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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1862 | 6 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 8 |
| 1885 | 22 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 19 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 20 |
| 1892 | 43 |
| 1893 | 40 |
| 1894 | 47 |
| 1895 | 41 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 38 |
| 1904 | 35 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 10 |
| 1909 | 54 |
| 1910 | 9 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 5 |
| 1925 | 2 |
20 stories matching licens
- The City Council Battles Over Liquor Fees
A sharp political divide emerges over raising liquor license fees, with arguments ranging from moral restriction to fear of creating a monopoly.
- The State's Tax Grab
A landmark Supreme Court ruling forces Washington cities to share their liquor license revenue with the state, hitting Seattle for thousands.
- A Total Circus Failure
A traveling circus skips the city license fees and leaves the locals furious with a botched performance.
- A Parent Asks What Olympia Is Paying to Police Its New Variety Theater
A letter to the editor complains that a new theater below the “dead line” is drawing drunken loggers, running a bar, and selling private boxes—and asks what the city gets for its license and police protection.
- The Council Grapples with 'Peculiar' Houses
City leaders debate whether to regulate or police the city’s red-light district in a heated session.
- A Blackmail Scheme at the Statehouse?
Legislators suspect a proposed liquor licensing bill is less about temperance and more about extorting the state's saloon owners.
- The Midnight Saloon Standoff
Yakima city officials move to enforce a midnight closing time for local taverns, triggering immediate defiance from saloon owners.
- The City Hall Compromise on Vice
A heated debate over whether to permit gambling and vice reveals the deep divide between reformers and those who viewed 'sin' as a necessary economic pressure valve.
- The Price of 'Immorality' in 1891 Seattle
When the city council targeted a saloon keeper for moral failure, the debate exposed deep divisions over class, race, and selective enforcement of the law.
- The First Foreign Clearance
The schooner Annie Larsen marks a new milestone for Aberdeen's status as a port by clearing for Peru.
- The Battle for Seattle’s Soul: Saloon Owners vs. The City Over 'Music with Booze'
In a landmark legal clash in 1901, three prominent saloon proprietors sued the city to block a $1,000 tax on their establishments, arguing that entertainment and alcohol should remain legally intertwined.
- A Coal Town Rebellion
Roslyn voters unseat the company-backed mayor, citing mismanagement of public funds in a corporate-run coal town.
- City Hall's Saloon Showdown
A legislative battle over liquor limits and grade taxes highlights the growing pains of a booming Seattle.
- The Great Cleanup of Seattle's Vice Districts
Chief of Police Monroe commands the immediate closure of all gambling houses and brothels, leading to a chaotic night of arrests and confusion in the city's underbelly.
- The Most Hard-Fought City Election in Yakima History
A three-way contest between the Citizens’, Taxpayers’, and Knights of Labor tickets reshapes the city council.
- A Frontier Education: The Struggles of Washington's Early Schools
State Superintendent R.B. Bryan reflects on the chaotic, underfunded, and record-sparse beginnings of Washington’s school system.
- A New Editor Rides Into Friday Harbor, Promising Independence and a Paper Second to None
The Islander introduces itself to San Juan County with a defiant platform: no party dictation, no saloon-baiting, and a pledge to be booted around town if it ever breaks its word.
- Olympia Debates How Far the Law Should Reach Into a Man's Glass
At Liberal Hall, the Unity Club argued the limits of temperance legislation — whether the state may police private drinking or only the liquor traffic itself.
- Liquor Dealers Organize to Capture City Council
A slim meeting at Columbia Hall reveals a saloon-backed push to elect Murphy and Grainger, as the liquor interests try to regain control after last year's defeat.
- The Senator’s Homecoming: A City Roars for Watson Squire
Thousands line the Seattle waterfront as the Bailey Gatzert steamer arrives, carrying newly re-elected U.S. Senator Watson C. Squire home from Olympia in a spontaneous ovation of cheers, champagne christenings, and civic pride.