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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 12 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 20 |
56 stories matching bind
- A Senate Seat, a 'Boodle' Cry, and Two Rival Caucus Calls
With the legislature barely organized, Republicans war over who should go to Washington—accusations of bribes, a strange 'binding' caucus call, and candidates angling for the prize.
- The Treasurer’s Bond Had a Hole in It
Seattle’s treasurer-elect filed a $90,000 bond, but wives’ names were penciled in, signatures were missing, and one backer wanted out.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- The Saloonkeeper's Legal Loophole
A Seattle business owner successfully challenged city regulators by arguing that a valid, unexpired license remains binding even after moving to a new storefront.
- The Court Rules Against Railway Union Contracts
A federal judge sides with the Lake Shore Road receiver, ruling that collective labor contracts do not bind court-appointed management.
- Governor McGraw Says No to Cheap Textbooks and a Cascade Road
Washington’s governor vetoes a state textbook scheme and a Naches Pass road appropriation, warning that both would waste public money—and that cheap books are not the same as good ones.
- Seattle's Library Reopens — With a Fee for Taking Books Home
After slashing salaries, trimming the light bill and a landlord's six months of free rent, the library commission reopens the doors under a 10-cent-a-month borrowing charge.
- The Landmark Case of an Indigenous Heir
A court ruling recognizes a marriage between a white pioneer and a niece of Chief Seattle, potentially shifting land title laws across the region.
- The Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Three men arrested under the 1882 Exclusion Act face deportation despite claims of residency; Judge Hanford declares the legal rights of Chinese laborers effectively suspended.
- A Midnight Knock, a Hidden Fortune, and a Brutal Beating on Vashon Island
Two men demand an old rancher's money, bind and club him, then ransack his cabin for a cache of cash. Seattle police arrest a suspect—and then the victim's wife.
- The Wooden Revolver That Freed Ten Prisoners
Thomas Blanck held a jailer hostage with a carved fake gun, emptied the King County jail, and vanished into Seattle's streets.
- Tacoma's Bribery Probe Ends With a Censure, Not a Conviction
A Tacoma City Council 'Lexow' committee cleared Councilman Thompson and City Clerk Smyth of bribery, then censured Smyth anyway for boasting he'd paid for a vote.
- Seattle's Balloon Animal Cruelty Fight
The local Humane Society moves to stop a spectacle involving dogs and monkeys tied to parachutes and dropped from balloons at public parks.
- The Brotherhood Challenges a Receiver's Firing Spree
Conductors from the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railroad sue for reinstatement, claiming their firing was a retaliatory, arbitrary act by a receiver ignoring labor contracts.
- Bullets for a Neighbor on Vashon Island
A rancher says George Weston, his only neighbor, fired through his cabin window and later drew a bead on him from the beach. Now Ole Christofersen wants the law to bind Weston to keep the peace.
- The Hatch Heirs' Victory: A Seattle Attorney Wins Half of a $400,000 Everett Tract
A federal appeals court upholds the rights of the children of Ezra Hatch—a Mexican War veteran who married an Indian woman—to 128 acres in the heart of Everett, and their lawyer, A.D. Warner, takes home half.
- The Safe Combination Swindle
A merchant is arrested for grand larceny after allegedly tricking a sick man's wife into opening their safe to steal a promissory note.
- The Mayor's Embarrassing Debt
Mayor Ronald finds himself in a legal and ethical bind after borrowing $1,500 from the city's disgraced, defaulting treasurer.
- The Murder of the Syrian Peddler
A Skokomish man faces trial for the killing of an itinerant merchant, exposing tensions and fear in the local court system.
- The Great Blaine Betrayal: How a Few 'Carpet-Baggers' Humiliated Washington's Republicans
At the North Yakima convention, local leaders rejected a resolution honoring James G. Blaine, sparking outrage and accusations of political conspiracy.
- The Great Hose Heist: How a Seattle Fire Department Was Almost Scammed by a New York Manufacturer
A peculiar dispute over fire equipment reveals the cutthroat world of late-19th-century municipal procurement, where agents played cities against manufacturers and warrants were used as currency.
- The Price of a 'Land Grant' Railway
In 1892, residents of Kent and the Stuck Valley fought back against Northern Pacific’s service cuts and infrastructure neglect, revealing the tensions between corporate rail giants and the communities they built—and broke.
- The True Cost of a 'Terminus'
In 1889, Tacoma residents began to realize that the price of hosting the Northern Pacific Railroad’s Pacific terminal was the surrender of their civic independence.
- The Great 1892 Debt Cleanup: How Seattle Tried to Bail Itself Out
Facing a mountain of unpaid municipal warrants and a legal crisis, Seattle's city council rushed a desperate bond measure to the ballot to keep the city's lights on and workers paid.
- The Supreme Court Defies Its Own Constitution
A legal dispute over Walla Walla land reveals how Washington State wrestled with the transition from federal territory to sovereign statehood.
Also about this, in other words
- The Mud-Bound Stash
After stealing hundreds of dollars from a mess house in Cosmopolis, a thief uses a clever ruse involving a fake fall to bury his loot.
- The Attorney General’s Power Grab
A critique of Attorney General Jones’s refusal to approve the bonds of the state land commissioners, arguing he has overstepped his constitutional authority.
- The Drummer’s Deed: A Tale of Lost Blocks and Mutual Recrimination
A traveling salesman thought he’d scored a bargain on Seattle real estate, only to discover his deed was for the wrong lot—and his seller had no idea either.