New-York tribune., 1915-10-03
Saws One on TOrrens lite
Has Not Expressed
Boards Views.
EFFORTS MADE FOR
A WORKABLE LAW
President Mcclure Replies, Say
ing Reference to Reeves
Is Humorous.


York County, has issued a public letter
addressed 10 Laurence II. d. Mcclure.
president of the Real Estate Board
nnds members of that organization, in
which he critic.ses the attitude Of the
Torrens committee Of the Real Estate
Board md gives his views az 70 why
this system of land title registration is
not yet successfully workable here.
President Mcclure Of the Real Estate
Board has answered this criticism
stanchly defending the work done for
a perfect Torrens act by the board com
mittee and by other members OF the
organization.
Here are some Of the principal SEN
tences from those letters. Register
Hopper says:
When / assumed the duties CT Reg
/ ister I had a general knowledge OF the
Torrens system OF title registration
gained in the course Of my profession
as civil engineer and surveyor.
The present law Of New York, from
a practical viewpoint, has been and is
an utter and absolute failure.
"Sir Robert Torrens succeeded be-
cause he concentrated every phase Of
the title business in the Registrars
Office. lie did not look at it as a money
making enterprise for individuals. All
+ fees were paid into the public treas
ury.
Private conveyancing in Australia
was not forbidden; it simply fell into
disuse. This is the natural and right
way.
IF the registration law does not give
New York land owners a system that is
more attractive and less expensive than
the title company system 1t will not
succeed, nor will it deserve TO succeed
1T is well understood that the com
plete success of TorrensAsystem in
New York means the elimination of
private title companies from the field
of examining and guaranteeing titles.
In this fact lies the explanation of the
/ interest that the title companies have
Z in the Torrens system.
Under the present custom the title
companies pay to lawyers 25 per cent
of the total income coming TO them
from titles brought to them by lawyers.
/ The title companies pay 10 per cent Of
/ their gross receipts 70 the real estate
| brokers who bring in business. These
commissions ostensibly are paid for
I services rendered by the lawyers or
( brokers in preparing the title for clos
/ ing, but, as a matter of fact, the pay
ment Is simply a commission paid for
/ bringing in business, and puts every
/ lawyer and broker in the position of
being a commission agent for the title
[ companies.
II received assurances that the Tor
| rens committee OF the Real Estate
/ Board, in spite Of its title company
/ representation, was sincerely working
/ TO correct the faults in the Torrens
law, and | made an earnest effort TO
work with il.
II feel that the action Of this commit
/ tee does not represent the true senti-
ment existing among the body of the
members OF the Real Estate Board
If we wish 70 have a true Torrens
i law the title companies should be alb
/ solutely eliminated as factor.
The one plant meaning the title
/ plant in my Office, if used by all per
/ sons, would do the work of the four
/ (title) companies, and be far more
efficient and cheaper. Its use for
initial registration means an aggre-
gate saving of from S20,00O,000 to $780,
100000 to land owners of Manhattan
alone"
President Nc CURES reply ia, in part,
as follows:
at the present time, when every pub
lie official is presumed 10 be using the
utmost economy in the conduct of his
department, both as 20 time and sup
plies, his course is particularly repre-
hensible.
The Real Estate Boards study of
this question antedates by good many
years that Of Mr. Hopper. and the
present committee has spent nearly
two years IN doing what it has accom-
pnshed.'
IT Mr.. Hopper really believes that
he knows more about the subject than
the Real Estate Board and its commit
tee, it is useless TO dispute the matter
with him.
IN his criticism Of the Real Estate
Board Mr.. Hopper refers to his "ac-
tivities before the Legislature last win
ter and before the Constitutional Con-
vention this summer
In the Constitutional Convention his
proposition received just one vote. The
Real Estate Board on the other hand,
succeeded in having incorporated into
the proposed new constitution recogni-
tion Of the Torrens system of title
registration. the amendment receiving
every vote but one.
"Mr. Hopper tries 10 prove that the
Real Estate Boards committee is in
some mysterious way in league with
the title companies, and i'm proof of
this he refers 10 the fact that four Of
It's members are salaried officials of
title companies. lie does not mention.
however, that seven other members of
the committee are not in any way con-
nected with title companies. nor has ne
mentioned the fact. which perhaps he
did not know, that the representatives
Of the title companies. being members
of the Real Estate Board. were asked
10 serve on this committee, so that the
board should have the fullest benefit
from expert knowledge on this intri-
cate subject.
"He also tries 70 create the impress
sion that the chairman Of the commit
tee is a title company sympathizer,
wnen the fact is that the chairman
severed his connection with title COM
pany some twenty years ago. This ref
erence 10 Professor Alfred c. Reeves,
lecturer on real property law in the
New York Law School, is perhaps the
most humorous part of Mr.. Hopper's
letter.
1T is in line with Mr.. Hopper's gen
eral misinformation on the subject that
he does not know that the most pro-
rounced opposition 20 the boards work
came from one Of the largest title COM
panies M the state
Mr.. Hopper ventures the opinion that
the Torrens system is a public system.
That IS precisely why the Real Estate
Board has for years been fighting to
make the Torrens law in this state =
variable iaw