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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 51 |
| 1891 | 28 |
| 1892 | 206 |
| 1893 | 224 |
| 1894 | 201 |
| 1895 | 161 |
898 stories
- The Political Deadlock in Tacoma
A fractured city council faces a week of partisan infighting as factions refuse to form a quorum, paralyzing municipal business.
- Presbytery Suspends Minister for Slander
A long-running ecclesiastical dispute concludes as Reverend M. G. Mann is convicted of slandering his successor using hearsay from the Puyallup reservation.
- A Fair Held 'To Spite Bennett': Tacoma Refuses to Be Killed Over Union Labor
Nelson Bennett attacked the Interstate Fair for hiring union workmen and nearly broke the enterprise. The trustees answer with a whoop: the fair goes on, and Seattle says it will stand by it.
- Tacoma Refuses to Play Dog-in-the-Manger on Seattle's Ship Canal
When Seattle's chamber pushed a Lake Washington ship canal, Tacoma's president said regional gain mattered more than blocking a rival—then hedged.
- The Many Lives of J. S. Howell: Gold Miner, Town Founder, Tacoma Broker
A Tacoma pioneer dies at his Twelfth Street home. His obituary is a tour of the nineteenth-century American West — Wisconsin lumber, Colorado gold, an Iowa townsite he platted and owned, and finally real estate in a rising Tacoma.
- Tacoma Man Sets the Record Straight on the Northern Pacific Land Grant
Paul Schulze writes to correct a special telegram claiming the Supreme Court annulled the railroad's land grant from Portland to Tacoma, arguing the decision was narrow and fears of a land rush are overblown.
- A Judgment Against the Man in the Moon: Tacoma's $2 Million Water Bond Fight
Judge Stallcup tried to invalidate $2,130,000 in water bonds. The water company's lawyer shrugged—and warned that bondholders would haul the city into court if interest went unpaid.
- A Quiet Seattle Prospector Dies in a Hotel—and There Will Be No Inquest
John B. Conrad was found dying at the Grand Hotel; a friend from Seattle could offer no reason for suicide, and the case was closed without an inquest.
- The Courthouse Math Behind a Judge-Shrinking Plan
Tacoma officials weigh merging the Pierce and Thurston judicial districts to save $10,000 a year, even as prosecutors ask for more help.
- The Puyallup Indian Agency Was Abolished
Federal officials declared the agency obsolete, shifted its schools to a new superintendent, and retired Agent Eells after more than 23 years.
- A Backroom Vote Redraws Tacoma's First Ward
Tacoma Republicans reverse the base for municipal convention apportionment, threatening Council President Harris and the Wickersham faction's grip on the First Ward.
- A Railroad Clerk's Side Hustle: 150 Pounds of Opium Land in Tacoma
M. M. Perl, chief clerk to a Northern Pacific superintendent, imported prepared opium from China aboard the Kingston—while federal agents seized a rival shipment under an 1881 treaty.
- A Steam Pipe Bursts Aboard the Nineveh
A donkey engine hoisting ballast aboard the British ship Nineveh exploded at Tacoma, leaving ship carpenter McPherson badly scalded and fighting for his life.
- A Rejected Suitor, a Pistol, and a Tacoma Courtroom
A German servant girl accuses a suitor of drawing a gun on her when she chose another man—and he takes the stand to explain his broken heart.
- Tacoma's Water and Light Bonds Survive Their Day in Court
Judge Stallcup's suit to invalidate the city's light and water bond issue was dismissed in superior court; the case will go to the state Supreme Court.
- Tacoma's Tide-Land Shake-Up
Governor McGraw replaced two Pierce County tide-land appraisers seen as politicians, and Tacoma dared to hope the waterfront would be valued fairly.
- The Grocery Company That Cooked Its Own Books
Tacoma Grocery Company’s president is accused of falsifying minute books and hiding assets from the receiver, creditors and stockholders.
- A Principal on Trial Behind a Closed Door
Tacoma's school board barred reporters, witnesses and both professors from its 'war chamber' inquiry into charges against high school principal Roberts, where teachers described a temper and an implied threat.
- A Waterfront Captain's Sudden Death, and the Suicide Rumor That Didn't Hold
Capt. J. H. O'Hara died at his wharf office in Tacoma; a post-mortem found no truth to talk of suicide, while friends remembered a hard-drinking but well-liked waterfront figure.
- The Courtroom Crowd That Cracked the Doors
Two women accused of lifting hats, silk and underwear from a Tacoma dry-goods store drew a crowd so large the doors cracked and a window broke.
- Tacoma Declares War on Filth—and Tuberculosis in the Milk
Tacoma’s board of health launched a summer cleanup campaign, ordering property owners to clear filth and dairies shipping milk into the city to submit cattle for tuberculosis inspection.
- The Thirty-Mile Dream: A New Air Line Between Seattle and Tacoma
Promoter Henry Bucey revived a plan for a broad-gauge railroad linking Tacoma and Seattle, promising a shorter route—if he could secure the right-of-way and land subsidies first.
- Tacoma’s Epworth League Wants the Bible in Public Schools—and the Saloons Gone
A thousand church reformers gathered in Tacoma planned a moral crusade against liquor and for Bible reading in the public schools.
- A Domestic Siege in Tacoma
A man files for divorce, claiming his wife and nine stepchildren waged a campaign of harassment, including teapot-throwing.
- Tacoma Bets Its Streets on Brick and Bonds
The council approves bonded paving for Pacific Avenue — Tacoma's first block of hard pavement — while quietly asking whether the mayor still legally holds his office.