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50 stories matching forthwith
- Washington's Public Lands Were Run by a Patchwork. Reformers Wanted One Powerful Board.
A joint legislative committee concludes that county tide-land boards, roving land cruisers and district attorneys have wasted public money, and recommends a three-member state land board to manage school and tide lands.
- A Mob Hanged Two Men at the Courthouse. Then the State Argued Over the Bill.
After Hill and Parker were lynched in Colfax, Attorney General W. C. Jones ruled that the county need not pay for a coroner's inquest—and said the real hunt for the mob belonged to a grand jury.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died 150 Feet From Safety
An 1894 coroner's jury in Franklin, Washington, heard how a small fire in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine became a wall of smoke — and why the men who could have escaped stayed to fight it.
- The Puyallup Nation Defies the Commission
Declaring they will no longer participate in negotiations, the Puyallup people reject the federal government's attempt to sell or partition their lands under the Wilson-Dawes measure.
- A Mayor Suspends His Fire Commissioner—and a Firehouse Scandal Erupts
Mayor Phelps removed Commissioner George T. Masel amid a fight over Chief Allen and a teenage girl's allegation against a fireman at department headquarters.
- 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.
- County Corruption Scandal
Auditors find discrepancies in the accounts of King County officials, sparking fears of thousands of dollars in losses.
- The Great Nude Debate: When Seattle’s Church Ladies Tried to Save Their Living Pictures
A fundraising gala at Christ Episcopal Church descended into moral panic when vestrymen declared 'living pictures' (nude art) too scandalous for the pulpit, forcing a cancellation that left donors furious and ladies defiant.
- The Great Moss Panic of 1878
Seattle's early city council once declared war on rooftop greenery to prevent the city from burning down.
- The Unstoppable March of the Snohomish Valley
A booster-era dispatch from 1885 details the transformation of the Snohomish Valley, documenting the arrival of the railroad, rising land values, and the shifting identity of a 'rural' community entering the urban age.
- The Judge and the Brothel
A Tacoma magistrate’s attempt to move his court away from a neighboring brothel backfired when the City Council ordered him to clean up the street instead.
- The Mayor’s Gambit: Humes Defers to Council as Seattle Sweeps Away Its Gambling dens
In a rare moment of unified reform, the City Council has ordered the closure of all gambling houses and restricted saloons in the business district. Mayor Humes, citing legal ambiguity over the saloon ordinance but promising strict enforcement against lotteries, leaves the fate of Seattle’s vice industry to the police chief.
- The Disappearing Witness in the Senatorial Bribery Scandal
As the state legislature remains deadlocked in a bribery probe, a mysterious figure named Atwood vanishes after allegedly attempting to buy votes.
- The City Wharf as a Stone Yard: Seattle's Plan to Put Its Idle Men to Work
A petition signed by dozens of prominent Seattle businessmen asks the city council to turn the waterfront into a public stone yard, trading honest labor for meals and lodging — and to run the beggars out of town.
- The Lame-Duck Courthouse Deal That a Judge Had to Stop
Benton County's outgoing commissioners rammed through a courthouse contract and a $9,500 payment in their final hours — and the next morning the state Supreme Court's restraining order landed on the table.
- The Vanishing Sidewalks: How Seattle’s Council Cleared the Streets of 'Obstructions'
In a bold move to modernize downtown, the City Council ordered the immediate removal of all fruit stands, bootblack benches, and candy vendors from the city's busiest thoroughfares. The result? A clash between civic order and the livelihoods of informal street merchants.
- The City Hall Gambling Den
When police raided the local underworld, the city’s courtroom was transformed into an impromptu warehouse for illicit gaming gear.
- The Executor Who Tore Down the House
When a court ordered an executor to account for an estate, he decided to simply remove the buildings from the land entirely to bypass the judge.
- A Tragic Warning in the Slate Creek Woods
A logger is killed by a falling tree, fulfilling a premonition voiced by his son just moments before.
- A Dry Petition, a Waterworks Deal and a Stolen Wheelbarrow
Four hundred Ballard residents want the saloons shut from Saturday midnight to Monday morning. A councilman says the whole thing is spite over the city's purchase of the water plant — and the council buys the water plant anyway.
- The Ghost Warrant of Ellensburgh
A legal warrant for a pre-fire assault is discovered in the brush, long after the records and the town itself were consumed by the blaze.
- The Indian Council’s Rebellion Against the White Shopkeepers
When an Indian girl was fined by her tribal council for purchasing flour at a white-owned store, a legal crackdown by territorial authorities sparked a tense political standoff.
- King County's Missing $61,000: Treasurer Accused of Embezzlement
A committee's report reveals that former County Treasurer George D. Hill is indebted to King County for over $61,000; the board orders legal action against him and his bondsmen.
- Seattle's Saloon Keepers Face the 'High License' Squeeze
As 1885 begins, the city cracks down on liquor sellers, leaving many owners struggling to pay their bonds—and prompting some to consider an honest day's work instead.
- The Battle for the Bottle in White River Valley
A local saloon keeper’s bid for a liquor license sparks a standoff with temperance-minded residents and sets the stage for a landmark court battle.
Also about this, in other words
- A Landlord, a Seized Trunk, and a Lady Left in Her Shift
After months on the run, a Populist orator is arrested at a poultry show for holding a tenant's only clothes hostage over unpaid rent.
- A Boy’s Quick Thinking Saves the May Creek Trestle
When a youth discovered a blaze on a high railway bridge, his rapid response prevented a catastrophe for the incoming train.
- A Perilous Fall From the Utility Pole
A local lineman narrowly avoids tragedy when a rotted pole snaps under his weight, leaving him strapped to the falling timber.
- Betrayal in the Alley
A grocery store owner was severely beaten and robbed by a young man he had previously befriended.
- The Perilous Midnight Row Across the Harbor
Two mill workers, caught in a fierce gale while attempting to row across the Aberdeen harbor, spent hours fighting for their lives against the wind and tide.
- A Community Gift for a Sick Neighbor
When J. J. Heatherington fell ill with paralysis, his White Bluffs neighbors organized a subscription to buy him a cow, offering a lifeline of support in a time of crisis.
- A Community's Gift to a Stricken Laborer
When a worker was left destitute and suffering from inflammatory rheumatism, local merchants and friends in Seattle rallied to set him up in his own business.
- Democratic Campaigners Hold Curbside Rally
Congress candidate Roscoe M. Drumheller and speaker William Goodyear appeal to Kennewick voters from the seat of an automobile on Second Street.