, 1889-03-28

There are many notices that in the
course of legal proceedings must be
served personally. Particularly In a big
city like this, where there are many ten
ants in most houses, where there are
many servants, where there is q good
deal of moving, and many letters go
astray, il is necessary to serve notices
personally o persons who are anxious
not to be served, who do oil that they
can to avoid service, and who get CON
federates to help them deceive the I'M
fortunate officials who are trying to
serve them with papers.
For a man to deny his own identity
and to AVE it denied by all his family Is
common. For him to depart by u back
door or an alley or the roof is equally
common. In divorce cases where the
defendant does not appear it is impossi-
bic to get judgment by default without
the most perfect evidence that the proper
party has beer served. This has grown
out of the experiences of many cases
where the officer serving the summons
has either been imposed upon or has
willfully permitted some person inter
ested TO personate the defendant. 1t is a
good deal more difficult now than over 1t
was to get n divorce without letting your
husband or wife know of it.
Of A NAME
A lady in Brooklyn used to get her hus-
band off jury duty in this ways: Her
father-in-law, aged over 10; her husband,
aged 45, and her son, aged II, had all
the same name. When the man came
along with his bundle of jury notices he
would say:
"Is Mr.. So and So IMP"
Eyes. Which do you wish, the old
man oil the young oneY'
If the man of notices wanted the old
man he got one too old for jury duty.
II he wanted the young one he got the
boy. 1t never occurred to him hat there
was n golden mean.
There are lots of people," said n dep
uty sheriff, "who never have their names
in the City Directory and who move fire.
quently for the purpose of avoiding jury
duty INT military duty and personal
taxes. They think it easier to move than
to perform the duties of citizens. They
surround themselves with safeguards.
They have their letters sent to out of the
way places. They tell servants and land
ladies not to let strangers come heal
them. They will play deaf, dumb and
blind to escape notice. They get so in
trenched that they will walk by a deputy
sheriff and chuckle.
"Of course, when this sort of thing is
resorted TO there is a way of service by
publication, but this is only after n great
deal of time, money and patience has
been expended to make 1t apparent that
service is avoided. Tho difficulty Of
serving notices personally is so well REQ
nized in the courts that there are many
provisions for service by publication. II
is true that in many cases there Is only o
pretense of serving n notice INT default
Is taken ngainst n party for non-appear-
ance when that party has not beer served.
In some cases parties have served notices
by publication in obscure newspapers.
But the courts are fully up to that sort
Of thing, and in all cases where personal
service is required tho fullest and most
that due notice has been served or that it
is impossible to serve it.
"Yet there are many cases where per-
sonal service is Indispensable. 1t is these
that bring he long and weary nights Of
watching, the frequent calls, the wild
goose chases, the long hunts, the patient
vigils hat make the lot of the deputy
sheriff miserable. You must find out
where a man lives, what are his haunts,
what clubs or societies he belongs to,
what is his church, and you must get a
description of him hat will enable you
to recognize him when you SEQ him.
Many a case has been thrown out of court
for incomplete evidence of the service of
o paper. II you have to serve n paper on
John Smith you have got to be sure not
only that you serve a paper on John
Smith, but that tho John Smith whom
you served was the identical and actual
John Smith intended. To be able to do
this it is often necessary to take along
with you the party who knows the one
you are after. This again exposes you to
risk of being observed and avoided. You
get to be known by the neighbors. They
seem to take o natural dislike to you
They will not give you any information.
HE wAITED FoR Il HUSBAND.
81 once went to servo q paper on a
man who was not Mt homo. His wife in
~nocently told me he would DO at home
during the evening and invited me to
wait. l waited. Tho lady was very
pleasant and entertaining. Tho evening
passed very pleasantly. l was not in
vited to so, SO l remained. 1t got very
late. Then when the husband did come
home he got into a towering passion at
seeing n stranger sitting up late with his
wife. But l served the paper, and left
the lady to fix it up with her husband MS
best she could.
- have stood in the rain watching for
men until thought my papers would
get wet through. l have had my ears
and toes frozen. l have had women
chase mo out of the house with broom
sticks. l have seen beautiful young
women cry and heard bad men swear asI
pushed papers into their hands hat sum-
moned them to court. And yet / would
prefer any or all of these experiences to
the trouble of running after people who
are keeping out of the way. 1t is a most
unsatisfactory business. Tho man who
wants the paper served accuses you of
not doing your duty, and you get little
pay and no thanks.