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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 41 |
| 1891 | 42 |
| 1892 | 31 |
| 1893 | 103 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 33 |
273 stories
- The Eight-Hour Day: Washington Becomes the First to Legislate Labor's Limits for Private Industry
In a landmark session at the Olympia legislature, lawmakers passed an unprecedented bill declaring eight hours a legal workday for all labor performed by or for corporations and individuals, not just public works.
- Political Deadlock and Dirty Tricks in Olympia
Accusations of corporate puppetry fly in the Washington State Legislature as the battle for the U.S. Senate seat intensifies.
- The $500 Vote: How a Spokane Judge’s Bribery Plot Exposed Seattle’s Political Rot
In the winter of 1903, Washington’s legislature was paralyzed by a scandal involving bribed senators and a desperate governor. When Representative Metcalfe revealed he was paid to vote for Judge Calkins, the resulting investigation tore through Olympia’s elite, revealing a web of corruption that threatened to define the state’s young democracy.
- Drafting the Constitution
As the constitutional convention meets in Olympia, delegates navigate high-stakes debates over statehood, judicial reform, and the volatile question of woman suffrage.
- The Great Tide Land Tug-of-War
Delegates at the Washington Constitutional Convention debate whether to reserve the state's waterfronts for the public or sell them to private interests.
- Washington Legislature Rejects Women's Suffrage
A bill to submit the question of equal suffrage to the voters of the state fails to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in the House.
- The Women's Suffrage Fight at Washington's Constitutional Convention
Delegates at the 1889 constitutional convention engage in a fierce debate over including women's suffrage, ultimately voting to put the question to the voters instead of enshrining it in the state constitution.
- The Political Smoke of 1891: Backroom Deals and Populist Uprisings
While Washington’s early legislature debated the direct election of senators and railroad regulation, backroom meetings at the Olympia Hotel signaled the enduring influence of corporate power.
- The Price of a Senate Seat: Inside the 1891 Power Struggle in Olympia
As a crucial U.S. Senate election looms, Seattle political figures and state legislators grapple with accusations of bribery, railroad monopolies, and the 'corrupt' influence of money in Washington’s halls of power.
- The Capitol Riots: How a Bribery Scandal Shook Washington’s First Legislature
In the halls of Olympia, Republican lawmakers turned on each other with fists and threats over a U.S. Senate seat, exposing a brazen attempt to buy votes that disgraced the young state.
- The Senator Who Bought His Seat
A Washington State legislator admits to accepting $200 to sway his vote for U.S. Senator, sparking a scandal in Olympia that mirrors modern concerns about political corruption.
- The Man Who Took the Bribe to Expose It
Representative Metcalfe’s daring sting operation against Senatorial corruption has turned him into a hero for reformers and a target for powerful enemies.
- Democratic Convention Splits Over Ship Canal
A bitter political brawl at the state convention in Olympia ends in a stinging defeat for Seattle’s most ambitious infrastructure dream.
- A Mill Owner Held Hostage by His Own Unpaid Crew
When John Tuilock threatened to shut his Rainier shingle mill without paying his hands, the men seized him, marched him back, and forced him to write checks at the point of their anger — until a deputy sheriff rode to the rescue.
- Republican Deadlock Finally Broken in Olympia
After intense lobbying and political maneuvering, John B. Allen secures the support needed to likely become the next U.S. Senator.
- One Day Late: The Veto That May Hang a Man
A clerk's date stamp, a messenger who cannot recall which day he ran an errand, and a condemned Italian at Tacoma whose last chance at a new appeal may have expired in the paperwork.
- A Senate Seat, a Caucus, and a Yakima Ditch Deal
In Olympia, Republicans moved to settle the U.S. Senate contest between Ankeny and Wilson—while opponents circulated a story that Wilson had traded a Congressional favor for stock in a Yakima irrigation scheme.
- The Sabotage of Black Lake
A malicious attempt to breach a dike and flood the Olympia countryside by draining a massive volume of water into the Deschutes River was narrowly averted.
- The Day the Territorial Supreme Court Killed Women's Suffrage in Washington
In a landmark test case from May 1902, Judge Sash ruled that the Organic Act of Washington Territory only granted voting rights to males, effectively striking down local efforts to enfranchise women.
- The Last Midnight of the Washington Constitutional Convention
After fifty days of grueling debate and back-room maneuvering, delegates in Olympia finally finish the document that would define the state’s future.
- The Birth of Washington State: 1889 Constitution Draft
A rare look at the foundational text that set the rules for labor, public education, and state governance upon Washington’s entry into the Union.
- Washington State Bans Private Mercenary Guards
New legislation makes it a serious crime for companies to employ private detective agencies like the Pinkertons to suppress strikes or intimidate employees.
- Washington’s Constitution Takes Shape Amid Chaos
As Spokane Falls burns, the state’s constitutional delegates pivot from catastrophe to the fiery debate over regulating railroads and monopolies.
- The Great Railway Bribe Scandal of 1891
When the Northern Pacific Railway sent complimentary transit passes to Washington state legislators to influence a deadlocked U.S. Senate race, the blunder sparked a statewide scandal over corruption and corporate power.
- The Tacoma Land Grab: How Rich Men Tried to Steal Washington’s Senate Seat
In January 1891, Seattle’s press rallied behind incumbent Senator Watson Squire against a rival backed by Tacoma’s wealthy elite, exposing a bitter battle over whether the state would be ruled by its people or its land barons.