The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-05-05
LAND TITLE PROCEDURE.

That our land laws are anti
quated and not in keeping with
the rapid spirit OF this age is
generally admitted by lawyers.
I They bear no comparison with
the tleXibility OF commercial law.
The phraseology OF deeds is ar
chaic. The profuseness OF the
unnecessary. requiring great
! number OF books to keep the
land transfer records of any pop
ulous county.
\ simplifed form OF deed, cut
ting out all that is supertluous, is
called for by modern progress,
something less medieval than
the present form. Everything
connected with the formal trans
fer of title to land belongs to
the day of the stage coach and
the post rider. In this day of
electricity all this is antiquated.
The simplest of land title reg
istration is the Torrens system
now adopted by ten states of the
Union. Hawaii. the Philippines,
and several provinces OF Canada.
1t would put land titles on the
same plane as registered stocks
and bonds so far as conveyance
i'll commercial transactions is
concerned. On this point we
quote from the report of COM
mittee appointed b ythe Com
mission on Uniform State Laws
made to that body at meeting
held last year:
"One Of the effects OF registra-
ton of titles under the Torrens
system will be to confer upon
lands a new commercial quality
by giving to them commercial
mobility, by enabling owners to
deal with their lands quickly,
cheaply, and safely, and by plac-
ing registered certificates OF
title as far as possible upon an
equality with registered stocks
and bonds. making them mark
able and readily available in all
business transaction. both as col
lateral for loans as well as for di-
rect sales. The residents of one
state are now frequently land
owners in other state or interest
ed i'll loans secured on lands III
other states. and as the Torrens
system becomes better known
and more widely established
certificates of title will freely
pass from state to state, thus in
creasing to a tremendous extent
the bankable capital of the coun-
try. And if it be desirable to
have uniform stock transfer act
it is also desirable to have a I'M
form Torrens act"
i 1t is comparatively easy tc
borrow money on registered
stocks and bonds. quite hard te
effect loan on land title. Yet
land is recognized as more sol
id investment than stocks OF
bonds. There would be far less
difficulty if it were not for the
clumsy. behind-the-age method.
of transferring real property anf
of recording such transfer. The
state having once given its guar
antec that the title to any parce
of land is vested in certain
party that party's title can moi
be further disputed; the deed
whatever its form, has the same
quick value as any bond or share
of stock.
Wherever the Torrens law has
been adopted its constituenality
has been upheld by the courts
1t belongs to that class of re-
forms to which the opposition
grows less and less as its opera
ton is observed and experienced
Most of the larger states. the
most populous. those in which
land values are highest. have
adopted this law and it is only Z
question of time when every
state will have placed it on its
statute books. The legislator
iwho votes against it is merely
voting to postpone the inevita
lble Union.