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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 41 |
| 1891 | 42 |
| 1892 | 32 |
| 1893 | 108 |
| 1894 | 18 |
| 1895 | 112 |
359 stories
- The Paper Blizzard That Ate Washington's Budget
A senate committee blames vague printing laws and verbose officials for a $52,000 deficit—and says thousands of reports are destined for the junk dealer.
- The Lawmaker Who Killed His Own Railroad Bill
Rather than let opponents gut it, Representative Hoole sends his railroad and steamboat measure to an indefinite grave after a day of parliamentary jabs.
- World's Fair Commission Cleared of Dishonesty, But Spending Called Extravagant
A joint legislative committee finds no evidence of dishonesty in the World's Fair Commission, but criticizes excessive expenditures and recommends $50,000 more to finish the work.
- Judge Burke: Washington cannot borrow a dollar to build its capitol
Answering Populist weeklies that accused the capitol commission of planning to sink the state a million dollars into debt, commissioner Thomas Burke said the law allows exactly one funding source — 132,000 acres of granted land — and no taxes at all.
- A Probe Into Washington's Land Deals—With More Beneath the Surface
A senate resolution opens an investigation into how the state manages its school and tide lands, with hints that the real target is the land commission itself.
- The House Would Rather Not Buy the Railroads
Olympia lawmakers mock a memorial urging Congress to foreclose on the Pacific railroads, then vote 67-55 to let the matter drop.
- The Olympia Undertaker’s Strange Discovery
A man’s beard reportedly continued to grow for twenty years inside his coffin, eventually filling the space.
- Olympia’s Fight Over Who Should Judge the Cities
A bill to abolish municipal courts set Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane against one another—and exposed a dispute over whether justice could be run more cheaply by justices of the peace.
- The Senate Kills the Railroad Rate Bill, and the Party Loses Face
An editorial lashes the state senate for 'slaughtering' the Helm bill regulating railroad freights and fares, despite the Republican platform and Governor McGraw's own demand for fairness to the public.
- A One-House Legislature: Thirty-Four Days, Five Laws
The fourth Washington legislature had burned more than half its allotted time and signed just five bills into law—because each chamber ignored the other's work.
- A Legislative Cleanup for Washington's Tide Lands and School Lands
A joint committee found no corruption in the state land office but recommended abolishing costly local tide-land appraisers, trimming the land cruisers, and centralizing public-land oversight.
- Who Gets the Salmon? A Fish-Trap Bill Stirs a Fight Over Foreign Canners
A Blaine sawyer told Olympia that the Biggs fish bill would hand the Fraser River fishery to a few wealthy trap owners—and to British Columbia canners.
- Seattle and Spokane School Boards Fight a $10-per-Child Funding Bill
The two city boards petitioned the state Senate against the Rogers school bill, arguing that its per-capita apportionment discriminated against cities and dumped an unjust burden on urban taxpayers.
- Hanford Opened the Boardroom to Outside Capital
A bill letting a majority of a Washington corporation's trustees reside out of state sailed through the House — the latest move in a state selling itself to Eastern money and industry.
- A Missing Clause Stalls the Road Through the Cascades
Whatcom and Skagit expected a governor's commission and an early start. The enrolled bill in Olympia had lost its emergency clause, and the delay was already being blamed on the wrong people.
- Governor Disbands Ten Militia Companies in Small-Town Washington
A new military law concentrates the National Guard in Seattle and Spokane, leaving Klickitat County with no militia at all.
- The Last Prisoner of the Thurston County Jail
While the territory debates the future of its legal system, one man finds a solitary rhythm in his cell.
- Olympia prepares for Governor McGraw's inauguration
As Washington transitions from its first state administration to the next, the capital is bustling with political maneuvering and preparations for the ceremony.
- The $10,000 Practical Joke on Representative Judson
Legislators in Olympia pull a prank by forging a bill in the name of an unsuspecting Representative, only to have it officially recorded in the House journal.
- The Cricket Runs Aground
A steamer at Olympia drifts from its moorings and is submerged by the rising tide.
- Breaking the Shingle-Packing Ceiling
In an era where shingle packing is strictly men's work, a young woman in Gate City proves she can do the job just as well.
- Tragedy on the Tracks near Tenino
A woman identified as Tillie Myers was killed instantly by a Northern Pacific train after being spotted walking on the tracks.
- The Last-Day Bill Rush—and a Women’s Suffrage Amendment
Washington’s Senate introduced dozens of measures on the final day of bill introduction, from railroad assessments and a company-store ban to a referendum on votes for women.
- Washington’s Citizen Soldiers Prepare for Duty
While the upcoming National Guard encampment at Chambers Prairie promises camaraderie, it serves a serious, dual purpose: law enforcement and the maintenance of civil stability.
- The Price of Progress: A Victim of the Storm
A devastating windstorm hits Olympia, leaving a man critically injured and highlighting the physical perils of frontier expansion.