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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 5 |
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| 1889 | 3 |
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| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 2 |
77 stories matching inflat
- The Power Grab: Tacoma Businessmen Battle Utility Monopoly
Prominent citizens organize to fight an electric franchise they fear will cripple local industry and inflate power prices.
- The Northern Pacific’s Coal Land Grab
A railroad giant withdraws half a million acres of King County land from settlement, aiming to force locals to pay for its expansion.
- Benton County Commissioners Caught in Courthouse Bond Scandal
Chairman J. B. Clements and Commissioner Alex. McNeill face an injunction after allegedly pushing through a $125,000 bond issue for a new courthouse without public consent.
- The Padded Guest List
A political movement to reform Seattle government gets caught red-handed inflating its support with the names of prominent citizens who never agreed to join.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- The Death-Defying Leap at Madrona Park
A daredevil aerialist and a monkey perform a high-altitude parachute jump over Lake Washington, drawing a massive, cheering crowd.
- The Price of Seattle Real Estate
A speculative look at the rapid inflation of downtown land values on Front Street.
- Senator Van Wyck Challenges Northern Pacific Railroad Land Speculation
Senator Van Wyck challenges the Northern Pacific Railroad’s grip on public land, exposing a pattern of corporate greed and tax evasion that spanned the Territories.
- The Blacksmith’s Inflation Correction
A local farmer brags about his record-breaking pork sales, only to find the village blacksmith has adjusted his own prices accordingly.
- The Con Man Who Sold the Seattle Circus
A clever swindler fleeced the city's elite by selling them on imaginary contracts for a Ringling Brothers circus that was never coming to town.
- The Mayor vs. The Machines
Tacoma's Mayor Louis D. Campbell rallies voters at Tyler's Hall, accusing local press and the city council of working in lockstep with corporate and gambling interests.
- The Rising Cost of Living Hits Washington Workers
As inflation outpaces wage growth, labor organizers argue that true relief for the worker can only be found in shorter hours and better conditions.
- The Bitter Election Brawl of 1892
A fiery partisan editorial from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer dissects the chaotic city budget and heated mayoral campaign, revealing the deep political fractures of a young, booming Seattle.
- State College Regents Accused of Inflating Contract Bids
A Tacoma dispatch reports laboratory equipment priced at $3,700 when the college chemist said it could be had for $1,700 — and a college hall contract nearly double the low bid.
- The Ghost of the 1873 Crash Still Haunts Seattle
As the Seattle Weekly Dispatch reflects on the long, agonizing economic recovery from the Panic of 1873, the parallels to our modern housing and labor struggles reveal a century-old cycle of debt and instability.
- South Tacoma’s War on the Monopoly
Citizens revolt against the Sunset Telephone Company’s discriminatory rates and poor service, calling for competition to break the city's grip.
- The Balloon-Powered Park Plan
A satirical interview with a Seattle developer reveals the absurd lengths civic boosters would go to inflate the value of local land.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- Aeronaut Injured in Madison Street Park Accident
Hazel Keyes, a professional parachute jumper, was severely injured after a failed balloon ascent dragged her across a fence.
- The Timber Monopoly Holding Everett Hostage
A fiery editorial calls out the Puget Mill Company for hoarding vast tracts of land and artificially inflating timber prices while ignoring the welfare of the local community.
- The Silver Dollar Crusade: Seattle’s Local Echo of a National Money War
While the nation debates bimetallism and Indian Wars, Washington Territory officials in Seattle are quietly preparing for a federal commission that could reshape the region's economy.
- The Political Economy of 'Free Silver'
An editorial critique of the Populist push for silver currency, warning that inflation would only devastate the working class.
- The End of the Frontier Boom
An 1886 dispatch from the San Francisco Chronicle assesses the cooling of Washington Territory's economy, marking the transition from feverish speculation to steady growth.
- The Great Hop Hype
Local dealers spar with growers over inflated rumors of global demand for Washington's prized crop.
- The City That Beat the Fraud: Seattle’s Census Integrity
While Portland faces a third recount for dishonesty and Salem inflates its numbers with transient workers, Seattle and Tacoma emerge from the federal census audit with clean records.