The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-23

WHICH little Is Known III lHlS SSCt4Oii
The following correspondence from
Chicago will perhaps shed some light
upon the salient points:
The Torrens system of land regis
tration, which is now attracting at
tention in many states of the union,
has been enacted into a law in Hi
nois. bill was passed at the last
session of the Illinois legislature. pro-
Viding for the putting into effect of
the system in any county in the state
where a majority of the voters should
decide in favor of it.
The law as passed in Illinois was
peculiar in one respect. In counties
where a majority of the voters decided
in favor of its adoption the recorder
of deeds, who becomes eX-off1cio regis
trar. will give certificates Oh title upon
application to land owners, but its use
is not obligatory upon any one. SO far
Cook county is the only one which has
adopted the Torrens law There was
a special election in Cook county in
November and the required petition
was presented TO the county commits
sioners and the question was sub
mitted to the voters. The majority in
favor of its adOption was large one
registered in a manner similar to the
keeping of a double entry account by
a bookkeeper. A page in the transfer
book is devoted to each separate par
Gel of property and the owner who de-
sires TO have his property registered
under the new system will apply to
tie registrar and will furnish deeds
and abstracts. giving the evidence of
the claim made to the ownership of
the land The registrar is authorized
TO employ attorneys who act as ex-
aminers on behalf of the registrar. The
application, together with the deeds
and other evidences of ownership
furnished by the applicant, are turn
ed over 10 the examiner, to make
thorough and careful examination of
the property, and if in their judgment
the claim is a good and valid one they
report to the registrar announcing
their decision. The registrar is then
authorized to issue a certificate of
ownership, which takes precedence of
al other deeds and claims period
of i've years is allowed in which to
file objections to the certificate If
none is filed within five years of the
time the certificate is issued, all claims
become OutlaWed and the owner has a
certificate Of absolute ownership,
barring possible claims which may be
entered against it on the record. The
making proper endorsement upon it
and the transfer is entered upon the
books. the title passing to the new
owner, who is entitled to q certificate
made out in his own name. After
the lapse of the period of
five years, the title to the land is abSo-
lutely in the possession o6rhe holder
of the accepted claim and no future
claim can be made against it to the
detriment Of the owner. Each time a
new owner obtains title to the prop
erty new page in the book Of re-
cords is opened in his name and the
previous pages closed.
In effect the new system of register
Ing land titles as stated, is in the
form of a set of books, the title of the
land appearing as credit and all
mortgages. contracts or membranes
appear against it. With the system in
force is it possible to make a transfer
o. the title in few minutes and at
minimum of expense. The entire sys-
TEN in designed 70 be as simple as
possible and an effort is to be made to
avoid confusing technicalities which
may have the effect Of clouding a title
20 property. The forms of application
for registration are all given concisely
in the law and all points which expert
ence or the knowledge of real estate
owners and lawyers have suggested in
it.
Under the old system and that
which is now in common use, the first
move made is TO obtain an abstract
of title which may or may not carry
with it a guarantee from the abstract
company. This abstract is supposed
TO include all documents from the time
the possession of the property passed
from the state or the United States
down to the time when it went into
the possession of the present owners
The cost of this may run from a few
dollars we'll up into the hundreds. This
must then be examined and passed
upon by the attorney for the prospec-
tive purchaser. When this is done the
owner may find some technical cloud
which viii deter him from making the
purchase and all the money has been
expended to no good. The cost for
abstracts of title and examinations by
attorney may and often do run up into
the thousands.
Under the TOrrens law as passed
the registrar is entitled to charge SIS
for the first examination made and the
issuance of the certificate This in
cludes the charge for the examination
by the attorneys in the employ of the
registrar. While for five years a title
is liable to attacks, after the expira-
ton Of that time the title becomes !
/ good and IL cannot be gone back of.
The saving of time and trouble is
one of the principal features Of the |
Torrens system. Under the registra-
ton system an absolute title is secured |
in a few minutes time by calling on |
the registrar and securing a copy of /
the page of the register devoted to this |
particular piece of property. The ex-
pense is small, being merely the fee |
necessary to have this examined by |
lawyer to ascertain its legality as a |
certificate of the registrar carries with !
II, after the expiration of the five !
years period, an absolute title to the |
property.
A sample of the way the system
expedites business is shown in the /
case OF a loan made upon property in |
Chicago February II. 1t was the first |
which came up under the new system |
IN Chicago. Mrs. Ellen E Hobbs, by |
her agents, had made application to /
the recorder two weeks previously for |
p certificate of title TO certain prop
erty. Ten days must elapse under the
law between the time of the applica-
ton and the issuance of the certif1-
cate. The ten days having more than
elapsed the certificate of title was is