New-York tribune., 1910-08-19
PROFIT IN STATE LAND
Investigation of the Purchasing
Board Opens at Albany.
OSTRANDER ON THE STAND
Says He and G.. F. Underwood
Got 81 25 an Acre After 1t Had
Been Offered at 81.

~
Albany Aus 1S--That twenty-one thou
sand acres of forest lands were sold to the
state by George n. Ostrander. Of Albany,
and George F. Underwood, Of New York, at
81 90 an acre after ii ilad been previously
offered to the state at 81 acre, was one
OF the points made to-day In the investiga-
ton ordered by Governor Hughes in con-
nection with the opera tons Of the state land
purchasing board. Roger P. Clark, the
Governors counsel, and II. Leroy Austin.
District Attorney OF Greene County, are
conducting the inquiry as commissioners
for the Governor.
The investigators spent much of the time
this afternoon in questioning Mr.. Ostrander
concerning the organization of the Fair
Haven Iron Ore Company, of which James
S Whipple. state Forest and Game Com
missioner, is the president and in which
several persons connected either with the
states land purchases or with Mr.. Whipples
depa rtment are stockholders. The company
bought mine In Sterling. Cayuga County,
but the venture was not paying one.
Mr. Ostrander Is secretary of the Rae
Quette Falls Land Company, which has sold
many parcels of land to the state for the
forest preserve.
In February 1903, Mr.. Ostrander offered
ECO acres of land to the state for IS an
acre. The state eventually bought 1t at
81 25 an acre. This land, Mr.. Ostrander
said. included the Pickhardt lands, a q ooo-
acre tract near Schroon Lake Ostrander
agreed 10 buy the tract from the agents,
Hawkins & Dslafleld. lawyers. of New
York. He had heard that the state had
been considering a proposition to buy the
land at the rate Of 81 an acre within the
Adirondack Park and 81 an acre outside the
park
Ostrander bought It for So an acre inside
the park and Sc acre outside the park.
George r. Underwood, also a director in the
Racquette Falls company. took half of Mr..
Ostrander's obligation The land was sold
TO the state by Ostrander and Underwood
at q profit of more than $4,000.
Letter by Ostrander Read.
During the examination Mr.. Austin read
from letter to Mr.. Hawkins from Mr.
Ostrander in relation to the Pickhardt
property.
'It is good luck and influence only that
will make the investment profitable TO us
Mr.. Ostrander wrote.
What did you mean by that?'' Mr..
Austin asked.
BY good luck Ostrander replied, 'I
meant that we might sell 1t TO the state,
and as TO influence you can take that
for what il is worth.
You had sold land to the state before?''
tI did"
Ostrander said the Fairhaven Iron Ore
Company was formed in December, 1905, a
few months after Commissioner Whipple
had been appointed by, Governor Higgins
The promoters of the company. the wit
ness said, were Mr.. Whipple and Barnet H
Davis. Ostrander said he and George r.
Finch. Of Glens Falls. decided to take q
flyer" in the company on reports which had
been left with them by Mr. Whipple Os-
trander said the stockholders included
Reuben l. Fox, James 3. Lyon, Archie T.
Baxter, l.. B. Gleason, j. .. Lawrence.
Grant c. Winchester, ex-senator J. P
Aids. ex-senator a. T Fancher F. D. Kill
burn, Frank c. Hooper, Walter c. Wfther-
bee, George II. Furman and Harry II.
Bender
Mr.. Ostrander was questioned as TO his
dealings with Frank L Bell, a former at
torney for the International Paper Com
pany, who has been employed as one of
the special counsel to the Forest, Fish and
Game Commission since an action involv-
ing land deal in the Adirondacks in
which Bell was one of the defendants
was settled by the payment to Bell of $780,
00. Bell has been subpcened BY the in
vestigators.
Land Sold Included Camps.
The Investigators Piled the witness at
length concerning the RaqUette Falls Land
(7nyV Of r,rl,io Oh, y
the time William W Durant became fnan
cially involved in 1901, Ostrander said Du-
rant came TO him with proposition that
he aid in raising $4,000 through the sale
of Durant's Adirondack holdings Ostrand-
er undertook the deal and raised the
money. The lands sold at that time in
cluded Sycamore Lodge, which went to
Alfred ". Vanderbilt. and Arbutus Camp,
which was purchased by Archer NJ. Hunt
ington, while the "tag-ends'' went to a
group of men, including George F. Under
WOOD. George r. Finch, ex-Congressman
L. ". Emerson. Patrick Moynihan, J. r.
Finch, Edward F. Murray, the witness and
others who were the organizers of the
Raquette Falls Land Company. Mr.. Ener
son is the present president Of the com
pany.
It was brought out that this company
bought 2l,000 acres of land in 1901 for
ss4,6l4, gave the Union Bag and Paper
Company d timber cutting reservation for
s26 go. and sold the land in 1905 TO the
state for s152 364. The Forest Purchasing
Board at that time consisted of Commits
sioner Whipple, John +. OBrien, who was
then Secretary of state, and John 7. Wal
then State Treasurer.
Queried by Mr.. Austin, Mr.. Ostrander
declared that neither he nor the company
had paid money to any state official to
action in the purchase of land
by the state.
Mr. Ostrander testified at the afternoon
session that dividends had been paid by
the Raquette Falls Land Company to the |
amount of s217,6oo from September 6, |
1904, to January. 1903, on a capitalization
OF 500 coo
BUILDERS POSTPONE LOCKOUT