Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
4 stories matching extort
Scanning errors are common in old newsprint. Also try:extortion, extol, extortionist, exhort, export, extractor
- 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 Pilot Who Dropped Dead at the Helm
A seasoned navigator suffers a fatal stroke while guiding a British ship through the Golden Gate, only for the crew to be extorted by a tugboat captain who demands an 'exorbitant' fee to save them.
- The Price of Printing: A 19th Century Fight Against 'Cheap John' Contracting
An editorial from the 1873 Seattle Dispatch excoriates the municipal habit of awarding city printing contracts to the lowest bidder, arguing it degrades the press and serves only the interests of 'ward demagogues.'
- The Paper War: How Seattle’s ‘Public Thieves’ Exposed a Corrupt Ring
In 1872, the *Puguet Sound Dispatch* accused local officials and the rival *Intelligencer* of extorting taxpayers through inflated advertising rates for tax sales, framing it as a 'Tammany ring' stealing from the public.