The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-12-18

puted. Land. which ought to be one
Of the best foundations Of credit is
one of the poorest Tive owner of 100
acres worth $1,000, and offering 1, AS
pay at least $12.50 to the lawyers who
pass upon the title for the creditors
and draw the mortgage and in fees to
the register OF deeds and mortgages.
Foreclosure being a tedious, expensive
and some times uncertain process,
money lenders refuse to advance more
than two-thirds OF the lands value
and are reluctant TO lend at all at less
than eight per cent. the maximum
periods. That this condition Is Who'll.
ly anomalous and quite injurious to
persons whose entire capital is invest
ed In land Is not to be disputed. Our
land tenures grow out OF the Eng
lish fuedal system. they retain much
Of the artifciality Of half dozen CEN
turtles past and they clog and encum-
ber all business In an agricultural re-
gion such as ours The moment laws
should be enacted making the con-
veyance Of title to land as easy and
simple as Is that Of title to a share Of
mill or bank stock. every acre of land
In the State would considerably ap-
preciate in value. just as Mr.. Norton
predicts. N,at
Another side to the question is
whether or not 1t would be best for
that large proportion of farmers who
are improvident and spendthrift II
they could dispose Of their lands with
ease and find ready market for
them The effect Of our antiquated
tenures is to attach. In some sense
the man to the land. as 1t was their
effect In very large sense some Gen.
turtles ago in England. As yet we
have no trusts In land. Capitalists
and n,anipulators are shy of holdings
of broad acres. They cannot sell land
.
In pinch on the stock exchanges as
they sell railroad bonds and stocks
but were lands held as stocks they
might buy the certificates In quantities
and we might see the rapid accumu-
lation OF tremendous domains in the
hands Of a few. Many a thriftless
person does not mortgage his land be-
cause II Is SO much easier to mort
gage his horse or his COW but were he
able to pledge his land merely by
writing his name across the back OF
certificate. 1t Is likely that he would
in many cases do SO; with the result
that he would lose it as he does the
horse or COW. Thus the danger would
be that the lands of the improvident
and unthrifty might pass into the
hands Of the industrious and saving
who would no longer be dubious abo ut
owning them. the certificates OF title
being at all times readily and Instant
ly convertible into cash.
We uo Hot SGT W tnlS ODJectlOn 10
Mr.. Norton's argument as either final
| or convincing. We are aware that
every consideration of progress, SIM
plicity and common sense makes for
the abrogation Of curious, involved
and expensive code of land title laws
that comes to US as the legacy of a
forgotten age and that II utterly con-
tradicts modern economic methods.
We're every landowner thorough GO
Ing business man. intelligent and deter
mined enough to protect his own in
terests the retention Of the system for
day would be absurd, but legislators
would at least do well to inquire
whether or not the interests Of the
whole body OF South Carolina land.
owners would be advanced IL 1t were
made possible for them to dispose Of
their holdings at any moment at the
highest prices.