The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-12-18
THE MOST DREADED
WOMAN IN new YORK
She Is Mrs. Harriet Carr, the
Pioneer Feminine Process
Server.
"LOTS OF LIVELY TINES
Her Daring Ingenuity and Pluck in the
Game of Hide and Sock Has
Brought Her Phenomenal
Success.

New York World: The pioneer won,
an process-server in New York is Mrs
Harriet A. Carr, of No. 172 West Sew
e~nty-seventh street. That a woman tc
be successful in this line Of business
must combine the wiles of the serpent
finite versatility is proved by Mrs.
Cars own story Of her experiences In
trying to deliver the unWelcome paper
slips.
She is an eminently practical. bust
ness-like sort of n person., large, heavily
built. fair of skin and hair, and with
keen yet kindly blue eyes hat were
alternately sparkling n grave as she
passed from one incident to another In
her narrative.
How did I happen to become a pro-
cess-seryer? Just by chance, nothing
else in the world. A few year ago my
husband, who was a wealthy wholesale
butcher on the west side. failed in
business because Of certain measures
was an active club woman and a
church singer. and little thought that
! would have to take to my present
calling.
Was a Bill Collector.
When the money went 1 tried to get
along on what I could make by my
singing. but soon found that 1t would
not do. and then a friend of mine at
the parish house suggested that I try
my hand at bill collecting and detective
work. I did fairly we'll at that, In fact
I may say hat 1 was very successful,
working for some of the largest dry
goods and grocery stores and some of
the best law firms in the city.
Then one day n Of the lawyers
asked me to serve a paper which his
firm had tried in vain to land for many
months.
Laws sakes, MI. Brennan says I.
don't know how.
well, I think you're just the wom-
an to do 1t. You go ahead and try his
answered.
S I took the paper, and I can tell
you when I walked out of hat office
I didn't any more know what to do
with 1t than If it had been a gold
brick.
The debtor in this case was G., q
lawyer in Nassau street. He was ap-
parently prosperous and yet the gro
Gerry firm had never been able to collect
what he owed them. I decided to call
on him as a client, so I dressed myself
up for the part, sailed into his Office
and gave my visiting ard to the boy in
my most superior manner. Mr.. C.
rose as I was ushered in and greeted
me cordially.
What Can | Do for You?
What can l do for you. Mrs. Carp
he asked.
"'Well, it isn't SO much what you
can do for mo as what I can do for
you.' I told him and passed the paper
over to him.
Surprised? Well, I guess rather. But
| hQ was raa1 ErNni. t11ro1 shout T. ho-
ceause the way I'd taken him off his
guard amused him. And when 1 told
him 1T was the nrts paper I'd served he
said he guessed I'd do an wished me
luck.
Mos folks aren't so pleasant as that,
] a tell you. The way some Of them
talked to me used to make me feel just
dreadful when I was new to the bus
iness, but now I don't mind being put
out If they only wait until after 1 get
my papers served.
"I've served papers on all kinds of
people, but I find there isn't much diff
ference between them when they are
suddenly confronted with the necessity
Of paying some long standing bill. They
just hate to be caught, and the society
lady isn't much more polite to me about
1t tina the Ninth avenue "saloonkeeper.
Il remember one day Mr.. Brennan
asked me to go down to Bay Shore, l..
l., to serve q paper ON a fashionable
woman down there for 81, 900 due a
firm Of clothiers here. Several men had
tried 1t and failed, as 1 was told later,
and 1 knew it would be a hard task,
but l started out, for I never like to re-
fuse to do a job for the people who
have helped me along.
When l reached Bay Shore It was
very bleak and unpromising looking,
and after I'd found that the house was
two miles away l sat down in the sta
ton to think the matter over. After a
while l stepped up and asked the ticket
seller ii there were any Of the hackmen
who would be likely to know much
about n of the residents.
Johns your man. he told me. old
John knows every one for miles around
and they all know him.
Il went out and hailed ohm as
though he were an old friend, and
he thought I vas one of the summer
boarders that he couldn't quite place in
hotel and bought him a drink and found
out that the woman L wanted was still
at her country place and alone during
the day with her daughter. So John
drove me out and waited for me, and j
got to see my woman by saying that ]
was taking orders for a certain firm
n wanted her to order through me,
~ SAAio doAAl1SICo llldl sic was IQG
person I wanted and in q very few
minutes I handed her the paper. One
glance at it n her whole manner
changed as If by magic.
Great heavens!' she cried. Get out
of herel Get out before I lay hands on
you And you a believe l lost nc
time in obeying her.
Caught a Saloonkeeper.
Did l ever really serve papers OF a
saloonkeeper? Yes, I did, and it was
the worst thing I ever had to do. ]
don't mind owning that I was scared
nearly to death. After a lot of trouble
7 found that his home was down on q
side street close to Ninth avenue and
that about the only time to catch him
was after $3.50 In the evening. 1 had
to go alone because I was afraid OF
exciting suspicion by taking my hus-
band with me, SO I plucked up all my
courage by thinking. Well, I've got
my living to make and wen and rang
the bell. A woman opened the door
few inches and asked sharply what
wanted, and I told her 1 was just going
into the hotel business and wanted tt
ask Mr.. Crisis advice.
"She admitted me very surlily anG
led me, trembling, up two flights :. o.
dark stairs. She opened. the. door of q
room -aZs- t~Aare-sAS-E7y n4trss in a rec
flannel shirt eating a dinner of cornet
beef and cabbage.