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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 8 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 8 |
| 1889 | 30 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 17 |
| 1892 | 17 |
| 1893 | 20 |
| 1894 | 15 |
| 1895 | 46 |
| 1899 | 5 |
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| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 9 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
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| 1922 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
250 stories matching capitalist
- The Mine That Wasn’t? A Captain Denies a Half-Million-Dollar Gold Swindle
An English capitalist’s suit against Alaska millionaires turned a Port Townsend sailing into a Pacific Coast sensation, with charges of swapped ore, gold-soaked drill cores, and a forceful denial from Capt. James Carroll.
- Walla Walla Debates County Bonds for Railroad
An 1877 debate over public bond issues for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad reveals a city hungry for connectivity and skeptical of the 'blood money' demands of big capital.
- The Streetcar Stranglehold: Eastern Capitalists vs. Seattle’s Future
As a coalition of wealthy investors from the East seeks to monopolize Seattle’s street railway system with a 18-year franchise, local legal advisors warn that without it, the deal collapses—igniting a fierce debate over municipal ownership and corporate power.
- The Mill That Never Was: How Chicago Capitalists Tried to Buy Seattle’s Soul
In June 1899, Theo. Ludgate arrived in town promising 800 jobs and a massive milling enterprise. Instead, he sparked a legal battle over land leases and vanished back east, leaving behind only the ghost of an industrial boom.
- Tacoma's Water Works Deal Was for Eastern Capitalists All Along
C.B. Wright says he never wanted the city light and water plant for himself—the proposed buyers were New York and Boston investors, leaving the mayor waiting for an answer.
- The $7 Million Gamble to Dig Seattle’s Canal
St. Louis capitalists arrive with plans for the Lake Washington canal and tide-flat fill, promising a transformed city—if Seattle secures the rights-of-way.
- St. Louis Money Was Ready—If Seattle Guaranteed the Canal
In 1895, a citizens' committee moved to raise a public subsidy for locks, bridges and right-of-way so a $7 million tide-flat and canal scheme could begin.
- The Sudden Rise of West Seattle
How a group of San Francisco capitalists transformed a dense forest into a speculative boomtown overnight.
- The Canal or Bust: Seattle Rallies to Buy Its Own Waterway
A packed crowd cheers a plan to hand St. Louis capitalists a public subsidy to dig the south canal and fill the tide flats of the lake — with a grand mass meeting called for the Armory.
- Seattle's $100,000 Night: The Armory Meeting That Sold the Ship Canal
Boosters packed the Armory in 1895 and pledged a fortune for locks and bridges on a Lake Washington canal—payable only after a ship made the passage from Elliott Bay.
- The Telephone Monopoly Seattle Refused to Break
A national syndicate promised cheap telephones and a rival to Bell. Seattle's aldermen said no, and the city stayed in the Sunset Telephone Company's grip.
- The Madam, the Capitalist, and the Broken Door
Lou Graham, who ran a South Fourth Street brothel, swore out a warrant against a wealthy Seattle capitalist after a drunken spree ended with a slap—and a quiet cover-up.
- The Muddy Reputation of Walla Walla
A visiting eastern capitalist vows never to return after enduring the city's 'abominable' streets, sparking a local debate on infrastructure and civic pride.
- Seattle's Tide-Flat Canal Waits on St. Louis Money
An Army engineer says dredges could be at work by March, but only if St. Louis capitalists approve the plan to fill the tide flats and cut the Lake Washington waterway.
- The Boom That Broke the Bank: Seattle’s Real Estate Mania of 1909
As property values skyrocket and outside capitalists flood in, local dealers declare the market stronger than ever—ignoring the warning signs of a bubble.
- The Unfinished Promise of the Lake Washington Canal
In 1882, a concerned citizen urged Seattle's 'capitalists' to stop ignoring the massive economic potential of linking Lake Washington to the Puget Sound.
- Railroad Giant Eyes Tribal Land
A local capitalist claims the Northern Pacific railroad holds legal rights to odd-numbered land sections within the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
- The Scissors-Duel of La Conner
A Seattle capitalist and a labor agitator clash in a bizarre, violent confrontation that left the local agitator wounded and the city buzzing with gossip.
- The Morning After the Fire: Spokane Wakes Up in Tents and Vows to Rebuild
A day after the great conflagration swept the city, Spokane's banks reopen, merchants trade under canvas, and outside capital pours in — even as thousands who were prosperous on Sunday night are left homeless.
- The 'Irrigation Army' Scheme
Capitalists propose to end the unemployment crisis in Eastern Washington by putting members of the Industrial Army to work on massive irrigation projects.
- The Sudden Passing of a Seattle Titan
Guy C. Phinney, the wealthy capitalist and benefactor of Woodland Park, dies at his estate following a brief illness.
- The Phantom Title: How a Dead Man’s Land Became Seattle’s Newest Addition
A bizarre chain of custody involving a deceased San Francisco capitalist, a paralyzed attorney, and a speculator reveals the chaotic legal origins of Burke's Second Addition.
- The Falls That Would Light Seattle
In January 1895 a syndicate of New York capitalists and Seattle men capitalized a company at $1,500,000 to dam Snoqualmie Falls and wire 5,000 horsepower twenty-five miles into the city — the Northwest's answer to Niagara.
- St. Louis Capitalists Arrive to Bankroll Seattle's Waterfront
A delegation of wealthy Missouri investors arrives in Seattle to inspect the proposed South Lake Washington canal and tide flat reclamation projects.
- Seattle Bets $7 Million on a Canal Through the Tide Flats
St. Louis capitalists will dredge a waterway from Lake Washington to the Sound and fill the flats with new ground — if the subsidies come through. The paper calls it the making of the city's commercial supremacy.
Also about this, in other words
- The Labor Vulture: A Radical Manifesto in a Seattle Pawn Shop
An anonymous editorial titled 'Capital vs. Lamb' appeared in the Seattle press in 1876, arguing that laborers are currently enslaved by capitalists and must unite to seize all profits of their work.
- The Abolitionist Who Turned His Eyes Toward Capital
Reflecting on the life of Wendell Phillips, the radical orator who identified capitalism as the next great system of servitude after chattel slavery.
- The Socialist Critique of the 'Wage Slave'
A speaker at Internal Hall argues that the 'Profit System' is the source of modern poverty and calls for a new industrial order.
- Eastern Capitalists Bet Big on Seattle's Future
A Boston bank president purchases a half-block of prime downtown Seattle real estate for a major business development.
- The Impending Conflict: Labor and Capital in Snohomish
An urgent editorial from 1876 calls for the wealthy to heed the growing unrest of laboring men before the struggle turns from strikes to bloodshed.
- The Block Party: Young Married Couples Plot to Buy an Entire City Block in Seattle
As streetcar lines extend to the suburbs, a group of young professionals in Seattle are pooling their resources to purchase a whole block of land, aiming to build matching homes and create a private enclave.
- The Capitalist, the Runaway Wife, and the Chicago Sport
A wealthy New Whatcom man won a Seattle divorce after his wife fled to Europe with another man—and his lawyer chose desertion over adultery to spare her.
- The Knights of Labor Strike Back in Whatcom
A fiery public letter from the local labor organization dismantles the 'social assassins' and 'poltroons' who questioned their political legitimacy in 1886.