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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 8 |
23 stories matching par
- The City’s ‘Rubber’ Checks Are Finally Good as Gold
After years of city employees losing money to brokers by discounting city warrants, the Mayor forces a policy of redemption at par value.
- A Bank President Accused of Looting His Own Vault
Deputy Internal Revenue Collector James P. Gleason says he bought $10,000 in Commercial National Bank stock on promises that turned out to be worthless—and that H. W. Wheeler used a mortgage company to hide the assets.
- The Hop Growers' Scrip Solution
Local banks and merchants collaborate to issue IOUs as cash to help farmers survive the harvest season.
- Seattle's School Board Votes $400,000 in Bonds—and Pockets the Audit Demand
The board funds a debt, hears charges that thousands were mismanaged, then lets an audit resolution die for lack of a second.
- The Collapse of the Merchants' National Bank
Tacoma’s banking elite face a ruinous assessment as the city’s failed financial institutions attempt to settle their debts.
- 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.
- The State's Secret School Fund Battle
The Board of State Land Commissioners strikes back against allegations of corruption during the financial crisis of 1893.
- The Great Olympia Real Estate Boom: 'Only a Question of Time'
As the capital city experiences a frenzy of property sales and predicts its future as a metropolis powered by Turnwater Falls, locals debate whether the boom is sustainable or just hype.
- The Burden of Local Debt in Whatcom County
Citizens and municipalities face a staggering $63,000 annual interest bill on bonds used to build schools and infrastructure.
- City Laborers Find Relief at the Bank
Mayor Phelps intervenes to stop the exploitation of city laborers by 'scrip buyers' who were charging fees to cash municipal pay checks.
- Seattle's School Money Sent to the Backwoods
A King County Populist senator votes to hand $10,000 a year of Seattle's tax money to remote rural districts — and the Post-Intelligencer is not having it.
- The City Hall Bond Crisis of 1893
Facing a financial panic, Seattle's mayor proposes an experimental fix to keep public works moving and labor employed.
- The Day Seattle Stood Still: A Century of Celebration on the Frontier
On July 4, 1897, Governor John H. Temple welcomed thousands of visitors to a parade so massive it stretched half a mile long, featuring floats from local industries and veterans of the Spanish-American War.
- The Dealer in the Gambling Den
In the rowdy timber town of Sedro-Woolley, the local gamblers have found a unique way to keep the peace: replacing the standard rough-hewn card shark with a captivating young woman.
- The Vice President's Cousin and the $1,000 Port Townsend Swindle
A smooth-tongued 'loan agent' traded on Adlai Stevenson's name to collect membership fees from Port Townsend's most respectable Democrats — then hid behind unreturned abstracts and 'free stock' worth $100 a share.
- The Bank-Issued Currency of 1893
Facing a national economic panic, Seattle merchants and bankers agree to honor certified checks as local tender to keep the hop harvest moving.
- The Fight to Build Washington's Capitol—and the Man Who Wanted It in Puyallup
A state commission says the capitol can be finished debt-free, but a rival town's booster has other ideas.
- The Streetcar That Ate the Profits: Third Street Line May Shut Down
A federal receiver gets permission to issue $15,000 in certificates, but the order bars any more money from being sunk into Seattle's losing Third Street railway.
- The Fire That Paid: How a Grocery Store’s Loss Became a Lesson in Civic Trust
When a fire destroyed the premises of Mossfeldt & Pratt on Jackson Street, their insurance company didn't just pay up—they published a public thank-you note. A rare moment of transparency in 1889 Seattle.
- Seattle's Teachers Refused to Take 85 Cents on the Dollar
Paid in warrants the district could not back, 140 educators asked voters to bond the school debt so their salaries would be worth face value.
- Snohomish, 1898: A Ferry Claim Becomes a Booster's Dream City
A promotional tour of the inland Puget Sound town traces its founding by I.C. Ferguson, its lumber and fishing wages, and the railroad that turned a river landing into a self-described city of homes.
- The First Lacrosse Game Ever Played in Seattle
Five hundred spectators packed Madison Street Park as picked teams from Victoria introduced the city to lacrosse — and a stocky second-home nicknamed 'Billy' ran away with the show.
- The City’s New Bonding Power
New legislation grants Seattle the authority to issue local improvement bonds, shifting the financial burden of street and sewer projects directly onto benefited property owners.
Also about this, in other words
- The Flat-Iron, the Umbrella, and the Inkstand: A Port Townsend Divorce Suit
J. K. Meyer's divorce petition turns a respectable Port Townsend marriage into a catalogue of thrown household goods, alleged affairs, and very public embarrassment.
- The 'Panel Game' Larceny at the Minnehaha
A logging camp visitor is fleeced of $120 in a coordinated robbery, leading to the arrest of a local couple.
- Senate Schedules Puyallup Reservation Bill for Debate
Senator Allen secures a special order to debate the bill concerning the Puyallup Indian Reservation.