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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 26 |
| 1884 | 17 |
| 1885 | 31 |
| 1886 | 27 |
| 1887 | 23 |
126 stories matching whether
- The Northern Pacific's Iron Grip on the Territory
An scathing editorial decries the railroad monopoly for partitioning Washington into 'trade territories' to serve their own interests.
- The Bonfire of the Vanities on Occidental Square
Months after a jubilant, torch-lit victory party in Seattle, the city’s new power-brokers were left holding the bag as lawlessness and economic despair gripped the town.
- 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 Fight for Seattle's Coal Lands
A Seattle attorney challenges the Northern Pacific Railroad's land grant claims, alleging the company is 'filching' thousands of acres of coal-rich territory from the public domain.
- The Case of the Missing Jury
A landmark Washington Territory court ruling challenges the legal status of women as jurors, debating whether 'civil disability' laws were ever intended to grant women the right to serve.
- The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887
Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.
- The Uninvited Territorial Appointment
Citizens of Washington Territory rail against meddlesome outsiders and the President’s power to appoint their governor.
- The Great Labor War: Seattle Council Erupts Over Chinese Workers
In a fiery session in April 1882, Seattle’s City Council nearly came to blows over whether public grading contracts should be reserved exclusively for white laborers.
- Seattle's Corrupt Policing: The Fee System of 1887
How Seattle’s police force was incentivized to hunt for arrests and padding their own pockets through court fees, sparking a local civic scandal.
- The City Council Seized Our Engine: A Firehouse Rebellion
When the city government stripped Seattle Engine Company No. 2 of their apparatus to give it to a new company, the firefighters organized a defiant public meeting to protest the 'unwarranted usurpation of authority.'
- The Trial of Neil Sweeney: Sane or Mad?
A Seattle probate court spends an afternoon determining the mental state of a man accused of madness, highlighting the precarious nature of asylum discharges and personal liberty in 1887.
- The Ghost Ship of Puget Sound
While a steamer crew vanished into the waves, Port Townsend customs officials sat in their offices waiting for 'official notification' before launching a rescue, fueling public outrage.
- The Crumbling Sidewalk of James Street
For three weeks, a gaping hole on James Street has left residents navigating a mess, leaving neighbors to wonder if the city has forgotten the street commissioner exists.
- The Hidden Labor of the Kitchen
A late 19th-century editorial critiques the grueling, unregulated work conditions of domestic servants in Seattle households.
- Coal Claims Filed in Chuckanut Mountains
Conflict arises over land rights between coal claimants and timber interests near Bellingham.
- The Fight to Fund the Territorial University
Legislators debate the future of education in Olympia, questioning the status of the University's land title and its academic standards.
- Committee Upholds Northern Pacific Railroad Land Grant
A government committee weighs in on whether the Northern Pacific Railroad forfeited its massive land grant by failing to meet construction deadlines.
- A Fishing Scow Left High and Dry
A local fishing expedition turns into a salvage nightmare after a grounding in the Gulf of Georgia.
- The Sad End of a Local Pet
A harmless land otter, kept as a mascot, was killed by an erratic local resident in a senseless act of cruelty.
- The Territory's First Mixed-Gender Jury
A trial in Justice Vrooman’s court draws a suffocating crowd to see if women can handle the rigors of the jury box.
- The Great Liquor Debate of 1886
As Seattle teetered on the edge of a new era, citizens prepared for a pivotal June vote to determine the future of the local liquor trade.
- Tragic Drowning at the Tacoma Waterfront
An unidentified man, intoxicated and disoriented, falls to his death while attempting to navigate the dark railroad tracks.
- The Railroad That Threatened to Make Serfs of Us All
An 1884 open letter urges Democrats and independents to break the Northern Pacific's grip on land, taxes and the delegate election.
- A Fiery Protest Over Local Schooling
A schoolhouse in Lakenew was destroyed by an act of suspected arson, following heated community disputes over moving the building into town.
- The Battle Over Public Tidelands
A recurring civic headache resurfaces as the City Council weighs conflicting claims on the city's valuable waterfront property.