Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 7 |
25 stories matching equit
- A Seattle League Wants Workers to Share the Profits—and the Losses
In the wake of labor unrest, a new Seattle group of employers and union men proposes profit-sharing as a cure for strikes, pointing to a company town in Illinois as proof it can work.
- The Argument for a Railroad Commission
Advocating for constitutional oversight of rail monopolies to curb corporate influence in Washington politics.
- The Great Railway Debate
Legislators in Olympia grapple with the Farmers' Alliance, railroad monopolies, and the fight for equitable shipping rates as tension mounts between East and West Washington.
- The Struggle for Relief Funds in Roslyn
Seattle and Tacoma citizens organize aid for the Roslyn mine explosion survivors, only to find the local committee prefers direct distribution.
- The Ferry Monopoly Squeezing Kitsap County
Fruit growers in Olalla organized to fight a steamboat syndicate charging double for their passage.
- The Almshouse Arbitration
King County commissioners call upon a committee of prominent citizens to settle long-standing claims over the construction of a new almshouse.
- Railroad Monopoly Faces Legal Blockade
A federal judge sides with minority stockholders, placing the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern under receivership to check the reach of the Northern Pacific.
- The City Treasurer’s Emergency Salvage Plan
Following the absconding of Treasurer Krug, the city rushes to secure the public treasury and prevent a collapse of municipal funds.
- Sunnydale Residents Organize Against Chinese Laborers
A local group passes a resolution to exclude and boycott Chinese workers after a land lease is finalized.
- The Salmon War: A 19th-Century Plea for Equitable Fishing
A sea captain argues that restrictive fishing regulations are designed to benefit luxury fur traders at the expense of the working class’s food supply.
- Who Should Pay for the City's Infrastructure?
Facing a debt crisis following the Great Seattle Fire, city officials in 1891 debated whether to shift the mounting costs of sewer construction from the public treasury onto the backs of individual property owners.
- A Nooksack Valley Land Fight Ends With One Man Holding Everything
Frank Luke and Watt Birdwell claimed the same Nooksack Valley lots. The Interior Department finally ruled that Luke's earlier settlement gave him the land.
- The Price of a Marital Settlement
A wife files a scathing counter-complaint alleging coercion, threats, and a secret financial pact in a high-stakes divorce suit.
- A Wife Says Her Husband Tried to Shoot Her—Then Altered the Deed
Rachel McDonald's divorce suit describes years of cruelty, a terrifying revolver threat, and a scheme to erase her name from their Ravenna property.
- The $10,000 Gamble: How Seattle Citizens Bought Their Way to the World
In a desperate bid to secure a transcontinental rail link and outmaneuver rival Tacoma, local merchants pooled their own money to subsidize the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway.
- The Ward Clubs Revolt Over Delegate Math
Republican ward clubs across Seattle split over how county convention delegates were apportioned—and who got to name the primary judges.
- Hop Growers Pledge Their 'Word and Honor' to Pay Pickers Less
With the hop market collapsing in the summer of 1894, growers from ten Puget Sound counties met at Puyallup and fixed a single price for picking — 65 to 75 cents a box, down from the dollar they had promised. Ezra Meeker, the valley's biggest grower, said out loud what the resolution implied: the pickers had no seat at the table.
- A Widow's Estate, a Suspicious Death, and the Fight to Deny an Assyrian Immigrant His Inheritance
In Tacoma, the sudden death of Marie J. Bernhardy sparks a bitter battle over her estate, with influential locals trying to block her Assyrian husband, Michel Jasous, from claiming his rightful share.
- The Ground Under Rainier Addition: A Seven-Year Title Fight Ends—for Now
After three trials and repeated reversals, Henry S. Alger is declared owner of a tract already platted into lots and improved by buyers who trusted the Hill title.
- Seattle's Waterfront Was Up for Grabs — and Everyone Filed a Claim
With the tide-land plats at last filed, hundreds of buyers have staked overlapping claims across Elliott Bay, and officials are predicting years of litigation over who really owns the shore.
- Everett’s Sweetheart Printing Deal: The Supreme Court Said No
In 1894, Everett’s city council awarded its official printing contract to a bid nearly four times higher than a rival’s. The Washington Supreme Court reversed course, warning that public money was not the council’s to give away.
- The Gambler’s Shield: How Seattle Saloon Keepers Dodged Mayor Moras’ Purge
When Chief Justice Burke urged the city to revoke liquor licenses from gambling dens, the Common Council refused—citing legal technicalities and protecting the very establishments the mayor wanted shut down.
- A Seattle Utopia Sold in One-Cent Shares
A society of unemployed men pools its wages and plots a Bellamy-style commonwealth of railroads, coal mines and common tables — starting from $5 of capital and 500 one-cent shares.
- The Union Veteran Who Sued the Railroad for a Million-Dollar Tacoma
Anthony P. Carr says Northern Pacific agents helped a claim-jumper steal his homestead. More than a thousand Tacoma lots—and the people living on them—depend on what the Supreme Court decides.
- Seattle's 1895 Warning: Secure Cedar River Water Before Private Speculators Do
City Engineer R. H. Thomson says Seattle's overworked pumps cannot survive another summer and urges the city to buy the Cedar River watershed, dams and reservoir sites while it still can.