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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 53 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 12 |
| 1861 | 58 |
| 1862 | 65 |
| 1863 | 44 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 14 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 35 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 18 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 57 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 212 |
| 1892 | 184 |
| 1893 | 105 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 111 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 23 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 94 |
| 1910 | 7 |
| 1911 | 11 |
| 1912 | 4 |
| 1914 | 11 |
| 1915 | 8 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 10 |
1,280 stories
- A Deadlock at the Capitol
As Washington's state legislature struggles to elect a U.S. Senator, tales of bribery and party pressure dominate the halls in Olympia.
- Labor Congress Confronts the Legislature
A delegation of workers brings a broad platform of demands to the state house, sparking a heated debate over the treatment of labor and the dignity of the legislature.
- Anti-Allen Dark Horse Scheme Fails in Olympia
While anti-Allen forces scramble for a candidate, the state legislature remains paralyzed by 'dark horse' rumors and fabricated desertions.
- Washington's House Votes to Ban Cigarettes — and the Tobacco Trust Moves In
In 1893 the state House passed a prohibition on cigarette sales after a debate that mixed moral reform, monopoly fears and anti-Chinese prejudice. Lobbyists were already working the Senate.
- Political Rebellion in the State Legislature
Senator Hutchinson breaks with the Democratic caucus in Olympia to challenge railroad-backed influence in Washington politics.
- The Governor’s Executive Fiat
After the state legislature deadlocked and failed to elect a U.S. Senator, Governor McGraw unilaterally appointed John B. Allen to fill the seat.
- Timber Syndicates Used Dummy Squatters to Seize Washington’s State Lands
A state land cruiser describes a systematic scheme: Eastern syndicates paid men to squat on the best timber, commute it cheaply, then move on to the next quarter section—land meant to fund schools and public institutions.
- A Territorial Governor’s Controversial Advice
Governor William A. Newell's 1883 message to the Territorial Legislature advocates for the forced assimilation of Indigenous people and a rigid, unadorned approach to public institutions.
- The Fight for Women’s Right to Serve on Juries
Prominent attorneys challenge the presence of female jurors in Washington territory, igniting a constitutional battle.
- A Settler's Deadly Stand at Johnson's Point
After a dance near Olympia turns hostile, logger Thomas Johnson shoots two Native men and wounds a woman, then surrenders to a mob demanding his scalp.
- A $10,000 Railroad Check and a Whispering Campaign in Olympia
In 1895, Washington's legislature gathered to choose a U.S. senator, and the Seattle press heard that the Southern Pacific had put $10,000 behind one candidate.
- The Railroads Wanted a Senator, and They Worked Olympia to Get Him
A Republican paper accuses John L. Wilson of backing a railroad-friendly bill while transcontinental lines quietly lobby the legislature to send him to the U.S. Senate — and Tacoma's A.P.A. splits over the fight.
- The Newspaper Letter That Nearly Started a Fight in the Washington Senate
With the U.S. Senate election deadlocked in Olympia, a Pierce County senator read a rival’s letter aloud — and the chamber erupted over money, lobbyists, and borrowed favors.
- The Wife's Side of the Story
A woman arrested for adultery in Olympia tells a harrowing tale of abandonment, abuse, and survival in the Washington Territory.
- The Judge, the Revolver, and the Impeachment Petition
A former judge tells Olympia that Judge W. W. Langhorne drinks on the bench, bullies lawyers, and has threatened to shoot him — and asks the House to remove him.
- Champagne for the Lobby, Despair for the Farmers
Washington's Senate kills the Helm-Morgan freight-rate bill after railroad agents work Olympia, and the state's press calls it a corporate victory over the people.
- Washington's Fourth Legislature Adjourns After a Marathon Final Day
Lawmakers pass 53 bills, defeat a school-book trust, kill a Seattle-Tacoma bridewell, and bury woman suffrage for at least two years.
- A Thousand Gather to Move Leschi's Bones Home
On the Nisqually reservation, chiefs and their families rebury the war leaders Leschi and Quiemuth — and Leschi's nephew tells the crowd who really started the war.
- The Shadow of Corporate Influence Over Washington's Highest Court
Attorney Herbert N. De Wolfe challenges the integrity of the state Supreme Court, alleging that corporate interests have compromised the bench.
- The Fight for the Eight-Hour Day and Industrial Justice
As Washington’s legislature debates a landmark compensation act, labor leader Peter Henretty delivers an impassioned plea for the 'soldiers of labor' working in the state’s most dangerous mines.
- The Fight for the First Workers' Compensation Law
A labor advocate makes a passionate plea in Olympia for a state-managed fund to support injured workers, framing it as the only path away from corporate exploitation and legal poverty.
- The State Ousts its Leading Champion of Working Women
Blanche H. Mason, Assistant State Labor Commissioner, is fired for 'the good of the department' after aggressively enforcing labor laws for women.
- The Firing of the Deputy Labor Commissioner
Organized labor in Washington wages a public war of words against Commissioner C.F. Hubbard after he fires his female deputy for actually enforcing labor laws.
- The Whistleblower Who Was Silenced by the State
Blanche Mason, a deputy labor commissioner, accused Washington's governor and his labor chief of burying her reports on the exploitation of working women to protect big business interests.
- Washington House Speaker Says Courts Can Save Tide Lands
Speaker J. W. Feighan argues that Washington's tide land giveaway is unconstitutional and calls for a citizens' lawsuit to halt the sale.