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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 3 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 19 |
| 1877 | 28 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 19 |
| 1884 | 18 |
| 1885 | 27 |
| 1886 | 21 |
| 1887 | 21 |
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 22 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 32 |
| 1892 | 80 |
| 1893 | 59 |
| 1894 | 82 |
| 1895 | 124 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 12 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 39 |
| 1904 | 33 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 12 |
| 1909 | 29 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 6 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1917 | 4 |
| 1918 | 3 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 3 |
790 stories matching compel
- The Court Could Make Commissioners Act—But Not Tell Them How
A mandamus bid to split Martin's Creek precinct fails, with Judge Lichtenberg ruling the board already acted within the law.
- The Lease a Husband Had No Right to Sign
A Tacoma mercantile firm stopped paying $500-a-month rent, arguing the leased property was community property and the wives had never signed. Washington’s Supreme Court said the lease was not absolutely void—but the tenants had rights too.
- The Prosecutor Who Prosecuted Himself: How Aberdeen’s DA Ignored a White Mob’s Attack on Chinese Residents
When a mob drove Aberdeen’s Chinese community out of town and stole $550, the county’s prosecuting attorney charged the victims with libel instead of the perpetrators—sparking a furious editorial defense of civil rights in 1890.
- Newport to the Railroad Commission: Our Depot Is a Disgrace
State regulators will inspect the Great Northern's station and train service on May 7, and Newport citizens are being organized to demand a new depot, safe crossings, and basic comforts.
- Ten Cents a Month to Save Seattle's Library
With the library closed for lack of funds, the commission and City Council try a subscription fee—and a last-minute deal to reopen.
- The Sawmill Scandal: Henry Yesler’s Long Legal War
Before the city grew, Seattle’s founding titan was locked in a decade-long, bitter courtroom battle over his sawmill, revealing the ruthless undercurrents of the frontier economy.
- Spokane Merchants Take the Railroad Monopoly Back to Court
Thirty-five Spokane merchants ask a federal judge to force the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific to obey an 1891 Interstate Commerce Commission order that found the roads were gouging the inland city.
- Three Streetcar Companies Tell Seattle They're Too Broke to Keep the Lights On
In receivership, in arrears and borrowing from their own bondholders, the city's electric railways ask to be excused from the franchise requirement that they light the streets their cars run over.
- Abandoned and Destitute, a Migrant Wife Sues for Maintenance
A Seattle tailor's wife, recently arrived from Russia, petitions the court to freeze her husband's bank assets after he refuses to support her and their child.
- The Battle Over Gold and Greenbacks in Walla Walla
A legal dispute over whether debts must be paid in gold or federal paper money echoes the era's financial uncertainty.
- An Indian Agent Defends His Administration
Agent C.W. Young addresses allegations of monopoly and mistreatment of the Indigenous population at his reservation.
- The Shadow Over Seattle: A Councilman’s Scathing Exposé of Vice
In 1891, a fiery letter from C. B. Bagley to the Post-Intelligencer accused the mayor and police chief of being puppets to the city’s most notorious gamblers and saloon-keepers.
- Armed Guards, a Locked Forecastle, and One Sailor Who Swam for It
Seattle's Sailors' Union accused a British ship of shanghaiing five men at Port Blakely; one escaped by jumping overboard, while the Shipowners' Association called the charges 'all bosh.'
- The Saloon Wars: How Seattle’s Council Killed the Fight to Ban Bars from Residential Streets
In a heated March 1904 council meeting, reformers fought to keep saloons off streets where wives and children walked. The measure failed, revealing deep corruption and the powerful grip of liquor interests on city government.
- The Tale of Two Towns: A Battle for the Depot
As the railroad bypasses established settlements, a bitter conflict erupts between long-time residents and land speculators creating a brand-new town three miles away.
- The Right to Protect a Source in 1887 Seattle
A landmark court ruling in Seattle established that a journalist cannot be legally compelled to reveal their sources, protecting the freedom of the press in the burgeoning territory.
- Railroad Monopoly Challenged in Court
Chief Justice Greene rules against Northern Pacific's attempts to block competitors from their lines.
- The River Overflows: Lives Lost and Homes Deserted
A catastrophic flood on the Yakima River leaves homes submerged, stock lost, and two local men drowned in a tragic crossing attempt.
- The City That Couldn't Pay Its Bills: Seattle’s Fiscal Crisis and the Fight for Expansion
Mayor Moran and Councilman Dane plead with citizens to understand why street paving is stalled and sewer plans are shelved—not from laziness, but because state law caps the city's debt just as the population doubles.
- Seattle's 1894 Election: Corruption, Fraud, and the Fight for City Hall
As voters head to the polls, the Post-Intelligencer unleashes a blistering attack on the Democratic administration, alleging graft, forgery, and a machine determined to hold power at any cost.
- 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.
- Sold at Fifteen, Then Shut Out: A Walla Walla Nurseryman's Daughter Ends Up in the County Poor Farm
Sixty-five, penniless and 'bent and weary,' Alice Hess writes from the Spokane County poor farm asking whether the law can force her wealthy Whitney relatives — a nurseryman, a Big Bend doctor, a sitting legislator — to keep her alive.
- The Railway Hotel Trap
A scathing critique of a Northern Pacific Railroad ticket that forced passengers to stay at a specific Tacoma hotel to validate their travel.
- The University Student Who Refused the Drill
A Seattle college student takes the faculty to court, arguing that mandatory military training interferes with his ability to work and pay his way through school.
- The Deadly Pressure on Puget Sound Steamboat Captains
Shipbuilder John K. Barr argues that owners and agents, not sea conditions, are the real culprits behind marine disasters.
Also about this, in other words
- A Forced Marriage in the Courtroom
A judge in Pierce County lectured a man on 'conjugal obligations' and forced him to marry the woman he was accused of seducing after a scandal involving his community’s traditional marriage practices.
- The Editor versus the Judge
A clash between the press and the bench over a municipal dance hall ordinance sparks a contempt charge.
- One Comma Turned a Lost Boy’s Police Bulletin Into a Station-House Joke
A five-year-old lost and found at the Seattle police station became a lesson in punctuation when a missing comma made his uncle sound like a man named John Chestnut.
- An Editor Pleads Not Guilty to Calling Out a Police Chief
Charles H. Lugrin of the Telegraph faced libel charges for reporting that Seattle's police chief took gambling money — and the judge warned him not to comment further.
- The City's Legalized Blackmail
A jury exposes the Seattle Police Department for shaking down women, proving that 'reform' administration was just a veneer.
- The Pastor and the Organist
A physical brawl between a clergyman and his church organist raises the question of how to handle insubordination in the pews.
- Scandal at the State Capital
A political exposé details how legislators used committee clerkships as patronage bribes to maintain illicit affairs, resulting in a public divorce case.
- A Scandal of Abduction at the U.S. Commissioner’s Office
United States Commissioner J.W. Spriggs is ordered to resign or face investigation for his role in the illegal removal of a Chinese woman from Portland.