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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 12 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 8 |
30 stories matching cheap
- The Fight for Cheap Labor in the Pacific Northwest
In 1887, prominent Seattle and Tacoma business leaders sat down to argue over the 'necessity' of the Chinese exclusion movement and the future of regional trade.
- The Fight Against 'Ready-Made' News
In 1884, Seattle’s labor printers stood against the rise of syndicated, out-of-town journalism, arguing that local integrity and local jobs mattered more than cheap, imported content.
- Seattle Printers Accuse the Dailies of Replacing Men With Boys
Typographical Union No. 307 says the Post-Intelligencer and the Star swapped compositors for cheap help and imported ready-set plates—then asks the public to judge.
- The Seattle Kitchen Fire
A fire guts a cheap Seattle boarding house, leaving lodgers scrambling for safety through upper-story windows.
- The Torchlight Mob at Frye's Opera House
In 1885, Seattle laborers and anti-Chinese activists gathered for a massive, torch-lit demonstration to demand the removal of the city's Chinese population, marking a dark chapter of exclusionary labor violence in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Shadow of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions in Squak Valley
Court testimony reveals a night of armed intimidation and a lethal 'misunderstanding' at a hop farm in 1885.
- The Fallout of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions
A witness recounts the inhumane treatment of Chinese merchants who were brought back to Tacoma to testify after being violently displaced.
- Tragedy at the Occidental Hotel
A pre-dawn fire at a downtown boarding house kills a resident and leaves others fighting for their lives in the smoke.
- The Hidden Cruelty of Early Seattle
A visit to a Chinatown tenement reveals a harrowing reality of human suffering, sparking a volatile debate over labor, poverty, and local morality.
- Seattle Was Selling Itself by the Lot
A correspondent finds a city crowded with renters, hotels turning travelers away, and speculative prices for even a Fifth Street mud puddle.
- The Unsolved Murder of John Smith
A Scottish laborer is found beaten to death on the roadside, his pockets empty and his identity a mystery to the local coroner’s jury.
- The Snowfall That Nearly Wiped Out Spokane Falls
Heavy winter snows caused the near-collapse of two public buildings in Washington Territory, sparking a debate over the need for stricter building oversight in a growing Seattle.
- The High-License Fight of 1885
As Seattle grapples with the rise of saloons, local temperance advocates and city officials debate the 'high license' strategy to curb the city’s drinking problem.
- The State of the Territory: 1885
Governor Watson C. Squire delivers a wide-ranging address on Washington's rapid growth, the need for a penitentiary, and the rising 'anti-Chinese' labor tensions in Seattle.
- The Price of White Labor in the Sound's Salmon Canneries
Prominent cannery man George T. Myers threatens to abandon Puget Sound if local sentiment forces him to abandon Chinese labor for white workers.
- The Hidden Anarchist Dens of Old Seattle
A reporter goes undercover into the city's dimly lit saloons to find the radicals, the red-eyed agitators, and the illicit literature that supposedly threatened the order of the growing town.
- The Political Campaign Against Chinese Labor in 1886
A local representative’s fiery defense of anti-Chinese exclusionary policies, detailing the economic anxieties that gripped Seattle workers during the late 19th century.
- The Betrayal of a 'Friend' in Tacoma
A classic story of a land deal gone wrong, where a trusted drinking buddy pulled the rug out from under an investor’s feet.
- Peter Kirk's Iron Works Signal Seattle's Manufacturing Ambitions
A bold call in 1887 to turn Seattle into a premier manufacturing powerhouse by offering free land and tax incentives to incoming factories.
- A 'Mantraps' Warning: Building Collapses on South Third
A recently renovated shop collapses into kindling just minutes after workers vacate the premises.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Waterfront Sovereignty
A historic local Board of Trade meeting reveals early clashes over civic power, the control of harbor lands, and the desperate bid to keep Seattle’s trade economy local.
- The Unspoken Cost of Building a Frontier City
A disillusioned man’s search for government work exposes the desperation lurking behind the optimism of 1885 Seattle.
- The Great Seattle Land Rush of 1887
When cheap rail tickets from the Canadian Pacific triggered a real estate stampede into Seattle.
- Protecting the Timber Frontier
Seattle business leaders lobby to maintain trade protections against foreign competition.
- The Economic Case for Civil Rights
An editorial from 1886 argues that Northern labor interests depend on ending the exploitation of Black workers in the South.