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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 421 |
| 1889 | 1,084 |
| 1891 | 492 |
| 1892 | 2,259 |
| 1893 | 2,699 |
| 1894 | 2,015 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
10,800 stories
- The Commonweal Army Prepares to March on Washington
As thousands of unemployed men mobilize across the country to march on the nation's capital, Seattle's local contingent balances internal discipline, fundraising, and a pledge of solidarity with striking railway workers.
- The Brutal Legacy of Seattle's Vigilante Justice
A citizen letter from 1894 reflects on the city's dark history of mob violence and the perceived failure of the legal system to address crime.
- The Industrial Army Marches on Washington
Seattle’s unemployed men organize a parade and embark on a cross-country trek to demand relief, setting off local tensions and federal concerns.
- The Industrial Army Marches Out of Seattle
Six hundred unemployed men, led by Commander Shephard, march through Seattle to join the regional Industrial Army, facing threats of federal intervention if they dare to seize a train.
- The Commonwealers Converge in Puyallup
Seattle and Tacoma detachments of the Industrial Army unite in a rainy camp, bracing for a confrontation as state and railroad authorities mobilize.
- The Industrial Armies on the Move
Across the West, unemployed men organized as 'Coxeyites' or 'Industrial Armies' are clashing with law enforcement and rail companies as they travel toward Washington, D.C.
- The Padlocking of Whitechapel
Chief of Police Rogers orders the eviction of forty-five women living in Seattle's historic red-light district.
- The Great Railway Tie-Up
As the Pullman strike brings regional rail service to a halt, Seattle residents look to Tacoma, where the labor struggle has turned violent and service is at a standstill.
- Ballard’s Water Main Failures Lead to Block-Wide Inferno
A fire in an avenue saloon rapidly spiraled out of control when the local water system failed to provide enough pressure to fight the flames.
- Spokane Guardsmen Refuse to Break Strike
A Washington state militia company refuses to man a non-union train, sparking a tense standoff over labor loyalty and the role of the National Guard.
- The National Guard Mutiny at Sprague
Washington militiamen refuse to break the Pullman rail strike, leading to their arrest and transport under guard.
- A Revolver at Her Ear: Mary Steel's Third Fight for a Divorce
Mary Steel's third divorce suit against David H. Steel laid bare a bitter fight over $49,000 in Seattle and Montana property—and allegations of violence, control and intimidation.
- A Dead Man’s Name on the Payroll
A Walla Walla ex-employee files twenty charges against L. T. Erwin, accusing the Yakima Indian agent of fraud, perjury, and turning the agency into a private larder.
- The Effigy in the Pine Tree
Charles Gloystein crossed Spokane County's Populists and woke to find himself hanged in straw. Then he vanished.
- A Banker, a Stolen Watch, and a Servant Girl’s Accusation
Herman L. Chase—already accused of assaulting his servant girl—is arrested in Tacoma after a silk robe and gold watch vanish from a hotel. His friends cry blackmail.
- The Accused Killer Who Wrote to Seattle Police
Oluf Ellingson was found on the Lake Washington shore with his throat cut and a razor in his hand. Four years later, suspect Tony Miller’s letter still insisted he was coming back to clear his name.
- No Work, Then Gunshots: A Tacoma Family's Despair
Albert McAchren shot his wife and himself in a Tacoma lodging house after a year without steady work; his young daughter survived to tell the story.
- A Judge Called Unpaid Hotel Work 'Mild Larceny'—and Freed the Bellboy Who Stole $1.15
Nathan Sanguinetti, a West Indian bellboy at Seattle's Rainier Hotel, was convicted of stealing a planted purse. When Judge Humes learned the hotel had made him work 18 months without pay, he called that the real crime—and a pardon followed.
- A Six-Dollar Rent Debt and a Diamond Ring Nearly Drowned Her in Lake Washington
Ethel Perkins, a lodger at a Third-and-Union boarding house, tried to end her life when her rent fell behind and a barber demanded his ring back. A stranger on the Madison street car caught her at the wharf's edge.
- The Convicted Murderer’s German Fortune and the Lawyer’s $5,000 Notes
Henry Craemer, jailed for killing a mother and child, says a rumored inheritance turned his appeal into a fight over legal fees and control of his case.
- The Senator Who Wanted to Cut Off Every Chinese Man's Queue — and Jail Him
After Chinese cooks boycotted his Tacoma spice business, a state senator proposed fining and jailing any Chinese man who wore a queue, with state agents sent out to shear them.
- The Ballard Suitor’s Violent Ultimatum
A young man from Dakota terrorized a Ballard family with a revolver and a bizarre demand for marriage, only to return later with a guitar and a hired musician.
- The Judge Who Was Drunk on the Bench and Threatened to Fill a Man with Lead
A legislative committee in Olympia substantiates charges that Chehalis Judge W.W. Langhorne dismissed cases unread, threatened a man with a revolver, and traded court favors for political help.
- A Wooden Gun and a Jailbreak: The Hunt for Thomas Blanck
Nine prisoners escaped from the King County jail. Only three have been recaptured. The notorious Thomas Blanck is still at large, armed men guard the roads, and a woman's description may be the key.
- Seattle’s Unemployed Planned to Get Arrested Rather Than Go Hungry
In 1895, a new Workhouse Club proposed a march on City Hall to demand work—and a mass arrest as the backup plan.