Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-04-05
TGN0RANGE .1ND
LNGONPETENCI.

TGA0RANGE AND
 INCOHPETE'NCT
 The office of Circuit Clerk is cne of the most important in Jefferson county. Negligence, ignorance and icompeteney in such an office is not to be tol erated for one moment. Upon an intelligent administration of the affairs of this office and the correct recordi&g z of deeds and mortgages depends the security of the home and property of every citizen and property holder of Jef= ferson county, A mistake, erasure or interlincation in the recording of deed or mortgage may cost home and property, and bring untold suffering upon a family that had before been happy and prosperous. It is, therefore, of vital interest to every fyeitizen and property.holder to have competent, correct and in. telligent man in that important office
 An examination of the records Of the Circuit Clerks office reveals q condition Of affairs which should alarm every property holder in Jef ferson county and cause all i'm mediate comparison of the original with the recorded instrument A few days ago an examination of the records in the Circuit Clerk, office was made by an expert, and the re suit of those investigations show general incompetency, incorrectness an ignorioea ia the adm n str ttioa of tue af a.s of tf4t oGIiea The elita of the GRAPHIC has in h;s possessian fhe result of those in. Yes ti44tons. which show er4su 'es9 interlineatiaas blols which obscure the writing uis SD lied and the use of wrong words moi in the original instrument, and other mistakes liable to cause costly and ilImitable litigation. En one instance, in the recording of trust deed, over 200 acres were left out in the descrip- tions of the lands, and the mistake was not discovered until the original document was returned for com 1ari- son with the recorded instrument. This decd was finally scratched out with the annotaeion or the margin, Error; re-recorded in book - page - the blanks being ours, as it is needless to disclose this private transaction
 In any number of instances there arc omissions, erasures and inter lineations in the deeds and9 mort gages.
 tThe legal effect of crasures and interlineations, says leading at- torney, is to place upon the party who relies upon the record as eyi- dence of his title the burden of show ing that such ensures or interline- ations were made by one duly authorized, honestly and in good faith, to correct errors and at the proper time. If the original instru- ment should be lost. the Clerk who made the entry would of course, be the only one who could testify as to why, when and how these corrections were made, and in the event of the Clerk $ death, absence or the facts had been forgotten, then the record itself would, in many cases, be worthless as evidence
 Does any citizen Of Jefferson county want 10 imperil his home, happiness and property by a con- tinuation of such Gemoralized con dition as now prevails in the Circuit Clerk office?
 These are facts for the voters of Jefferson county to consider The GRAPHIC is prepared to substantiate by the record every charge it has made. And yet, these are the Re. publican shareholders set up as models by the advocates of a com  promise for others to follow.
 The above investigations, cover ing d brief space of time, can be multiplied oieiinitum if necessary
 That there is general negligence. mcompeieuer and ineflicieaey in the Circuit Clerk office does not ; admit of a doubt
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