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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 7 |
| 1883 | 43 |
| 1884 | 28 |
| 1885 | 22 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 24 |
139 stories matching contract
- The City's Broken Lumber Deal
When lumber prices soared in 1887, Seattle’s city contractors simply walked away from their obligations—and the city council let them get away with it.
- The Great Tacoma Hop Battle
When a New York firm tried to back out of a contract after a price crash, they found that Tacoma business owners weren't taking no for an answer.
- The Newspaper Monopoly Holding Seattle Hostage
In 1887, the Post-Intelligencer exposed a 'printing ring' between rival newspapers that artificially inflated the cost of public contracts.
- New Bridge Across Sullivan Slough
A Seattle bridge-builder secures the contract for a key infrastructure project in the local wetlands.
- The Great Seattle Water Contract Scandal
A local newspaper investigation exposes suspicious water hydrant contracts, accusing city officials of mismanagement and sweetheart deals ahead of a heated municipal election.
- The Waterfront Labor Squeeze
A standoff at the Seattle docks over shipping contracts and idle labor leaves the local waterfront in turmoil.
- City Council Members Dodge Responsibility on James Street
While private citizens were forced to fulfill their contracts, two city council members allegedly abandoned their own street improvement project without penalty.
- The Steamboat Betrayal
A local captain accuses Ottawa officials of reneging on a mail contract after he already invested in the route.
- The Paper Trail of Patronage
A bold act of civic favoritism in King County sees the Board of Commissioners award a lucrative printing contract to a higher bidder, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
- A Broken-Down Mailboat Left Clallam County Cut Off
For months, the steamer on the Neah Bay route ran late, broke down, and at least once used a craft known to be unsafe. The Post-Intelligencer wanted the contract revoked.
- The City vs. The Citizens: A Sewer Standoff
Property owners refuse to pay for city improvements they claim were botched, poorly contracted, and overpriced.
- Councilors and the Cost of Progress
A standoff between property owners and council members over street grading reveals the deep entanglement of private business and city government.
- The Lumber Monopoly’s Messy Breakup
A multi-million dollar lumber corporation face an attachment suit after failing to pay for timber contracts in Walla Walla.
- The Struggle to House the Poor in Early Seattle
As the number of county residents in need grows, officials weigh ending the Sisters of Providence’s long-standing contract for a public poor farm.
- The Struggle for Tacoma Avenue
When the city of Tacoma withheld payment from contractors Cadwell & Vesey, labor tensions boiled over into a stand-off, highlighting the recurring fight to ensure workers get paid for their toil.
- Seattle's Rail Ambitions Hit a Financial Wall
After securing a $125,000 subsidy from local subscribers, Henry Villard's railroad venture stalls due to financial instability and brutal winter weather, sparking a tense debate over contract deadlines.
- The Ghost of Fort Steilacoom: Workers Cheated Out of Their Wages
A group of laborers at the new asylum construction site speak out against contractors and commissioners who left them unpaid and used rot-prone materials.
- Corporate Audacity: The Northern Pacific Land Grant Controversy
A scathing report on how a railroad company attempted to keep massive public land grants despite failing to build the promised infrastructure.
- The Hypocrisy of Convict Labor
An editorial draws a direct, nativist parallel between New York's stance on prison labor and the push to expel Chinese laborers from the Pacific coast.
- Connecting the Lakes: Seattle's 1886 Tunnel Project
A new industrial contract promises to link Lake Union and Lake Washington, forever altering the local landscape to facilitate the region's burgeoning timber industry.
- The Snoqualmie Hop Field Massacre
A contract labor dispute turns deadly as vigilantes attack Chinese workers in the Snoqualmie Valley.
- The Dream of a Boat-Accessible Seattle
Contractor J.J. Cummings prepares to connect the lakes, promising a future where residents can row entirely around the city.
- Addressing the Standing Menace on Washington Street
Seattle City Council contracts for new sewer lines to drain the low-lying lots that have long threatened the city's health.
- The Constitutional Question of Local Option
A landmark court ruling in Dayton challenged the constitutionality of Washington's local option liquor laws, sparking a debate on police power and contracts.
- The Broken Promise of the Northern Pacific
Nineteen years after receiving millions of acres in land grants, the Northern Pacific Railroad barely reaches Seattle, sparking local outrage over broken contracts.