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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 32 |
32 stories matching govern
- The Price of Fortification: Seattle Landowners Win Big Jury Verdict Against Federal Government
A federal jury in Port Orchard has valued land for a new military fort at $185,000—nearly double the government's appraisal. Officials warn the deal may collapse if the price is too steep.
- The Vanishing Mill: How Chicago Capital Was Driven Out of Vancouver by a City’s Defiant Stand
A Chicago millionaire’s plan to build a massive sawmill on an island in Vancouver, B.C., collapsed after local police and citizens physically evicted his workers. The fallout has sent the industrialist packing to Seattle, leaving behind political chaos and a debt of thousands to the Dominion government.
- The Outlaw Who Robbed a Colonel: A Seattle Man’s Wild Tale of Army Gold
A former quartermaster recounts how he and fellow officers were held up at gunpoint in Kansas by masked bandits who demanded government funds.
- The City That Forgot Its Own Port: Seattle’s Fight for Military Logistics
In 1903, local officials and business leaders railed against the War Department’s decision to route troops bound for the Philippines through San Francisco instead of Puget Sound, arguing that geography and economic destiny were being ignored by distant bureaucrats.
- 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 Lawyer Who Spoke 'Jargon' to Save a Man from Prison
In a Tacoma courtroom in the early days of Washington state, Attorney Frank Clark stunned federal prosecutors by abandoning legalese for Chinook Jargon, winning the acquittal of a poor logger accused of stealing timber.
- 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 Great Cigar Conspiracy: Seattle Swept Up in Federal Raid
Federal agents seize 12,000 counterfeit cigars in the city's tenderloin, exposing a massive fraud ring stretching from Pennsylvania to the Pacific Northwest.
- The Only Safe Trust: Chauncy M. Depew’s Warning to Seattle Investors
Railroad magnate and former Senator Chauncy Depew tells a Seattle audience that the government must regulate trusts, predicting that 'rotten' companies will fail while others are placed on a proper basis.
- The Vigilante Committee: Tacoma's Desperate War on Crime
In March 1902, Tacoma’s elite formed a secret society sworn to kill without mercy after police failed to stop a wave of robberies and murders.
- The Saloon Wars: How Seattle’s Council Killed the Fight to Ban Bars from Residential Streets
In a heated March 1904 council meeting, reformers fought to keep saloons off streets where wives and children walked. The measure failed, revealing deep corruption and the powerful grip of liquor interests on city government.
- The Farewell Voyage of the Third Cavalry
As the steamship St. Paul prepares to ferry soldiers to the Philippine Islands, Seattle watches its 'brave boys in blue' depart for a war from which many may never return.
- The Last Stand of Denny’s Old Home: A Seattle Landmark Consumed by Fire
One of the city's oldest structures, a cedar-built house on Second Avenue, was reduced to ashes early this morning. The blaze, sparked by a fallen lamp in the room of a shoe company employee, claimed the home of Mrs. Kali Palmer and her children, who barely escaped through the roof.
- The Dry Dock Dispute: How One Man Blocked Seattle's Homecoming Heroes
Seattle citizens are furious that Acting Secretary of War Meiklejohn refused to send the First Washington Volunteers directly from Manila to Port Orchard, citing Naval Constructor Endicott’s claim that the local dry dock was useless.
- The Battle for the Homecoming: Tacoma vs. Seattle Over the First Washington
As Secretary of War Alger hints that troops may bypass Seattle to land in Tacoma, a civic war erupts over who gets to welcome the returning volunteers from Manila.
- 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 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 Price of a Circus: Seattle Council Fights Over 'Rubbing It All' for Big Top
In 1903, the City Council clashed over licensing fees for Ringling Bros., with one councilman arguing that theatrical companies already take enough money from the public.
- The War Department’s Secret List: Why Washington Was Ignored
A Montana Senator reveals that federal supply contracts are being diverted from Seattle to San Francisco due to 'unsatisfactory' local facilities and inflated railroad rates.
- The Gold Rush That Never Was: How Canadian Laws Stifled Seattle’s Northern Dream
A Victoria contractor tells the Star that new British Columbia legislation has turned away American miners, leaving Alaska's gold fields dark and local businesses in ruins.
- God, Politics, and 'The World for Christ' in 1899 Seattle
At the turn of the century, the Christian Endeavor movement filled the Armory to demand political purity and global missions, setting the stage for moral fervor in local governance.
- The 'Opium Bribe' Scandal That Wasn't
A sensationalized investigation into Seattle police corruption collapses as the city council realizes the accusations were entirely fabricated.
- A Banker’s Private Fleet for Returning Soldiers
When the government failed to bring Washington's volunteers home from the Philippine-American War, a local multi-millionaire stepped in to charter ships for their return to Puget Sound.
- When Seattle Rolled Out the Red Carpet for the Nation's Editors
In 1900, Seattle’s civic leaders threw a lavish, boat-filled spectacle for visiting journalists to burnish the city's image as a rising metropolis.
- The Iron Gateway: Seattle's 1890 Vision for a Grand Union Depot
A rare exchange between rail magnates James J. Hill and Northern Pacific leadership confirms the city's ambition to become the primary western terminal for transcontinental trade.