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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 13 |
32 stories matching exempt
- The Tax Reformer of Tacoma
A scathing 1888 editorial argues that tax exemptions for the wealthy create a 'system of injustice' that the state must dismantle for the sake of the common good.
- The Railroad That Tried to Take Its Tracks Off the Tax Rolls
Northern Pacific receivers tell Thurston County that its right-of-way and stations are federal property—and therefore exempt from local taxes.
- The Fight for Seattle’s School Funds
A legislative battle in Olympia settles whether major Washington cities can maintain control over their own school taxes, thwarting an effort to pull them into a state-wide pool.
- The Street-Sweeping Crackdown of 1889
Local merchants learn the hard way that the city is no longer tolerating trash on the sidewalk as ordinances go into effect.
- Sheriff’s Raid on Pike Street Diner
A debt collection turned into a brawl at a Pike Street restaurant, resulting in the cook being put in irons.
- The Power Struggle at City Hall
Council debates, dance hall morality, and the influence of John Considine highlight the friction in 1893 Seattle government.
- Federal Court Rules on Tribal Status for Indigenous Soldiers
A landmark legal decision determines that enlistment in the U.S. Army does not exempt Indigenous men from the jurisdiction of the Indian Bureau.
- The Bold 1894 Single Tax Manifesto
A radical Seattle group calls for a complete overhaul of the city tax system and the end of speculative land hoarding.
- The Homesteader Who Beat the Railroad and the Land Company
A Tacoma land dispute turns on a settler's 1883 claim, a canceled filing, and the Northern Pacific's grant.
- A One-Letter Typo That Cost a Telegraph Giant $6,000
A misplaced 'a' in a cable address sent a lumber shipment's sale instructions to the wrong man, and a Seattle jury made Western Union pay.
- The Fee Stopping Progress
A citizen writes in to protest the city's building permit tax, arguing it stifles growth rather than ensuring safety.
- Who Should Judge? Washington’s New Jury Law Under Fire
A Seattle paper defends a legislative overhaul that ended the professional juror and required jurors to be householders, as critics charged it handed the courtroom to property owners.
- The Income Tax Comes to Seattle: Men of Means Ordered to Report
Deputy Collector S. P. Gleason is preparing to summon about 100 Seattle-area individuals and corporations for sworn income returns under the new federal tax.
- Sacred Vessels Stolen from St. Mark's
Thieves desecrated the altar at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, leaving the sanctuary in ruins and stealing holy silver.
- The Struggle Over Fraudulent Certificates
Federal authorities clamp down on an alleged scheme to bring Chinese immigrants into the U.S. through falsified identity papers.
- The Fight to Save Seattle’s Schools from a Legislative Raid
Seattle educators and school board officials are scrambling to block a state bill that would force the city’s education tax dollars to subsidize rural school districts.
- The Single-Tax Candidate Takes the Stage
J. Ercanbrack Jones details his vision for municipal reform, advocating for the taxation of land values over labor and improvements in his bid for Seattle mayor.
- The Name That Wasn't: How Washington State Got Its Name Back
In February 1889, Congress nearly erased Seattle's home state from the map, replacing it with 'Tacoma' in a final admission bill. A last-minute correction saved the territory's identity just before statehood.
- A Monster Rally Against Rome: Nativists Pack the Seattle Armory
Anti-Catholic secret societies and the American Protective Association fill the Armory to protest 'papal interference' in American politics and to promise a fight at the ballot box.
- The Pulpit vs. the Tax Assessor: Seattle Pastor Fights a Bill to Tax Church Property
Rev. Clark Davis told his congregation that a proposed state law would punish churches for doing the state's moral work—and warned that saloons and 'unbelievers' were cheering it on.
- Eastern Washington Lawmakers Want Cheaper Freight and a Break on Taxes
Fresh from wheat country, representative-elect Moses Bull and Senator J. L. Roberts laid out their Olympia agenda: grain inspection, lower railroad rates, softer tax penalties, and leaner county government.
- Seattle Shut Every School for Scarlet Fever
With 53 cases and a council fight over authority, Seattle's health board ordered public, private and Sunday schools closed in May 1895.
- The Tide Land Freeze: Ballard’s Waterfront Plats Go to Court
A judge restrains appraisers from filing supplemental tide-land plats as landowners, the state land commission and the county auditor fight over who controls the shore.
- The Gallows Reprieve: Nordstrom's Federal Appeal
Convicted of murder and only days from execution, Charles W. Nordstrom wins another stay—this time on a constitutional technicality that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The Federal Jobs That Came With Life Tenure
A new civil-service order gives Puget Sound customs officers—from deputies to private secretaries—protection that even a change of administration may not break.