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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 36 |
36 stories matching whether
- The Mayor’s Sealed Envelope: A City Holds Its Breath
Mayor Humes returns the saloon redistricting ordinance to the City Council in a sealed envelope, sparking wild speculation about whether he has vetoed the measure or simply signed it into law.
- The City's Indecent Ambulance
A delayed ambulance and a harrowing scene on the city streets reveal the crumbling state of Seattle's emergency services in 1899.
- 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 Match That Killed: A Seattle Woman’s Desperate End
Maggie Borchers, 30, died in agony after ingesting sulfur matches because her family had locked away all other means of suicide.
- The Nightmare Murder: Tacoma Wife Killed by Husband in Sleep
An inquest reveals that Charles Corey strangled his wife while suffering from a nightmare, sparking debate over whether he was guilty of murder or merely a victim of his own subconscious.
- The Copper Bubble of 1899
A classic 'get rich quick' advertisement disguised as financial journalism, peddling stock in a speculative Seattle mining company.
- The Gold Rush That Never Was: Seattle’s First Wave of Klondike Dreamers
As the first steamers arrive from the Yukon with empty hands and full cargo holds, Seattleites prepare to follow them north, unaware that the gold rush is already over.
- Seattle’s Legal Education Begins: Board Votes to Establish Law Department
In a decisive move at the University of Washington, regents approve the creation of a law school, marking a pivotal step in the institution's academic maturity.
- The Price of Healing: Seattle’s 1899 'Medical Trust' Controversy
When the Seattle Star exposed a secret fee schedule used by local doctors to set prices, the city’s medical establishment pushed back, sparking a fierce debate over whether health care was a public right or a protected monopoly.
- The 'Top and Bottom' Sting
A traveler is swindled out of his savings by a gang of con artists on a Seattle sidewalk, sparking a city-wide police sweep.
- The Million-Dollar Tug-of-War Over Seattle's Waterfront
When two railway titans clashed over the location of a union depot, Seattle's newspapers turned the city's future into a public spectacle of corporate ego and investigative scoops.
- 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.
- 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 Cake-Walk Controversy: When Morality Met Modernity in Bellevue
A local violinist’s moral objection to a high school charity dance nearly sparked a riot, dividing the town between tradition and progress.
- 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.
- The University’s War Debt: Professors Demand a Hero’s Welcome for Seattle’s Own
As the First Washington Volunteers prepare to return from the Philippines, faculty and civic leaders unite to plan a massive reception, highlighting the deep ties between the university and the regiment.
- The Eight-Hour War: Seattle’s Labor Law Hits a Legal Wall
As the state’s landmark eight-hour workday law takes effect, prosecutors and judges clash over whether it applies to private contractors like the Pacific Bridge Company, leaving workers in limbo.
- The Man Who Borrowed $500 to Chase Gold
William Jensen returns from the Klondike with nothing but 60 cents and a story of survival, proving that in the Yukon, credit is worth more than gold.
- The Canal That Could Save the West: How a New Waterway Would End Seattle’s Shipping Nightmare
As the Panama Canal project gains momentum, local experts calculate that Pacific Northwest farmers are losing millions annually due to the prohibitive costs of shipping grain around Cape Horn.
- The Battle for Ravenna Park: When Seattle’s Elite Tried to Buy Out the Public
In May 1899, a private park association posted trespassing warnings and threatened legal action against streetcar passengers, sparking a fierce public debate over whether Seattle’s green spaces belonged to the people or their wealthy owners.
- The Circus Comes to Town: Seattle’s First Big Top Spectacle
As the Hingling Bros. circus unloads its menagerie and performers in the Northern Pacific yards, locals gather for a parade and show that promises 'everything advertised.'
- 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.
- Love vs. Father: The Seattle Elopation That Defied a Kentucky Patriarch
When her fiancé’s train was late and her father sent a telegram to stop the wedding, a spirited young woman from Louisville chose love over obedience in downtown Seattle.
- The Grant Street Crash: Who Killed the Passenger?
A deadly collision between a streetcar and a Northern Pacific train at Grant Street has sparked outrage. The Seattle Star argues that 'homebody' passengers are to blame for ignoring safety, while demanding accountability from the railway companies.