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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 20 |
| 1889 | 49 |
| 1891 | 21 |
| 1892 | 80 |
| 1893 | 76 |
| 1894 | 91 |
| 1895 | 95 |
432 stories matching rather
- Shingle Weavers Choose Shutdown Over Pay Cuts
Workers in Tacoma and the Puget Sound area reject a proposed 25 percent wage reduction, preferring to see mills close entirely.
- Olympia Turns Off the Streetlights to Save $500 a Month
Facing a budget squeeze, Olympia’s city council voted to darken the streets and save $500 a month. Public-spirited citizens organized a private subscription to keep the lights burning rather than let the city go totally dark.
- The Church as a Public Refuge
Rev. Wallace Nutting argues that churches should be open 24/7, serving the city as community centers with drinking fountains and social services rather than just Sunday pulpits.
- The Lumber Industry's Long Wait for the Iron Horse
As Seattle's timber economy struggled under local isolation in 1893, local mill owners pinned their hopes for survival on the impending arrival of the Great Northern Railway.
- The Timber Grab Controversy
The Secretary of the Interior rejects a homestead claim, ruling that the land was sought for timber rather than farming.
- The Henry Bailey Strikes a Snag and Sinks in the Skagit
A steamer repaired at Mount Vernon loads 600 sacks of oats, hits a snag on the return, and goes down in fifteen feet of water.
- Tacoma’s 'Pig in a Poke' Water Deal
Taxpayers revolt against a dubious multi-million dollar municipal purchase of water and electric assets.
- Tensions Rise in the Puget Sound Salmon Wars
Striking fishermen are arrested after allegedly intimidating non-union workers at a local cannery, highlighting the struggle over labor control on the docks.
- The 'Gold Cure' Scam
A medical investigation finds that the popular 'bi-chloride of gold' treatment for alcoholism is actually a mixture of sugar, water, and booze.
- The Farmer Who Thanked the Jury for Sending Him to Prison
After shooting a man on the Spokane courthouse steps, an eccentric Whitman County farmer rejected an insanity defense and told the jury he would rather be in hell than an asylum.
- The Price of Coal and Silence
Miners in Gilman push back against a 10% wage cut, exposing the company's restrictive 'company store' policies and economic desperation.
- A Sailor Fled the Guardian as Seattle's Waterfront Labor War Heated Up
A union sailor says a ship's mate threatened to kill him; shipowners vow to tie up their vessels rather than hire union men.
- The Land War Over the Strickler Estate
A decades-long legal battle in federal court highlights the risks of ignoring probate when claiming ownership of Seattle's early land parcels.
- The Great Northern Cut Wages—and the Unemployed Took the Jobs
Car cleaners and repairers at Interbay quit rather than accept cuts to $1.50 and $1.25 a day. The company had a full replacement crew before the day was over.
- The Six-Month Trap: A Seattle Divorce Scandal
A husband abandons his second wife after a bigamous marriage, forcing a judge to rule on the legality of vows broken before the ink was dry on a divorce decree.
- The Strange Leniency of a Supreme Court Murder Verdict
After two trials and two death sentences, the Washington State Supreme Court abruptly commuted Albert Friedrich’s murder conviction to second-degree, sparking legal confusion and outrage from the defendant himself.
- The Skating Rink Panic of 1892
When a local major tried to shut down a Tacoma skating rink after a scandal involving his stepson, the local press defended the rink as a space for social independence rather than a den of iniquity.
- The Saintly Swindler of Burlington
A charismatic conman charmed his way through Skagit County, leading church hymns and social teas before vanishing with the town’s funds.
- The Trial of a Man Known Only as a 'Pimp'
A Seattle lawyer challenges a city ordinance that allows for arrests based on reputation rather than criminal acts.
- The Rainier Avenue Rail Strike
Electric railway workers face a wage cut to keep the line running as the receiver demands concessions.
- The Palace Revolt in Pierce County
A vitriolic account of a secret meeting held by Republican party bolters in Tacoma.
- Annie Besant and the Science of the Astral
A prominent Theosophist lecturer brings mystical discourse to the Seattle Theater, claiming that science confirms the existence of the 'astral body.'
- Seattle Calls a Patent Bluff and Wins
A federal judge rules that John Klein's insulation-pin patent was no invention at all—saving Seattle a payout that Portland and San Francisco had already made.
- The Bureau of Associated Charities Launches Friendly Visitors Program
Eighty local women take up the task of 'personal charity,' aiming to uplift the poor through mentorship rather than simple handouts.
- The Great University Runaway
Two schoolboys, terrified by their principal's stern warning about broken windows, decided to flee campus entirely.