and about people wanting to sell lands and what lands they 

 want to sell. 



Q. Did you ever hear them say what they thought, the land was 

 worth, or they could sell it on fair terms, marketable price, to the 

 commission ? 

 A. These lands? 

 Q. Yes. 



A. Well, I know what I think about lands, about all lands; I don't 

 think any land after the sawed timber has been cut down to six or 

 seven inches, I think, is worth anything to the State of New York. 



Q. Do you know the commission ever tried to purchase land that 

 was on the market, that was forsale; you know the commission say 

 they were trying to get all the land they could at. a reasonable price; 

 are you aware they tried to get this land, and could they have got it 

 if they had tried ? 



A. I don't know whether they could get it; I don't know anything 

 about it; I have heard sometimes there was some little talk about 

 their buying; I don't know anything about it. ! 

 « Q. You think they could get all the land they wanted if they gave 

 a reasonable price ? 



A. I think they could get a good deal mpre than it would be profit- 

 able to the State to buy. 



Q. What do you think was a reasonable price per acre for the 

 average land up there ? 

 Q. The location of the land depends entirely upon its value. 

 Q. Depends entirely on the timber upon it? 



A. So far as any one can judge the timber has stood there ever 

 since the world stood; no man ever made a dollar out of it and never 

 can; there is land high up on the mountains and so far removed from 

 the stream that a log would be worth too much to get it to a stream. 

 Q. Did Mr. G-armon tell you the commission was anxious to pur- 

 chase land ? 



A. I have heard Mr. G-armon frequently speak something about 

 buying interests where the State owned, where they owned jointly; I 

 heard about a piece they sold over in St. Lawrence county, which is , 



