Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-04-20
ToRRENs LAND SYSTEM TO BE
AGAIN URGED BEFORE IOWA
D LEGISLATURE.
MANY INQUIRIES MADE
AT STATE LAW LIBRARY
System Now in Use in Eleven States
and in Many Foreign Countries
Principal Objeotion Is Expense Of
InstalIation--State Would Guarantee
Titles to Purchasers of Lands. 81,
pecial to. Times Republican.

Special to- Times Republican,.
Des Moines, April 20.-That the
coming Iowa legislature will again
consider the Torrens system of land
registration Is now Indicated by the
numerous inquiries which the state
law library. is receiving with regard
to it and the, growing interest which
is apparent int$many QUARTERS. In re-
Spouse to this demand and anticipat-
ing the wants of .the coming law max
;ers,, A.. J.. Small state law librarian,
has Just compiled an extensive 'bibliog-
raphy on the Torrens system.
Eleven states now use this system
and for many years it has been the
only method of land registration In
many of the foreign countries. Our
.neighboring states ID, both Illinois and
Minnesota have it. Illinois. }being one
of the first statesSto take IT up Other
states where this en- As the law
are as follows California Colorado,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio Oregon and
Washington. it has come before the
Iowa legislature a number of times
but has failed of passage. At the last
session a bill providing for its adop-
ton was passed by the house but died
in the hands Of the sitting committee
of the senate. 'sS - ss$3
The Torrens system was first intro
duced into South Australia thru the
efforts of Robert r. Torrens In 1881.
The feature of this system is that II
registers and determines the condition
and ownership of the title to land in
stead of registering deeds or other in
struments as evidencetof title. This Is
done blythe state. Y
Only One Objection.
The principal collection to the in
PRODUCTION of the Torrens system in a
state like Iowa where the old system
Of recording, deeds has been in vogue
so long is that the state would have to
go to the expense Of investigating the
title to every pieceSof property in Iowa
in order to get it properly registered.
When this was once done, however, 1t
would not havesto be done over again,
as is the case now every time a piece
of property is sold. There is no sys-
tenn of abstracts under the Torrens
plan, for the state or government it
self investigates the title ITO piece Of
property once and for ALL The owner
holds a certificate Of ownership and
the states guarantee that the title is
clear Is all that Is necessary. s.
~ The system As explained $briefiyf in
the following, paragraph in William G.
Niblack.s book on the Torrens system.
1.-THE scheme of the general Torrens
system is that the state, thru the
functions Of registrar. vests and
certifies to an indefeasible title to. an
interest or estate in lands When
title is registered in the first instance,
or under transfer from the last reg
istered owner. the statute declares the,
certificate tob evidence of an inde-.
feasible title to the Interest or estate
registered and the effect OF this is that
the issue of4the. certificate, .ipso facto,
divests any interest or estate which,
may exist In any other person and
vests it in the person registered as
owner. There is. therefore. on the part
of an intending purchaser, no neces-
sity for a retrospective examination Of
the title -. 4