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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
11 stories matching column
- The Rotten Beef Scandal of 1872
When a local market was accused of selling diseased meat, the ensuing war of words revealed the thin line between journalism and extortion in early Seattle.
- The Man Who Wouldn't Die: A Suicide Attempt in Olympia
In a grim display of resilience, a man named June Hickey survived a lethal dose of antimony in an Olympia hotel last week, defying the finality of his own design.
- The Tax Collector’s Secret: How Seattle Officials Hid Debts to Profit from Advertising
A local newspaper exposes a scheme where the School District collector withheld tax information, forcing taxpayers to pay exorbitant advertising fees to clear liens they didn't know existed.
- The Scandalous Church Rivalry of 1872
A Seattle editor lashes out against a local rival, defending his character against allegations of meddling in the affairs of the Methodist Church.
- The Miracle Cure-Alls of 1870s Seattle
Before modern medicine, newspaper columns were filled with aggressive marketing for 'Pain Eradicators' and 'Radical Cures' that promised to fix everything from catarrh to death itself.
- The Unsung Patron of Port Townsend
A local priest takes to the pages of the Dispatch to set the record straight on who actually paid for the town's new church, insisting on public accountability for his private donation.
- The Palace of Ink and Pine
A satirical look at a new, supposedly 'palatial' three-story printing office in Seattle, which turns out to be just one story above a Chinese wash-house.
- The Hidden Dens of 1870s Seattle
A citizen appeal from 1872 exposes how unchecked public gambling was eroding the moral and financial fabric of the developing waterfront town.
- The Unwritten Laws of Seattle’s Press
When a local paper targeted young women in its columns for 'assuming social superiority' at a dance, a vigilante citizen took matters into his own hands.
- The Territorial Governor’s Malice: A False Rumor of Corruption Exposed
In June 1876, the *Puget Sound Dispatch* launches a fierce defense of Washington Territory Governor William H. Wallace against a malicious slander campaign claiming he was embezzling public funds.
- The Opium Evil: How 48 Cans Slipped Past Seattle's Customs Inspector
In 1877, a Seattle paper raged about opium smuggling, corruption in the revenue service, and a den where 'white men, Chinese and Indians' met—a racist panic that echoes today's drug crises.