But since the summer, Mann said, "We think we are getting closer to a compromise position. The donor had clearly wanted there to be a stream of income for the forest, and we had to weigh that against Harvard taking the endowment. There is a cut-off point, but I don't know what it is. That's why we're trying to compromise. The parties disagree, but we are making some progress."

Vice President and General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54, Harvard's point man on Black Rock, said this week that he is still waiting for a new offer from Mann. In the past, he has said Harvard "is not inclined" to leave more than the $400,000 sale money with the forest, but he said he would consider any future offers.

"The discussions are basically in New York now. Harvard isn't actively involved anymore. We are letting them decide what proposals are feasible and sensible," Steiner said.

BUT THE FOUR New York groups involved with the Attorney General's office are not optimistic. They have said that anything less than $900,000 would violate Stillman's original intentions and fail to guarantee that the forest will be adequately maintained. The Golden sale does not guarantee a steady flow of funds, but relies on local educational institutions to pay to use the forest.

One of those groups, the Ernest G. Stillman Forest Committee, founded by New York freelance writer George W.S. Trow '63, suggests that some $2 million remain with the forest. Trow said the group would consider taking action against the University if an amount of money substantially less than that were secured.

So in the final analysis, any compromise which secures less than $900,000 for the forest would almost certainly raise the wrath of some of the environmentalists--and any compromise far from the present offer of $400,000 would likely be unacceptable to Harvard. Steiner, however, said Harvard would most likely not go to court over the sale if it doesn't receive the support of the Attorney General.

In the ongoing battle, the Attorney General's office has asked Harvard to produce evidence showing what Stillman intended when he gave the endowment and the forest. Harvard has claimed that the cash and the forest were separate, and has based much of its argument on correspondence with Stillman's elder son, Calvin W. Stillman '39, of New Jersey. Calvin Stillman, unlike his outspoken brother, has remained on the sidelines for most of the contest, according to Steiner.

Calvin Stillman said in a recent interview that he believes his father, who gave Harvard cash gifts throughout his adult life, was unsure whether Harvard would even accept Black Rock, an "unproductive forest." As a result, he arranged to give the forest only after his death.

He said the gift of the land was separate in time and place from the many cash gifts that Ernest Stillman gave to Harvard, Calvin Stillman also said that while his father was living, he emphasized gifts to the Harvard Forest at Petersham, rather than the Black Rock Forest.

But John S. Stillman '40, a New York lawyer, disagrees. He says that its father's main interest was Black Rock, and that Ernest Stillman would be "very upset" to find that Harvard wants to violate that trust.

Joel Graber, an assistant attorney general who handled the Black Rock case before Mann, said he has found no conclusive evidence to back either the claims of either of the brothers. As a result, Graber said, the office is now just trying to reach a reasonable settlement based on inconclusive evidence about what Ernest Stillman really wanted. Graber also said the office is soliciting advice from New York residents about what it would take to maintain the forest.

Over the last year, four New York parties, the Scenic Hudson, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the Stillman Forest Committee and John Stillman, have urged the State Attorney General not to allow the Harvard to leave the forest without a permanent endowment, a measure not specified in the sale to Golden.

In the words of one Harvard alumnus who asked to remain anonymous, the Golden proposal relied on local educational institutions to preserve silviculture at Black Rock and he called such an "unsure financial and philosophical grounding" for the forest "totally unacceptable."

George Gowen, chairman of the Scenic Hudson, said, "There is so much tangible evidence that Stillman wanted his money to be used primarily for Black Rock. I am satisfied the documents show that the forest and the endowment went hand in hand."

Gowen said that unless the practice of silviculture and the maintenance money available from Stillman's Black Rock Trust Fund could be assured by Golden, then Harvard would be shirking its responsibility.