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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1909 | 15 |
22 stories matching option
- A Temperance Bill Debate Turns Into Two Fistfights in Olympia
A Spokane legislator and a Spokane newspaperman trade blows on the House floor over a local-option petition.
- Labor Keeps Its Distance from the 'Wet' Fight
State Federation of Labor leaders refuse to take sides in the brewing local option prohibition fight.
- The Scent of 'Unmarked Coin' at the Capitol
As local option battles intensify, rumors of a slush fund designed to sway legislators circulate through Olympia.
- Dry Districts, Wet Phone Lines: The Loophole in Washington’s Local Option Bill
An Anti-Saloon League official says the bill targets door-to-door liquor canvassing—not a telephone order from a thirsty household.
- Washington Moves to Kill the Racetrack: Anti-Gambling Bill Heads to the Governor
The House bowed to the Senate's removal of the emergency clause, sending a bill to end horse racing in Washington to the governor — while 'dry' lawmakers pushed a local-option measure late into the night.
- A Temperance Victory Built on Small-Town Spite
After a chaotic night session, the Anti-Saloon League's local-option bill cleared the Washington House — not on moral conviction, but on rural resentment of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane.
- Tide-Flat Speculation Heats Up
Real estate agents and railroad interests jockey for position on Tacoma's valuable waterfront as rumors of premium land prices circulate.
- A Deadlocked Senate, and a Pierce County Man Holding the Switch
Thirteen roll calls, thirteen 21-21 ties. As Olympia's galleries packed the senate chamber for a fight over local option, the whole thing came down to two senators quietly promising to change sides.
- The Legislative Hangover of the Anti-Saloon League
How the obsession with prohibition paralyzed the Tacoma legislature and derailed actual governance.
- A Pierce County Senator Switches Sides in the Temperance War
Political alliances shift in Olympia as Senator Paulhamus reportedly abandons the 'dry' faction, causing ripples in the local option fight.
- The City Hall Landlord Problem
When Tacoma condemned land for a street project, it ended up in the house-moving business.
- Senate Smothers Temperance Measure in Heated Legislative Battle
A key liquor-control bill meets its end in Olympia, with temperance advocates denouncing the replacement legislation as a toothless farce.
- The Woman Who Won a Gunfight on the Road to Spokane
A woman driving to Spokane encountered a highwayman demanding her life or her money; she chose a third option.
- Washington Senate Tries to Ban Election Pledges—After Being 'Buncoed' by the Anti-Saloon League
Lawmakers voted 27 to 11 for a 'freak bill' disqualifying legislators who promise support for bills before election, then added a rider against corporation lawyers. Legal scholars called it unconstitutional.
- The Tacoma Times Challenges a Media Blackout
The fledgling newspaper accuses local rivals of suppressing news about a mysterious transcontinental railway deal involving tide-flat lands.
- The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Claims Tacoma’s Tideflats
Ninety-one acres of waterfront land have been purchased, signaling the long-awaited arrival of a new transcontinental rail competitor.
- The Speaker’s High-Stakes Balancing Act
Speaker Meigs stacks the House Public Morals Committee with an even split of prohibitionists and anti-prohibitionists, leaving the committee’s crucial legislative decisions deadlocked.
- The Hidden Hand Behind Tacoma's Railroad Expansion
Speculation runs rampant as the Northern Pacific attempts to block a mysterious rival eyeing the Cowlitz Pass and a route into the Tacoma waterfront.
- The Standard Oil Monopoly Comes to Tacoma
A secret land grab on the tide-flats marks the arrival of a massive industrial alliance between the Standard Oil company and transcontinental railroads.
- The $750,000 Question Tacoma's Park Board Couldn't Answer
Days before a citywide bond vote, an editorial demanded specifics on parks, playgrounds and boulevards—while a Twelfth Street improvement club secretary insisted the plan had backers.
- The Anti-Saloon League Tells Tacoma's Churchgoers to Get Their Hands Dirty
A packed house at the First Presbyterian church heard the national superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League argue that pious voters who stay out of politics are the reason the saloons stay open — and that the worst anarchist in town is the official who picks which laws to enforce.
- Three Thousand Boosters Eat, Cheer, and Rebrand Tacoma
One night in February 1909: 3,000 boosters packed the armory, picked a new city slogan — 'You'll Like Tacoma' — and got sermons on land, liquor, and who should own the tide flats.