From the PREFATORY NOTE.
This discussion of the Torrens System appeared as a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal. Requests have come from many parts of the United States for their collection in permanent form. Because of this and of the attention now directed to the Torrens idea the articles are reproduced in this book.
No legal or economic principle is of greater moment than the system known as the Torrens. It interests every owner of property, without exception, every lawyer and every financier who may soon see real estate become an asset as liquid as other factors of wealth upon which banks are expected to loan funds.
Eleven of the United States have already adopted, in whole or in part, the Torrens System. It has been proved to be of increasing benefit to the owners of property and of homes. In many States coming sessions of the legislatures will prepare to take action looking to the adoption or the perfection of systems of conveyancing and the passage of Torrens Acts. The bitter opposition of vested interests to the enactment of such legislation, the nation-wide demand for simplification of the processes of conveyancing, the need of abolishing antiquated methods of land transfers, and the appreciation of the negotiable qualities of land values make the subject of this discussion of paramount importance. Knowledge of the conditions surrounding the Torrens principle is of vital interest to the smallest as to the largest holder of real estate.
No attempt has been made to give a bibliography of Torrens material aside from works mentioned in the text. The catalogue of the subject is so large and includes development in so many countries that a list of articles, addresses, reports, and works upon the Torrens idea would unduly add to this little volume.
Besides the authors from whom I have liberally quoted, I am under particular obligations to Walter Fairchild, Esq., Special Deputy Register of New York County, for his able suggestions in connection with matters treated in the following pages. I express my thanks to these and to others who have furnished me with data included in this exposition of a simple and sound system of land transfer procedure which, by its inherent excellence, its successful practice, and its beneficial and universal effects, is as assured of adoption in this practical and efficiency-seeking nation as it has proved its immense value in almost every part of the civilized globe.