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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 29 |
| 1889 | 64 |
| 1891 | 26 |
| 1892 | 122 |
| 1893 | 130 |
| 1894 | 227 |
| 1895 | 312 |
910 stories matching ask
- The School Board Rejects a World's Fair Scheme
Seattle school board members debate fundraising for a 'baby building' at the Chicago World's Fair.
- A Streetcar Line Asks Seattle for Fifty Years and No Streetlights
The Union Trunk line petitions the city council to extend its franchise from twenty-five to fifty years and drop its obligation to light the streets along its routes.
- The Laborer’s Question
A candidate for mayor is put on the spot regarding political litmus tests for city jobs.
- The Judge Forgot the Evidence, and the Gambling Case Walked
Charles Shaw’s Union Club prosecution ended when the judge couldn’t recall Chief Rogers’ key testimony. The gambling furniture went out the door anyway.
- The Price of a 'Better Life': A Sunnydale Convict’s Plea
A local man faces ten years in the penitentiary, raising questions about justice and the fairness of the county jail system in late-1880s Seattle.
- A 20-Year Marriage Ends in 'Uncontrollable Aversion'
Jennie S. Holmes asks a Seattle court for divorce, saying she and her husband cannot endure each other's company—and lets their two children choose whom to live with.
- The Price of a Night in Jail
A 67-year-old gardener sues Seattle police for $7,000, alleging he was assaulted and permanently injured during an unlawful arrest.
- The Prizefighter’s Penance: John L. Sullivan in Seattle
After his high-profile prizefight in the Pacific Northwest, boxing legend John L. Sullivan faces a harsh judicial reality in a Seattle courtroom.
- A Prospector's Plea for Support
A former Yukon miner writes to the editor asking for help to fund a prospecting expedition.
- Private Money Wanted to Fill Smith's Cove—and Asked the City to Say Yes
A San Francisco syndicate lined up a state tide-land contract for May 7, with an injunction the only obvious obstacle.
- The Only Witness to a Saloon Killing
James Murphy’s second murder trial hinged on the sole eyewitness to a quarrel that began over cocktails and ended with Philip Dawe shot under the eye behind his bar.
- The Man Who Feared His Own Gun
An erratic man, fearful of imagined burglars, asks the police to hold his revolver to prevent himself from doing harm, only to demand it back when he gets nervous again.
- A Judge Confronts Jury Tampering
After a civil trial ends, a Superior Court judge takes the unusual step of swearing in the jury to testify about being approached by a litigant.
- Seattle’s Sympathetic Strike Ends—With a Petition, Not a Picket Line
Lake Shore & Eastern workers formally call off their Pullman boycott, ask the superintendent for their old jobs, and appeal to a federal judge for reinstatement.
- The 1895 Student Petition Against Mandatory Military Drill
Two-thirds of the male students at the University of Washington signed a petition asking the legislature to abolish compulsory military drill in state schools.
- Two Wives, Two Brutal Husbands, and a Fight for the Property
Mary Fisher wins her freedom — and the family's Anacortes and Whatcom lots — after years of abuse, while Daisy Logan asks the court to protect her 4-year-old from a man who threw the furniture.
- The Tallest Man in the Charter Committee
A political power struggle at City Hall concludes with the appointment of a local pile driver to the Charter Revision Committee, largely because of his stature.
- A Receiver Wants to Cut Streetcar Wages; a Judge Says Not Below $2 a Day
The Seattle Consolidated Railway, in receivership, asks the federal court to trim motormen's and conductors' pay from 20 to 17½ cents an hour.
- When the Water Went Off: A Jobless Mechanic, Five Children, and a Plea to City Hall
At a Board of Public Works meeting, the water department reports that Joseph Schuester's family at 1425 Eleventh Street has had service cut off. He earns 75 cents a week; the charity bureau asks the city to restore it.
- The Struggle for a Police Matron
Seattle officials squabble over the emergency fund while debating the legal requirement to appoint a woman to oversee female prisoners.
- A Pennsylvania Father Searches Seattle for His Missing Son
James McGill, a 22-year-old typewriter, vanished from Seattle in April. His father fears a railroad wreck—and asks police to look for a tall, dark-haired young man with a Roman nose.
- Messenger Boys Clash with Saloon Patron
Two Western Union messengers were arrested after a street brawl broke out in front of a Seattle theater.
- The Man Who Bought His Last Meal with Strychnine
A carpenter checks into a Seattle boarding house, complains of abdominal pain, and dies by suicide in Room 23—leaving behind a diary entry that reads like a ghost story.
- The Mayor Fired Him; He Took City Hall to Court
Police Commissioner John O. Niggle challenged Mayor Phelps's removal power—and his fellow commissioner Cheasty refused even to shake the mayor's hand.
- The $12.50 License That Became a $300 Shakedown
Expressman J.A. Fletcher said a license inspector never asked him to renew, then had him arrested, searched, and thrown into a steel cage with seven prisoners—over a $12.50 fee he says he would have paid.