A New Orleans lawyer sought a Government loan for a client.
He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove
satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as
collateral. The title of the property dated
back to 1803, which took the lawyer 3 months to track down.
After sending the information to the Government Department
which had requested it, he received the following reply.
"Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's
application, we note that the request is supported by an
abstract of title. While we compliment the able manner in
which you have prepared and presented the application, we
must point out that you have only cleared the title to the
proposed collateral back to 1803. Before final approval can
be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to
its origin."
Annoyed the lawyer responded as follows.
"Your letter regarding title in case # 189156 has been
received. I note that you wish to have the title extended
further than the 194 years covered by the present
application. I was unaware that any educated person in this
country, particularly those working in the Property Area,
would not know that Louisiana was purchased
by the U.S. from France in 1803, the year identified in our
application. For the edification of uninformed Government
bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership
was obtained from France, which had acquired it by right of
conquest from Spain. The land came into the possession of
Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a Sea
Captain named Christopher Columbus who had been granted the
privilege of seeking a new route to India by the-then
reigning monarch, Isabella. The good Queen, being a pious
woman and careful about titles, almost as much as this
current Government, took the precaution of securing the
blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to fund
Columbus' expedition. Now the Pope, as I'm sure you know, is
the emissary of Jesus Christ, the son of God. And God is
commonly accepted as having created this world. Therefore, I
believe it is safe to presume that he also made the part of
the world called Louisiana.
HE, therefore, would be the Owner of Origin.
I HOPE you find HIS original claim to be satisfactory.
Now, may we have our damn loan?