St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-31

erty. Iney take the cases ION shares"
relying upon favorable decision of the
courts for their pay, or upon their abil-
ity to eXtOrt from the holders of the
property portion Of its value in con-
sideration of receiving a quitclam
deed. The latter eXpedient is usually
adopted, ana is preferred by both par
ties. On the one hand it is regarded as
the cheapest way to remove clou d
upon property that has present or
prospective great value, and on the
other side 1t is gladly accepted because
the instigators of the suit understand
better than the defenders the fiimsy
ground upon which the claim fire.
quently rests.
1t is a species of blackmail. Next to
mans personal character the title to
his real estate is the most sensitive
thing on earth. A suspicion cast upon
its validity depreclateS or destroys its
market value. If the abstract shows
the slightest flaw in the title to a piece
of property the owner cannot borrow
dollar upon it, even though it might b g
worth million. And any attack upon
title is blemish that can scarcely be
effaced, even though the attack should
be baseless. and 50 declared by court
of law
There are hundreds OF lawyers who
call themselves reputable citizens and
members Of an honorable profession
who are pursuing this nefarious calling.
And they make it pay, for they not only
bleed their clients, but the other parties
as well. Men of good judgment in all
other respecte will lose their heads If
they are informed thai they are right
fully entitled to valuable property of
which they have been unjustly de-
prived, and will pay handsomely TO ''se-
cure their rights" 1t sometimes turns
out that they have no rights in the
premises, and never had any, but only
after they have paid dearly for their
whistle. Ii it transplreS that their
claim is valid one, they usually accept
moiety of its value, the lawyer taking
the bulk of the money eXtorted from the
property owners.
The laws in many of the states seem
to give encouragement to this species of
blackmail. The rights of minor heirs
are never eXtiDguished by the statutes
of limitations. while the dover rights Of
widows terminate only with their lives.
1t has been held in few cases-notably
the Temple case in Chicago that a
widow cannot eXtinguish her dover
right i'll property even by signing,
jointly with her husband, mortgage
upon real estate. 1t may be questioned
if this view would be sustained by the
higher courts on appeal, and it is to be
regretted that death interviewed TO stay
this litigation before it could be taken to
the supreme court for review.
But it IS not to valid claims Of rightful
heirs that objection is taken. These
should be protected both by our laws
and courts. IL is the frivolous, purely
technical flaws in titles that are the chief
support of the blaekmailers in question
that the community should be protect
ed from. There is need of legislation
upon this subject, and especially SO at
present, when there is All unusual desire
to dispose OF real estate in many local
tiles. The statute of limita lions should
be bar to all proceedings calculated to
disturb Or impair the title to real estate,
which, more than anything else tam
gible, should be unassailable.