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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 13 |
| 1894 | 15 |
| 1895 | 18 |
73 stories matching cheaper
- The End of the Volunteer Era
Seattle decides to abandon its volunteer fire system in favor of a professional, paid department, prioritizing efficiency over neighborhood spirit.
- Eastern Washington Farmers Question Canal Freight Claims
A local farmer challenges the Post-Intelligencer’s claim that a canal will lower freight rates, sparking a heated editorial defense on the economic future of the region.
- Will the Great Northern Build Through the White River Valley?
Chief engineer E. H. Beckler surveys the route between Seattle and Portland, weighing the high costs of a shore line against an inland rail path.
- The Coal Scramble
Anticipating a price hike, long lines of horse-drawn teams clogged the streets near the bunkers in a rush to secure cheaper fuel.
- Seattle’s Rotten Garbage Problem
A health official warns that the city's sewage scow is falling apart, proposing a permanent incinerator.
- The Seal-Skin Obsession: Why Seattle Ladies Wear More Fur Than Any Other City
A local furrier reveals that the city's obsession with expensive sealskin sacks is driven by climate, fashion, and a secret supply chain from London.
- The Salmon War at the Cannery
Striking fishermen and cannery owners reach a stalemate, with union members calling out the owner of the Mukilteo operation for intimidating laborers.
- Fire Threatens to Move the Marine Hospital
A devastating fire at the marine hospital in Port Townsend sparks fears that the facility for disabled seamen will be permanently moved to Seattle.
- The Flour Price Plunge
Washington millers slash prices as the local wheat market faces blockade-related distribution issues.
- The Wizard of the Great Northern
How James J. Hill built a continental railroad empire by hand, one trestle at a time.
- Great Northern Railroad Arrives in Spokane
President James J. Hill arrives to finalize depot plans as the transcontinental line pushes westward toward the coast.
- The Struggle for the Hawaiian Trade
Seattle merchants fight for dominance in the island shipping trade against cheaper San Francisco freight rates.
- The Great Western Rate War
A former railroad commissioner warns that a price-cutting war between transcontinental rail lines is hemorrhaging millions in revenue and paralyzing local shipping.
- The Great Beef Price Drop of 1893
Wholesale cuts fall to record lows, making meat affordable for the city's working poor during the lean winter.
- The Fight for Cheaper Calls
City council debates regulating telephone rates and forcing lines underground in a push to modernize Seattle's infrastructure.
- Potato Prices Plummet as San Francisco Shipments Arrive
Local farmers see prices drop by two dollars a ton as West Street merchants shift to cheaper California imports.
- Seattle Schools Slash Budgets Amid Financial Panic
Facing high fuel costs and the economic strain of 1893, the school board cuts teacher salaries for sick leave and consolidates classes.
- The Tacoma Wharfage War
A passenger steamship line faces a bitter blockade after refusing to inflate prices to protect Northern Pacific rail interests.
- The Great Transcontinental Rail and Steamship Rate War
Seattle merchants scramble to capitalize on a cutthroat battle between the Southern Pacific railroad and the Columbian Steamship Company that threatens the stability of Northern transit lines.
- The Home Market Fight: Farmers Say Seattle Merchants Look Past Their Own Fields
A Port Angeles farmer’s letter to the Post-Intelligencer argues that Seattle merchants undercut local growers by buying from California, Oregon, and Chinese gardeners—and warns that the city’s food economy is bleeding money out of Washington.
- A Railroad and a Tide-Flat Fight: Who Gets to Fill Smith's Cove?
Great Northern objected to a plan by W. F. Hayes and Frank Shay to fill the tide flats between Pike Street and Smith's Cove, setting up a hearing over who controls Seattle's shoreline.
- Engineering a Solution for the Fourteenth Street Slide
City Engineer Thomson outlines an expensive plan to halt the recurring, dangerous earth movements in the Beacon Hill district.
- The Great Fleet of the Northwest
As Seattle's harbor crowds with vessels, a maritime shift signals a new era for local tugboat commerce.
- The Scandal of the Ghost Sewers
A newly appointed Board of Public Works uncovers evidence of rampant incompetence and political patronage in the city's sewer construction project.
- The Fight Against 'Lousy' Nursery Stock
A state inspector battles unscrupulous Eastern nurserymen shipping pest-ridden trees into Washington, warning local farmers against being swindled.