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119 stories matching bind
- A Senate Seat, a 'Boodle' Cry, and Two Rival Caucus Calls
With the legislature barely organized, Republicans war over who should go to Washington—accusations of bribes, a strange 'binding' caucus call, and candidates angling for the prize.
- The Treasurer’s Bond Had a Hole in It
Seattle’s treasurer-elect filed a $90,000 bond, but wives’ names were penciled in, signatures were missing, and one backer wanted out.
- Predatory Saloon Keeper Targets Puyallup Landholder
An Indian man faces the potential loss of his property after signing a document he believed was a loan mortgage, but which turned out to be a deed.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- The Saloonkeeper's Legal Loophole
A Seattle business owner successfully challenged city regulators by arguing that a valid, unexpired license remains binding even after moving to a new storefront.
- The Court Rules Against Railway Union Contracts
A federal judge sides with the Lake Shore Road receiver, ruling that collective labor contracts do not bind court-appointed management.
- Governor McGraw Says No to Cheap Textbooks and a Cascade Road
Washington’s governor vetoes a state textbook scheme and a Naches Pass road appropriation, warning that both would waste public money—and that cheap books are not the same as good ones.
- The Professor’s Last Trick: Clara Baldwin’s Final Spiritualist Spectacle
In a packed hall in Seattle, the renowned medium Clara Baldwin performed her final show before departing for Portland, captivating the audience with 'wonderful bat' illusions and binding herself in chains to prove her powers were real.
- The Case Against 'Head-Binding'
High society magazines argue against college for women, prompting a stinging editorial retort on the limits of 'social success.'
- Seattle's Library Reopens — With a Fee for Taking Books Home
After slashing salaries, trimming the light bill and a landlord's six months of free rent, the library commission reopens the doors under a 10-cent-a-month borrowing charge.
- Breach of Promise Lawsuit Dismissed
A judge rules that a marriage agreement based on cohabitation is not a binding legal contract.
- Seattle Leaders Press Railroad President Harris
Local business leaders force a tense public confrontation with the Northern Pacific Railroad president over land monopolies and deferred development.
- The Landmark Case of an Indigenous Heir
A court ruling recognizes a marriage between a white pioneer and a niece of Chief Seattle, potentially shifting land title laws across the region.
- The Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Three men arrested under the 1882 Exclusion Act face deportation despite claims of residency; Judge Hanford declares the legal rights of Chinese laborers effectively suspended.
- Homestead Fraud and the Limits of Government Power
A landmark federal court ruling questions whether departmental regulations can be enforced as criminal law.
- Seattle’s City Council Rejects Public Power in Favor of Private Monopoly
In a decisive vote that prioritized corporate interests over municipal control, Seattle leaders refused to condemn the city's water supply, effectively handing power to private developers.
- A Midnight Knock, a Hidden Fortune, and a Brutal Beating on Vashon Island
Two men demand an old rancher's money, bind and club him, then ransack his cabin for a cache of cash. Seattle police arrest a suspect—and then the victim's wife.
- The Wooden Revolver That Freed Ten Prisoners
Thomas Blanck held a jailer hostage with a carved fake gun, emptied the King County jail, and vanished into Seattle's streets.
- The Price of Being a 'Wide Open' Town
Tacoma’s city officials are formalizing a system of monthly 'bail' payments for gambling house owners, effectively legalizing the industry through a protection racket.
- Tacoma's Bribery Probe Ends With a Censure, Not a Conviction
A Tacoma City Council 'Lexow' committee cleared Councilman Thompson and City Clerk Smyth of bribery, then censured Smyth anyway for boasting he'd paid for a vote.
- Seattle's Balloon Animal Cruelty Fight
The local Humane Society moves to stop a spectacle involving dogs and monkeys tied to parachutes and dropped from balloons at public parks.
- The 'Martial Law' Grab
An early attempt by land speculators to seize control of local governance in King County for profit.
- The Brotherhood Challenges a Receiver's Firing Spree
Conductors from the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railroad sue for reinstatement, claiming their firing was a retaliatory, arbitrary act by a receiver ignoring labor contracts.
- Bullets for a Neighbor on Vashon Island
A rancher says George Weston, his only neighbor, fired through his cabin window and later drew a bead on him from the beach. Now Ole Christofersen wants the law to bind Weston to keep the peace.
- The Hatch Heirs' Victory: A Seattle Attorney Wins Half of a $400,000 Everett Tract
A federal appeals court upholds the rights of the children of Ezra Hatch—a Mexican War veteran who married an Indian woman—to 128 acres in the heart of Everett, and their lawyer, A.D. Warner, takes home half.
Also about this, in other words
- A School Board’s Paper Trail of Negligence
Aberdeen’s School District No. 5 accepts a contractor's bond that admits to being filled out by 'inexperienced persons' with no legal sureties.
- A Dramatic Arrest and a 'Whisky Fit' at the Police Station
A suspect arrested for jumping a boarding house bill and passing bogus checks collapses in his wife's arms while in police custody.
- The Mud-Bound Stash
After stealing hundreds of dollars from a mess house in Cosmopolis, a thief uses a clever ruse involving a fake fall to bury his loot.
- The Unspoken Code of the Union Card
When a worker breaks his word to an employer, he does more than lose a job—he tarnishes the reputation of every laborer in the city.
- Forging Checks for Unrequited Love
A local laborer's desperate attempt to cope with a broken heart leads to a criminal spree.
- The Attorney General’s Power Grab
A critique of Attorney General Jones’s refusal to approve the bonds of the state land commissioners, arguing he has overstepped his constitutional authority.
- The Drummer’s Deed: A Tale of Lost Blocks and Mutual Recrimination
A traveling salesman thought he’d scored a bargain on Seattle real estate, only to discover his deed was for the wrong lot—and his seller had no idea either.
- The Battle of the Wishkah River Bridge
A city’s municipal gridlock and the bizarre arrest of a councilman over anti-bond propaganda.