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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 8 |
24 stories matching outlay
- The General and the Missing Military Money
A Senate committee says Washington's adjutant general ran the militia like a personal fiefdom, blew through his appropriation and left the state with a military deficiency.
- Why Seattle Should Own Its Own Power
An 1889 editorial argues that municipal control of gas, electricity, and water is the only path to fair pricing and civic progress.
- The Dream of Homeownership in 1891
An early real estate pitch captures the Victorian-era obsession with property as a moral imperative.
- A Revolver at Her Ear: Mary Steel's Third Fight for a Divorce
Mary Steel's third divorce suit against David H. Steel laid bare a bitter fight over $49,000 in Seattle and Montana property—and allegations of violence, control and intimidation.
- Seattle’s ‘Palace of Trade’: 10,000 Crowd the Rialto’s Opening Night
A Boston-backed department store at Second and Madison threw open four floors of retail spectacle, declaring Seattle had arrived on the Pacific Coast.
- The Cable Company Wanted More Time. Yesler Avenue Wanted Its Double Track.
In 1895, Seattle’s aldermen weighed whether to give a struggling street railway more time to double-track Yesler Avenue—or force it to honor the franchise the neighborhood had bought into.
- Seattle’s 'Reform' Government Promised Clean Streets and Low Taxes. Two Years Later, the Bill Came Due.
A furious 1894 editorial accuses the Democratic city administration of breaking every campaign promise—keeping Whitechapel open, protecting gambling, and cutting day laborers while salaried officials kept their pay.
- A Seattle Stage Benefit for Franklin’s Mine Disaster Families
An Olympic Athletic Club benefit at the Seattle Theater raised more than $2,000 for widows and orphans after a Washington coal-mine disaster.
- Streetcar Companies Balk at City Lighting Mandate
Seattle's transit operators claim they cannot afford to install lights along their tracks as ordered by the City Council.
- Seattle's Schools Were Running on Borrowed Money—and the Bill Was Due
In 1895, the school board urged voters to ratify a stack of bonds and warrants incurred to build schools, warning that the alternative was a six-month school year—or repudiation.
- The Barn That Was a Courthouse: King County’s Shameful Jail and Office Conditions
An editorial exposé reveals that King County’s records are stored in a 'mere barn' and prisoners live in conditions 'a disgrace to a humane community,' urging the sale of bonds for new buildings.
- The Great Tax Delinquency Scramble
A new revenue law threatens to wipe out old tax liens, forcing officials to chase down thousands of property owners to clear the county books before the November deadline.
- Thirty-Six Hours Rudderless: The J.C. Ford's Last Voyage
A lime cargo catches fire, a rudder snaps, and eight sailors are rescued off Grays Harbor moments before their ship goes down.
- The Mysterious Death of a South Seattle Miser
After a suspicious fire claims the home and life of a reclusive miner, neighbors and local officials clash over whether he was murdered for his gold.
- Making Way for the Iron Horse
Seattle's Board of Aldermen debates the Great Northern railroad franchise, wrestling with the demand for a major depot against the city's future growth.
- The Price of Graft in Seattle’s Sewers
Mayor Ronald accuses the previous Democratic administration of massive financial deception regarding city sewer construction costs.
- The University’s Wish List: New Departments, New Money
In 1895, UW regents asked King County legislators for laboratories, professors and a geological survey—and argued that the whole state would benefit.
- 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 Begins Filling Its Tide Flats
Surveyors lay the base line and piledrivers start a brush-and-earth bulkhead along Railroad Avenue, turning watery flats into buildable ground.
- When Eggs Became Legal Tender: How the Palouse Survived the Panic of 1893
After the rains wrecked the 1893 wheat crop and merchants slammed shut the credit system, Palouse farmers discovered that the hen — and then the hog — could save them.
- White River Farmers Resist City's Drainage Plan
Farmers in the White River Valley rejected a proposed drainage ditch, arguing the city should subsidize the cost for its own water benefit.
- The Industrial Ambition of Monte Cristo
A detailed look at the massive capital investments and engineering feats transforming the Snohomish County mountains into a mining powerhouse.
- Seattle Says 'Hello' to Spokane, and the Whole Northwest Listens
Seven hundred and ninety miles of hard-drawn copper connect Puget Sound to the Inland Empire, and the mayors of the two cities mark the occasion by orating about destiny, empire and a population of two million.
- The Palace on Rails: A Tycoon’s Private Journey to the Pacific
Dr. W. Seward Webb, brother-in-law to a Vanderbilt, prepares a $100,000 two-month excursion across the continent in a private, four-car train equipped with a piano, library, and hidden servants.
Also about this, in other words
- Mining Dispute Turns Violent in Whatcom
A representative of a Seattle development company is arrested for assaulting a mining expert at the Blue Canyon mine.
- The Gambler Who Outsmarted the City Hall
In Tacoma, a local sharp named Morgan has become so powerful that citizens are joking he holds more sway than the elected officials.
- The Tragedy at the Arcade Saloon
A well-known Seattle boarding house keeper ends his life, leaving behind a young daughter and a legacy of property, marking a grim moment in the city's growth.