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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 17 |
| 1889 | 74 |
| 1891 | 22 |
| 1892 | 98 |
| 1893 | 114 |
| 1894 | 165 |
| 1895 | 253 |
743 stories matching amount
- The City Treasurer’s Ultimatum
Seattle’s incoming treasurer refuses to accept bank IOUs as currency, demanding hard coin to back the city’s treasury.
- A County Treasurer’s Bond With Too Many Holes
Seattle’s newly elected county treasurer filed a surety bond riddled with defects, withdrawn signatures and backers who pledged more than they could justify.
- Shareholders Forced to Pay Debts of Insolvent Mill
A judge rules that the owners of the failed Fremont Manufacturing Company are personally liable for the firm's unpaid debts.
- City Leaders Accused of Financial Mismanagement
A critical report on how city funds are being held in 'favored banks' while the city pays interest on its own debt.
- A Small Sum, a Large Victory: Washington Gets Behind the Lake Washington Canal
Congress sets aside $25,000 for the canal — a modest figure that Seattle reads as the federal government finally saying yes to a waterway Oregon spent years fighting.
- Seattle’s Sewers Running Into a Budget Deficit
City Engineer R.H. Thomson warns that original appropriations are insufficient to complete critical sewer tunnel work, suggesting design modifications to save money.
- The Price of Reckless Growth
When Lewis County hit its constitutional debt limit, local officials were left holding worthless warrants—a sharp reminder of the pitfalls of municipal overreach in 1891.
- The Treasurer-Elect Can't Find Bondsmen for a $400,000 Bond
J. W. Maple's search for sureties exposes a quiet fight over King County's swelling public funds—and the commissioners say they actually let him off easy.
- The Inside Job at MacDougall & Southwick
A trusted department manager is arrested after he is caught pocketing cash from a customer sale.
- Seattle’s Post-Fire Financial Reckoning
City Comptroller Carson pushes a new bond issue to cover infrastructure costs and fire-related municipal debts.
- The Mill That Asked Workers to Wait for Lumber
A Seattle receiver said the Standard Mill Company could survive only if loggers and mechanics agreed to be paid out of the product of their own labor. The court let 35 cents on the dollar go to labor claims.
- Ballard’s Ex-Treasurer Takes the Stand Over a Missing $500
John Keane blames a tax collector who failed to turn over receipts, as the city of Ballard tries to recover an alleged shortage from its former treasurer.
- The Price of a Scandalous Settlement
New Whatcom city leaders face backlash over a proposal to accept devalued warrants and bad bank certificates to settle a massive treasurer's embezzlement.
- Seattle Raises $500,000 for the South Canal While Ballard Dreams of Steel
In hard times, Seattle subscribers oversubscribe a half-million-dollar canal subsidy, with surveyors on the government route and D. H. Gilman's steel works and car shops said to be materializing across the bay.
- The Price of Meat and the Cost of Labor
An 1889 market report reveals how a massive influx of laborers into Seattle was driving up the local meat market and straining supply chains.
- The Comptroller Was Right: Seattle's Ex-Treasurer Pays Back $4,017
Willis R. Ames spent two years insisting the city's books were wrong. This week his bondsmen wrote the cheque — and the paper trail runs through a second treasurer who later absconded.
- The City Treasury Scandal
Seattle sues former treasurer Adolph Krug and his bondsmen after a massive public funds deficiency is uncovered.
- The City of Vancouver Helps Seattle Rebuild
A neighboring city responds to Seattle's devastating fire with a generous donation of $500.
- City Hall Corruption Allegations Rock Blaine
Former City Treasurer Lester W. David defends his record against accusations of embezzlement, claiming the charges are a malicious political setup by his successors.
- The City Cut a Street Through Four Lots, and the Warrant Went to a Stranger
A Seattle property owner sues to freeze $2,100 the council voted to pay out for a Water Street condemnation — money he says belongs to him.
- Whatcom Fights Back Against 'Exorbitant' Insurance
After paying $250,000 in premiums with only $5,800 in losses, Whatcom business leaders threaten to form their own insurance company.
- Seattle’s Ex-Treasurer Owes Nearly $6,000—and His Bondsmen Are on the Hook
A judge found Isaac Parker’s books $5,535 short, with interest pushing the judgment near $6,000. Parker’s sureties vow to appeal, while the city tries to collect from the men who guaranteed his office.
- The $5,000 Price of a Farmer’s Freedom
In January 1891, Seattle Judge Humes upheld an excessive bail for George Watkins, sparking a legal debate over whether justice should be measured by wealth rather than guilt.
- The Krug Bond Fight at the North End Bank
A two-day Seattle trial asks whether Krug's bondsmen—having paid the city—can step into the city's claim against a bank and recover what they say is owed.
- The Collapse of a Seattle Dynasty
Facing mounting debt, the city’s founding family reorganizes its sprawling land and streetcar empire under a new corporate umbrella.