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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 3 |
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| 1892 | 4 |
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38 stories matching collus
- The Judge Who Gambled Away His Office: Soderberg’s Dramatic Resignation
After the grand jury returned five indictments for extortion and malfeasance in office, District Attorney Joseph Soderberg walked into court, tendered his resignation, and declared he would repay every illegal fee to the county treasury.
- The $11,000,000 Hole in Washington's School Fund
A legislative investigating committee charges that land cruisers and timber buyers colluded for decades to strip the state's school trust — and that the loss to Washington's schoolchildren may already be beyond recovery.
- The Tax Swindle: How Seattle’s Printer Defrauded His Neighbors
In 1872, the publisher of the *Puget Sound Dispatch* exposed a collusive scheme between local tax collectors and a rival newspaper to overcharge delinquent taxpayers for legal notices, sparking a bitter war of words in the territorial press.
- The Shadowy Market for State School Lands
Amid allegations of bidding rings and collusive sales, Washington's land commission defends its auctions while acknowledging at least one case of corruption in Tacoma.
- Tacoma’s $1 Million Water Lawsuit Alleges City Hall Collusion
City Attorney Wickersham refiled Tacoma’s suit against the light and water company, alleging officials and company agents conspired to carry the election.
- The Fight Over Everett’s Land Grab
A legal battle erupts in Olympia over accusations of fraud and collusion in the original sale of Everett real estate.
- The Fight for the Agricultural College
Colfax officials accuse the state government of fraud and collusion in the selection of the site for the new Agricultural College.
- Tacoma's Million-Dollar Water Deal Was Built on Bribery, Suit Alleges
A city lawsuit over the purchase of a light and water plant charged that officials and the company colluded to hide the property's true value before taxpayers bought it.
- The Battle for the City's Official Voice
Seattle's Board of Aldermen spark controversy as they award city printing contracts amid allegations of collusion and financial favoritism.
- The Grocery Receivership That Looked Like a Setup
Creditors sued to put the Haley Grocery Company into receivership, but its officers say the move was a contract for control and that the charges were made for effect. The receiver valued the stock at $5,000; the sheriff's inventory said $12,000.
- Moving the University: A Fight Over Land and Legacy
Legislators and local boosters draft a plan to relocate the University of Washington and untangle decades of messy land titles.
- The Great City Treasury Looting
As Seattle officials scramble to extradite a disgraced city treasurer, a deeper web of corruption, secret loans, and grand jury investigations emerges.
- The Battle for the Benton County Courthouse
Taxpayers mount a legal challenge to halt a $125,000 bond issue, alleging backroom deals and corrupt influence by county commissioners.
- The Great Gambling Raid That Never Was
A power struggle between Seattle's Mayor and his Police Chief leads to a failed raid, secret deals, and a very public scandal.
- The Rogue Marshal of Tacoma
Citizens formally impeach the City Marshal for cozying up to brothel owners and ignoring the law.
- A High-Stakes Battle for Everett’s Future
Federal court rules in $700,000 estate fraud case involving minors and the early developers of the city of Everett.
- The Machine Behind the Badge
Striking Everett machinists allege that local industry and the police have merged, with company men serving as 'special police' to suppress picket lines.
- The High-Stakes Fight for Sunnyside Land
A legal battle over valuable desert land reveals a history of failed filings, rejected appeals, and government corruption in the Sunnyside district.
- The Scandal of the Agricultural College Commission
A heated investigation into alleged corruption and secret deals involving former Washington state officials and the site selection for the new state college.
- The Bitter Fight for Workers' Rights in the 1911 Legislature
A legislative post-mortem reveals how labor advocates clashed with corporate interests over the landmark Workmen's Compensation Act and the battle to end 'first aid' graft.
- The Paper War: How Seattle’s ‘Public Thieves’ Exposed a Corrupt Ring
In 1872, the *Puguet Sound Dispatch* accused local officials and the rival *Intelligencer* of extorting taxpayers through inflated advertising rates for tax sales, framing it as a 'Tammany ring' stealing from the public.
- The Ex-Chief's Last Stand
After his firing, Seattle’s police chief J.C. Mitchell fired back against Mayor Moran and the City Council, exposing a city hall scandal involving alleged gambling kickbacks and corrupt 'star chamber' politics.
- The War on Tacoma's Public Market
Stallkeepers and property owners accuse the city council of conspiring with a 'grocery trust' to demolish a vital public resource.
- Sewer Graft Scandal Hits Ballard
A contractor linked to Walla Walla infrastructure is accused of corrupting a massive sewer project in Ballard.
- The War on the Wharf: Seattle’s Police Chief and the Mayor’s Midnight Gambit
A power struggle in 1889 saw Police Chief Mitchell attempting a one-man moral crusade against local gambling dens, only to be promptly fired by the Mayor via a messenger boy.
Also about this, in other words
- The Iron-Jawed Worm That Ate Seattle's Wharves
At the foot of Harrison Street, the Colman family has a new weapon against the teredo worm: steam, a vacuum, and a dose of dead oil of tar.
- The Colfax Sack Elevator
A local inventor creates a machine designed to eliminate the back-breaking labor of stacking grain in regional warehouses.
- The Cold Shoulder for Bryan in the Palouse
A local editor dismisses the national hype surrounding William Jennings Bryan's campaign visit to Colfax.
- Tension and Violence at the Colville Reservation
Settlers at Colville petition for military intervention following reports of burned hay fields and armed conflict with local Indigenous people.
- Metaline Had No Telephone — and Newport Was Ready to Take the Deal
A veteran line builder asks Colville to back a countywide telephone company. If Colville hesitates, the paper notes, Newport will gladly step in.
- Colville Boosters Redrew the Map, and the Taxpayers Paid for the Surveys
Northport cries foul after County Surveyor Clare Hunt moves the Newport–Metaline–Orient road off its original line, leaving a direct-route town side-tracked — and several thousand dollars spent on surveys that produced no road at all.
- A Sinking Buggy, a Borrowed Team, and a Reservation About to Open
In 1892 a newspaperman packed his wife and infant into a rickety buggy to cross the soon-to-open Colville Reservation, fording the Kettle River and leaning on Native families along the way.
- An Industrial Experiment on the Waterfront
Local entrepreneur James M. Colman introduces a new technology to protect wharf pilings from the destructive 'teredo' wood-boring worm.