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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 41 |
41 stories matching allow
- The Man Who Asked to Be Arrested: A Tacoma Town’s Battle for Its Soul
In a bizarre legal maneuver to force a court ruling on city limits, a resident of the newly excluded district deliberately broke water pipes and allowed himself to be taken into custody.
- Seattle’s Wire War: Why the City Can’t Wait for Electric Companies to Dig
As corporations drag their feet on burying overhead lines, a local editorial warns that procrastination is a corporate scheme to defeat the public will.
- The Backroom Shuffle: Seattle’s Underground Gambling Revival
As the century turns, whispers circulate through the city that the illicit gaming houses are preparing to reopen, fueled by rumors of local political complacency.
- The First Strike Against the Eight-Hour Day
Contractors are already looking for loopholes in the new Washington state labor law, sparking a legal showdown between building firms and the Western Central Labor Union.
- Jim Hill’s Kanopolis Bluff: A Railway Empire in the Making
Great Northern President James J. Hill is quietly surveying a route through the Kanopolis Valley, sparking rumors that he intends to build up the area into a major hub rather than just passing through.
- The Tailor's Revolt: Seattle Shops Defy Union Wages
As the local tailors' strike enters its second week with shops shuttered, merchants import labor from abroad to break the union, sparking fears of violent confrontation.
- The Milk Riots: How Seattle’s Dairymen Threatened to Spike Prices Over a Dog Ban
When the city council proposed banning pigs and limiting livestock to three cows per family, local dairy farmers didn't just complain—they warned that milk prices would skyrocket to 15 cents a quart.
- The Fight to Keep Seattle’s Messenger Boys Out of the Saloons
A local judge cracks down on a liquor ordinance, forbidding businesses from sending underage employees into bars, even with parental consent.
- The Day Seattle’s Saloons Went Dry
Facing a sudden crackdown from the Chief of Police, Seattle’s tavern culture was forced to lock its doors tight every Sunday.
- The Day Seattle Stood Still: The Eight-Hour Workday That Shook the City
In a landmark legal battle that defined labor rights in the Pacific Northwest, Judge Jacob struck down the city's eight-hour ordinance, ruling that the council had overstepped its authority—a decision that would soon be tested by the Supreme Court.
- The Janitor Who Was a Cop: How One Man’s Brutal Discipline Was Legalized by Law
In a landmark ruling for school safety and corporal punishment, a Seattle janitor is acquitted of child abuse charges after proving he was sworn in as a special police officer.
- The Chemist Who Couldn't Name the Killer's Weapon
In a Seattle courtroom drama, defense attorney John Y. Torum argues that the poison used in a murder was too obscure for any professional chemist to have selected—unless the killer had access to something far more common.
- The Eight-Hour Work Day Comes to Seattle Municipal Contracts
In June 1899, the Seattle City Council passed a resolution mandating that all municipal contractors must limit their employees to an eight-hour work day.
- The Struggle for a Seattle World's Fair
Promoters for a Seattle exposition are already hitting walls as they debate locations and worry about the structural integrity of the Armory Hall.
- The Hot Linseed Poultice: A Seattle Marriage Ends in Burns and Bankruptcy
When Mrs. Water’s anger boiled over, she didn’t just yell—she slapped a steaming poultice of linseed mush onto her husband’s head. The Superior Court had to decide if this was cruelty or just a bad day.
- The Great Walkout: Soldiers Protest 'Pauperizing' Rules at Seattle Home
Sixty men leave the city's soldiers' home in a mass exodus, citing degrading permit requirements and harsh governance by Col. Leslie.
- The Judge Bans Messenger Boys from Seattle's Vice District
Declaring an end to the era of 'errand boys' carrying notes and parcels into houses of ill-repute, a local judge mandates a crackdown on child labor in the red-light district.
- The Shingle Men’s Strike: How Local Manufacturers Tried to Crush a Union Before It Began
In May 1898, Seattle’s shingle mill owners gathered in the Chamber of Commerce to unanimously vote for a two-week shutdown and set fixed prices, effectively declaring war on labor organization.
- The Fight to Modernize Queen Anne's Streets
A group of prominent property owners on Nob Hill are lobbying the city for a sprawling, multi-tiered parkway, signaling the first organized effort to reshape the district's public infrastructure.
- The Yukon Shortcut: Seattle’s New Gold Rush Gateway
A new bonded railway and customs arrangement allows Seattle merchants to ship goods directly to the Klondike without paying duties at the Canadian border, putting the city on equal footing with Victoria.
- The Granite War: Why Seattle’s Federal Building Might Not Use Washington Stone
A federal contract for San Francisco's new courthouse has sparked outrage in Seattle. The lowest bidder proposed using granite from the Puget Sound region, but California lobbyists are pushing to force the use of local stone, raising questions about patriotism versus free enterprise.
- The Mayor’s Raid: Seattle’s Gambling Houses Shut Down in One Night
Mayor Hume and Police Chief Sullivan execute a council resolution, closing every known gaming parlor in the city. Was it moral reform or a power play against saloon owners?
- The Open Secret: Seattle's Booming Gambling District
While city authorities collected monthly fines, three major gambling houses operated in plain sight on the Seattle waterfront, catering to thousands of working men and sailors.
- The Constable Who Preached Instead of Punched
In a small Washington town, one officer’s radical experiment in restorative justice is turning criminals into church members—and neighbors are taking notice.
- The Franchise Fight: Seattle’s Battle for Control of the Streets
As the Corporation Committee prepares to report on the street railway franchise, a fierce debate erupts over whether the city should sell its public assets to private developers for 40 years or keep them in public hands.