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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.
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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 23 |
| 1892 | 24 |
47 stories matching refus
- The Mayor, the Contracts, and the Treasurer Who Refused to Pay
Mayor Weatherwax's ties to city contracts raised a legal question: could a business man hold office in the city where he did business? The answer could reshape municipal government across Washington.
- No Appropriation, No Warrants: Washington's 1891 Budget Standoff
The state treasurer refuses to honor university and militia warrants the legislature never funded, the Supreme Court backs him up, and Governor Ferry — in poor health — lets the idea of an extra session die.
- The Lease a Husband Had No Right to Sign
A Tacoma mercantile firm stopped paying $500-a-month rent, arguing the leased property was community property and the wives had never signed. Washington’s Supreme Court said the lease was not absolutely void—but the tenants had rights too.
- A $25,000 View, a Deed, and a Debt: The Land Fight South of Olympia
Ben Turner says George A. Barnes took an 80-acre donation-claim tract as mortgage security—then refused to deed it back after Turner tendered the money.
- The $25,000 Schoolhouse and the Competition That Smelled
A letter writer asks the school board a sharp question: if the winning architect was allowed to redraw his plans after the price came in too high, what exactly was the competition for?
- Main Street Refuses to Be Paved
Property owners between Fifth and Sixth beat back a macadam upgrade, a councilman berates them for it, and the street gets planks instead.
- A Debt, a Demand for Money, and Three Shots on a Winlock Street
Richard Hancock, 'dissipated for some time,' pursued his fleeing wife out of the house and shot her three times before turning the pistol on himself.
- Forty Thousand Bricks Rejected at the New Courthouse
Superintendent Rogers refused to let nearly 40,000 soft bricks from a Westside yard go into Olympia's new courthouse, warning contractors that the specifications would be enforced.
- A Wife's Testimony Was Enough: Supreme Court Reverses Divorce Denial
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that a wife's own account of cruelty and habitual drunkenness could justify a divorce, reversing a lower court that had dismissed Nellie Lee's case.
- A Seattle Election Was Decided by Charter Procedure—and the Supreme Court Let It Stand
The state Supreme Court upheld amendments that cut Seattle’s house of delegates to one member per ward, dooming V. P. Wiesemnal’s bid to take a seat under the old rules.
- 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 Street Commissioner's Bribe
A local man faces a libel charge after accusing a city official of soliciting a bribe in exchange for a municipal job.
- Streetcar Standoff in Olympia
A power struggle between the local light company and the street railway threatens to stall transit expansion.
- The County Courthouse Construction Scandal
A superintendent is forced out after refusing to accept substandard materials for the new county building.
- The State Must Pay the Men It Called to Put Down the King County Riots
The Washington Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Gov. Ferry's National Guard troops were in state service during the King County riots—and that the state, not the soldiers, must bear the cost.
- The Senator, the Booster and the 39 Gambling Halls
A Spokane millionaire refused to clean up a vice-ridden building because, he said, Tacoma would happily take the business.
- Twenty-Four Officers Wanted the Adjutant General Gone
A petition against Adjutant General O’Brien reached the governor, who refused to demand a resignation—prompting a theatrical outburst from Tacoma’s “Little Corporal.”
- The Prospector Who Tried to Outsmart the Great Northern
A local prospector claimed to know a secret, lower pass through the Cascades, sparking a high-stakes search by railroad engineers.
- Ten Strangers at the Tunnel: Is the Union Pacific Coming Back to Olympia?
A corps of engineers has been quietly pacing the unfinished Tumwater tunnel, refusing to say who sent them or what they want — while heavy rain eats away at the abandoned work.
- The Hotel Fire That Nearly Stayed Out of the Paper
When a blaze at the Olympia Hotel drew a sensational headline, the lessee asked the Tribune to spike the story. The paper refused—and used the fight to demand fire escapes and safer ash storage.
- Settlers Beat the State to the Best School Lands
Washington's land commissioners say squatters are claiming the best parcels before the state can select them for schools, putting millions at risk.
- Four Shirts, Soft Hands, and Ten Years: Olympia Sends a Window-Smasher to the Penitentiary
A burglar who broke into two downtown jewelry stores and made off with a watch and some plated ware gets the maximum from Judge Robinson — and nearly faints when he hears it.
- The Streetcar Builder Who Refused to Buy His Own Right of Way
J. R. Chaplin tells Olympia's council that asking his Westside Railway to purchase Block 48 would insult the enterprise promising the city its first mile of track.
- A Court-Martial Ends in Smoke and a Handshake
A state militia tribunal in Olympia was suddenly closed by the governor, its findings kept secret. Then the colonel apologized, the officers shook hands, and the state got a $1,000 bill.
- 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.