M. S. Booth
Named in 24 stories. Back to all names
- Oct 17, 1872The Editor Who Sold His Paper to a Brothel KeeperA scathing letter in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes the corrupt alliance between Seattle’s Republican party and its most notorious vice kingpins, asking: 'What of that newspaper publisher... who for a palm share in the wages of prostitution gives his aid and influence?'Seattle, WA
- Nov 7, 1872The Ring is Broken: Seattle’s Republicans Revolt Against the 'Corrupt' DelegateIn a stunning display of local defiance, prominent Seattle citizens and Republican leaders publicly repudiate Territorial Delegate George W. Gillette, accusing him of betrayal and corruption ahead of the 1873 election.Seattle, WA
- Feb 24, 1876The Great Seattle Saw-Mill LotteryA frontier town turns to state-sanctioned gambling as a desperate economic strategy to boost local development.Seattle, WA
- Jun 5, 1876The Lottery That Built Seattle: How a $5 Ticket Bought a Sawmill and City BlocksIn 1876, the Washington Territory authorized a massive state lottery to fund a road through the Cascades. The prize? A steam sawmill worth $100,000 and prime real estate in downtown Seattle.Seattle, WA
- Jun 6, 1876The $100,000 Gamble: Yesler’s Great LotteryTo fund a mountain road, Seattle pioneer Henry Yesler turned to a massive, state-sanctioned lottery, putting his own saw mill and downtown lots on the line.Seattle, WA
- Jun 7, 1876The Great Seattle Lottery: A $100,000 Sawmill and a Road to NowhereIn 1876, the Washington Territory legislature authorized a massive public lottery to fund a road through Snoqualmie Pass. The grand prize? Yelver’s Steam Saw Mill. It was a bold gamble on infrastructure that reveals how early Seattle funded its growth.Seattle, WA
- Jun 8, 1876The Million-Dollar Ticket: How Seattle Bet Its Future on a LotteryIn 1876, the city’s most prominent businessman launched a massive lottery to fund a mountain road, offering a steam sawmill valued at $100,000 as the grand prize.Seattle, WA
- Jun 9, 1876The $100,000 Mill: Seattle’s Legalized Lottery for a FortuneIn 1876, the Washington Territory authorized a massive public lottery to fund a road across the Cascades. The grand prize? A fully operational steam sawmill and prime real estate in downtown Seattle.Seattle, WA
- Jun 26, 1876The Centennial Lottery GambleIn 1876, the Washington Territorial Legislature authorized a public lottery to fund a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, marking a desperate and creative approach to frontier infrastructure.Seattle, WA
- Jun 30, 1876Seattle’s 1876 Fourth of July ExtravaganzaAs the United States approached its first centennial, Seattle civic leaders mobilized to prove the frontier outpost was a city of substance, dignity, and unity.Seattle, WA
- Jul 8, 1876The Great Timber Jackpot: Yesler’s Mill and the Lottery of LandIn 1876 Seattle, timber baron H.L. Yesler didn't just build the city's first mill; he turned his entire property into a $100,000 lottery prize, betting that luck would save him from debt.Seattle, WA
- Sep 25, 1876The Iron Vein: Seattle’s Gamble on the RailroadIn 1876, local leaders rallied behind a desperate bid to connect the young city of Seattle to the interior coal mines and grain lands, arguing that the railroad was the only path from frontier outpost to global port.Seattle, WA
- Oct 30, 1876The Auditor and the Sheriff: A Public Spat Over CorruptionIn the lead-up to the 1876 election, a public war of words between King County's Auditor and former Sheriff exposes the messy, opaque, and highly questionable state of territorial bookkeeping.Seattle, WA
- Jan 20, 1877The Price of Compassion: King County's 1877 Call for BidsIn an era before robust public social services, King County officials solicited private bids for the 'care, lodging and medical attendance' of the city's indigent poor.Seattle, WA
- Jan 22, 1877Who Cares for the Poor in King County?A call for sealed bids to provide housing and medical care for the county's indigent population in 1877.Seattle, WA
- Jan 23, 1877Bidding on the Destitute: Seattle’s 1877 Poverty ContractsBefore modern social safety nets, King County put the care of its 'indigent poor' up for competitive bid, seeking the lowest price for housing and medical services.Seattle, WA
- Jan 26, 1877The Price of Public Charity in 1877King County seeks the lowest bidder to house and feed the poor, a stark reminder of the nineteenth-century approach to social safety nets.Seattle, WA
- Jan 30, 1877The Price of Poverty in Pioneer SeattleKing County officials put out a call for bids to house and feed the 'indigent poor,' treating human welfare as a municipal contract.Seattle, WA
- Nov 24, 1877The Crossing at Black RiverIn 1877, King County sought bids for a new bridge, marking a quiet moment of infrastructure expansion in a landscape that would soon be permanently altered by river rerouting.Black River, Renton, WA
- Dec 1, 1877The Business of Death in King CountyA stark 1877 notice reveals how Washington Territory handled the burial of those who died in poverty.Seattle, WA
- Dec 15, 1877Spanning the Black RiverAs Seattle grew in 1877, the County Commissioners sought to replace a private ferry with a permanent crossing over the now-vanished Black River.Seattle, WA
- Dec 25, 1883The Fight for Seattle’s Commercial FutureA local merchant defends Seattle against the Northern Pacific Railroad's efforts to favor Tacoma as the terminal city.Seattle, WA
- Apr 2, 1884The Quest for a Snoqualmie Pass RailroadA citizen's pitch for a specific route through the Cascades to connect Seattle with the riches of Eastern Washington.Seattle, WA
- Jun 10, 1885The Hoarding of Wealth in 1885 SeattleWhile storehouses and granaries overflow, a letter to the editor questions why the economy stays starved of currency.Seattle, WA