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 |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 3 |
11 stories matching excess
- Unemployment and Drink: A Death at Tacoma’s Palace Lodging House
P. N. Taylor, out of work and struggling with liquor, cut his throat beside his wife at Eleventh Street and Tacoma Avenue; he died three hours later.
- City Attorney Blocks Olympia’s Columbia Street Assessment
A legal opinion found that street grading and planking done without contracts could not be charged to abutting owners beyond $500—putting more than $2,000 in assessments in doubt.
- A Taxpayer Tries to Stop the City From Writing Checks It Can’t Cover
Francis Hoffman and the Olympia Hardware Company ask a judge to block further city warrants, arguing Olympia has blown past its debt limit.
- The Eastern Oregon After the Fire
A board of survey finds the burned steamer's machinery ruined and its safe intact, while the crew buries the ship's cook.
- The Only Job Worth Having in a Bankrupt Little City
Nobody wants a seat on the council, but five men are scrambling for the treasurer's office and its commissions on $200,000 of debt.
- A City on the Brink: Olympia’s 1891 Debt Crisis and the Fight Over Jobs
Facing a constitutional debt limit, Olympia’s city council considers firing the deputy clerk, assistant city attorney, and city engineer—while a motion to revoke the street railway franchise fails by a tie.
- The Death Rate Was Up. The Health Officer Blamed the Syringe.
In 1891 Olympia's health officer reported an unprecedented mortality spike—and pointed to morphine and cocaine injections, with young women said to be using them 'just for fun.'
- Spokane Taxpayers Revolt Before the Bonds Come Due
After selling $1.2 million in bonds, Spokane's council kept planning improvements. Property owners talked injunctions and credit, and the Ledger saw a lesson for every taxpayer.
- Olympia Votes Out the Old Council — and Inherits a Financial Mess
A day after the city election, the Tribune calls on the lame-duck mayor and council to resign so the city can untangle a debt larger than the law allows — and demands streetcars, street work and honest handling of the public's money.
- The Last Chapter at 1344 C Street
After her abusive husband hanged himself in the Tacoma city jail, a Swedish-born woman shot herself—and the policeman who had tried to save her stayed at her bedside until the end.
- The Supreme Court Stops a Judge From Sending Yakima County the Stenographer’s Bill
A superior court judge tried to force the county treasury to pay for trial transcripts. The state Supreme Court said no—and used a rare writ to stop the warrants before they became county debt.