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500 RECORD AND GUIDE March i8, 1911. NEWS CULLED FROM THE WEEK'S DOINGS Preparations for Denver Convention. , Members of the Denver Real Estate Ex¬ change are already making preparations for the convention on the National As¬ sociation of Real Estate Exchanges to he held in Denver, Colo, during the week be¬ ginning July 17 and are planning a true western welcome to al! the realty men of the country who shall attend. The var¬ ious ' committees representing tire local body are all active and it can safely be predicted that the coming convention will be the greatest and most important gath¬ ering in the history of the national or- .ganization. ■ '. The lowest convention rates to Denver ever given by the railroads is promised Ifrom all parts of the United States for '{he meeting of the real estate men. Such [assurance is contained in replies of the 'railroads to the transportation committee pf the local exchange, which recently op¬ ened communication with headquarters of all important trunk lines in Chicago to ascertain ■ just what special inducements ':in the way - of ■favorable rates could be .pffered to bring a large attendance of the .yeai estate men here in July. I, While no definite figures have yet been given, the railroads acknowledge the im¬ portance ol a national gathering of real estate men and the possibilities of in- .creased development of this section through their instrumentality in bringing in new capital. For this reason, the rail- Itoads assert, the lowest rate ever made for a convention in Denver or Colorado may be expected. A definite announce¬ ment of rates is expected within a short time. The excursion committee has outlined a tentative program for -the entertain¬ ment of the visitors. This program will ;be carefully revised in order to best util¬ ize the time of the delegates and their families and friends while in the state and enable them to enjoy the most di¬ versified scenic trips and view just what Denver and Colorado are doing in muni¬ cipal up-buiiding, agriculture, mining, manufacturing and many other commer¬ cial lines._____ Bill to Annex Part of Westchester County. The vote of the people in the sections ;affeeted will decide whether Yonkers ^Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and the .'towns of Pelham and East Chester will I be annexed to the city of New Tork if the ' bill introduced in the Senate on Wednes- , day by Senator McClelland becomes a law. There is a strong sentiment against annexation throughout these municipali¬ ties. Meetings have heen held recently in Mount Vernon and Yonkers at which has been voiced by prominent men op¬ position to this movement which in some quarters is looked upon as purely politi¬ cal. Many Firms Locate in New Whitehall Building. Space in the new Whitehall Building in Battery Place Ss fast filling up with prominent concerns. This building will shortly house a small city and be a ver¬ itable hive of business industry. The United States Realty & Improvement Co. has rented space to the following firms: McClellan Coal & Coke Co.. Caballero & Blanco, Pierce, Struss & Co., Port Pear- las Banana Co., H. L. Herbert & Co., F. W, Abbott, David M. Myers, The ■ American Co., Atlas tnterlocking Stair Co., Gold Car Heating Co., Rogers Corr Coal Co., R. Graham Woodward, M. Seid- enberger Sons. The Bindley Co., Rocke¬ feller Foundation, Blair Engineering Co., John W. Gates. Taxes in Installments. The bill introduced by Senator Denis J. Harte of Queens and drawn up by Comptroller Prendergast providing that all taxes on personal and real estate prop¬ erty be paid in two installments to the city by taxpayers during the year, one on May 1st and the other on Nov. 1st, does not meet with the approval of Bronx .Taxpayers. Their opinion on the matter is that as the taxes have to be paid and why not pay all at once? There is a provision in the bill giving the taxpayer the privilege of paying all on either date if he so wishes, but still the Bronx does not see any benefit in that. Requisites for the Closing of a Title, Each of the parties should produce all Insurance policies, and duplicates if the same are in their possession, or a memo¬ randum thereof, if held by others, says the Monthly Bulletin of the Real Estate Board of Brokers. Also produce the tax and water receipts of the current year and any leases, deeds or agreements. If there is a water meter on the prem¬ ises it should be read and bill therefor produced. If there is a mortgage on the premises to be conveyed, the receipts should be produced, showing to what date the in¬ terest has been paid, and if the principal has been reduced, showing that fact. If any money is to be paid, the person required to pay it should be prepared with money or a certified check drawn to his own order. This check may be cer¬ tified for an approximate amount and cash provided for the balance of the set¬ tlement. PEASE & ELLIMAN were the brokers in the recent lease of the store 6 East 46th st to Ernest H. Glass. THE