The Washington times., 1910-03-12
Proposed Method of Re-
cording Titles Advocated
by Business Men.
SAY PRESENT PLAN
is NOT SUFFICIENT
Chamber Of Commerce Committee
Will Ask That Clerk Be Appoint
ed to Take Charge.

Considerable interest has been aroused
among real estate operators, lawyers,
property owners and officials of ;he To-
cal title insurance companies. 1y the
proposed new system of indexing title
records In the office of the Recorder
of Deeds
bill making this change las been
introduced by Senator Gallinger. and
has been Endorsed by the Washington
Chamber Of Commerce.
It specifies that all deeds or other
papers offered for record in which orig
inal lots, subdivisions. square o. --acts
are mentioned, shall a, tuaIly refer, by
number, to the square OF parcel as
shown on the official plats in the As
SCISSORS office. The system now in
vogue simply provides for recording
these references according TO the name
of the owner.
Asks For Clerk
The subcommittee on law and Iegisla-
ton. of the Chamber Of Commerce,
which has given this legislation much
thought and which recommended to the
chamber it's Endorsement, viii ask that
the bill provide for the employment or
an efficient clerk 10 engage in changing
the index and maintaiI 'ug it thereafter.
J. Louis Willige Of he real estate
firm of WiIlige. Gibbs & Daniel. and
chairman Of the subcommittee which
has had this matter under cons dera-
ton, thinks this proposed change in
the index system would be Of great adj
vantage TO property owners and bust
ness men.
In commenting upon the subject, he
said that the maintenance OF an index
By lot and square numbers. as well as
by the names Of the grantor and the
grantee in deeds of conveyance, wo rlo
b OF great value and WOULD prove TO be
a great improvement over the prese 1t
system.
Its value" Mr.. Wnllge said today
in commenting upon the legislation,
would only become apparent after the
index had been maintained for a suf-
ficient period of time to make it serv-
iceable in looking UP the history Of any
particular lot or parcel The ideal way
of handling the subject would be TO
have the index cover alb initio the
transfers OF each parcel of ground from
the beginning OF the District down to
date. Such an arrangement, however,
would be DTeClUded by the immense
cost of such an undertaking, and would
what is known as the plant Of a title
company
A Laborious Task.
There are so many instances where
one and the same Individual is con-
cerned as grantor and grantee I'm a
large number Of property transfers.
that it is a most laboTiOUs task 10 run
down the cOnveyances affecting the
change Of ownership or a particular
parcel for any consic rabIe period Of
time.
THE proposed index VIC aid doubtless
y facilitate such an examination OF the
Recorders records
zone feature Of the BILL concluded
Mr.. Willige, has aroused considerable
opposition. tt IS that provision which
vests in the Recorder authority 10 re-
fuse FOR record any instrument not COM
plying with the requirements of the act
This might, in the judgement of a large
number Of local attorneys and others,
materially delay the recording Of docu-
ments, and make il impossible 10 know
definitely, without examining the AS
SCISSORS record on the very date and
hour Of executing a conveyance, that
the description given therein is the Of
fetal designation at that moment as
required by the terms OF the act It Is
by the Recorder would consume the
major portion Of his official hours Of
work. obstrUct and hinder, 70 a certain
extent, the prompt discharge OF his du-
ties, mad also delay the recording of pa
peTs 20 some extent