EAST BRONX PROPERT'Y OWNERS Association held their regular meeting on Thursday, March 9, 1911. Many matters of importance were dis¬ cussed such as -better trolley service, street openings, etc. THE NORTH SIDE BOARD OF TRADE of the Bronx held their 17th an¬ nual dinner at Ebling's Casino on Thurs¬ day, March S, 1911. It was the most suc¬ cessful banquet held by the Board since its organization. There were many state and city officials present. ALBERT O. CHENEY, president of the Cheney Realty Co. of the Bronx, was buried from his home 1215 Vyse av on Saturday, March llth, A DELEGATION of fourteen represen¬ tatives of the United Real Estate Owners' Association attended two important hear¬ ings to Taxpayers last week at Albany before the joint committee on Taxation and Retrenchment of the Senate and As¬ sembly in reference to the following bills: Senate bill Int 340 printed 349; Assembly bill Int 491 printed 502 in reference to re¬ cording deeds and stated considerations. This bill would require the stated consid¬ eration to be mentioned whenever any real estate is transferred and would in¬ terfere with real estate transactions. The other bill was Ass'y bill Int, 323 printed 324 to amend the taxation law in relation to the exemption of personal property from taxation. Both of these bills were opposed by this delegation which con¬ sisted of representatives of all the im¬ portant property owners' and taxpayers' associations in New York City. ON WEDNESDAY March loth Mr, Day will offer by instructions from Reid L. Carr, Referee, 1450 Cromwell av a 2-sty frame dwelling on lot 2S.Sxlllxirreg. Torrens Items. To the Editor of the Record and Guide: A conference recently held at Albany developed the fact that most of the lands owned by the State have defective titles, especially those tracts which are in the Adirondacks or are known as Forest Re¬ serves, etc. In many eases these lands are occupied by squatters and the State has been put to an expense of hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation to es¬ tablish title and recover possession. But this is extremely difficult, as many of such titles are derived through tax sales. It is now proposed to put all these lands under the Torrens System of Land Title Registration, and thereby secure from the State itself an absolutely indefeasible title in fee simple, which can be secured in no other way. The city now owns some ."iilS,000,000 of unused lands on which it is suffering a yearly loss of taxes and interest. It also owns other properties, the titles to which are uncertain, subjecting the city .fre¬ quently to blackmailing and "strike" suits which cost considerable to defend, all of which comes out of the pockets of the taxpayers. The city is also obliged to ac¬ quire from time to time either by pur¬ chase or condemnation, properties needed for public purposes, such as sites for school houses, public parks, streets, high¬ ways, etc. The city has lost in past years millions of dollars through graft, fraud or defective titles. Accordingly, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment has ap¬ pointed a sub-committee of two. consist¬ ing of Mr. Miller. President of the Bor¬ ough of the Bronx, and Mr Mitchel. President of the Board of Aldermen, with authority to confer and report as to the advisability of placing all of the real property of the city, whicli it may now own or hereafter acquire, under the Tor¬ rens System. The Department of Docks is also con¬ sidering the matter with a view of set¬ tling all doubtful and difflcult questions as to riparian rights, by making use of the Torrens System to obtain not merely a good and marketable title, but also a per¬ fect title which cannot be attacked and need not be insured. "The United Real Estate Owners' As¬ sociations of the City of New York" and the "Taxpayers' Alliance of the City of New York" have endorsed the fundamen¬ tal principle of the Torrens System. GILBERT RAY HAWES. No Reflection on the Court. Editor Record and Guide: In my letter published in your issue of February 4th, which is headed "Torrens Law Discussion," occurs a statement with regard to the ease of Armstrong v. Har¬ lem Savings Bank that "the Court signed the judgment without familiarizing itself with the title, apparently believing itself to be authorized to register in the plain¬ tiff any title which she claimed." It has been -called to my attention that this phrase might be misconstrued as a refiection upon the Court.' Nothing of that sort was intended. The statement was intended to call attention to dangers in the Title Registration Act, and as a comment upon the case with w'nich titles whicli are defective might pass, without the defects coming to the attention of the Court. While I have been surprised at the sug¬ gestion that the part of the article re¬ ferred to when read in the context might be read in the way suggested, I wish promptly to disavow any intention on my part of showing any disrespect to the court or anv justice thereof. Very truly yours, WALTER LINDNER.