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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 4 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
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51 stories matching concern
- The Taxpayer Who Couldn’t Sue the State
Washington’s Supreme Court dismisses the Agricultural College case, ruling that a private resident cannot halt state spending in equity—only the attorney general can.
- The Initiative Process Under Pressure
Washington's early experience with the popular initiative leads to court battles as signatures are scrutinized for irregularities.
- Colonel Turner's Stand: A Property Owner Blocks the Electric Railway
Ben Turner obtains a restraining order to halt the Olympia Light Power Company from grading through his donation claim, vowing no road shall pass.
- The Trial of Judge Hoyt
Facing a barrage of 'partisan slander' in the race for state office, Judge John P. Hoyt fights back against claims he acted as a railroad puppet and denied due process to labor protesters.
- The Battle for the Cascades Franchise
Legislators trade accusations of 'blackmailing' and 'monopoly' while debating a massive infrastructure bill for the Columbia River.
- A Parent Asks What Olympia Is Paying to Police Its New Variety Theater
A letter to the editor complains that a new theater below the “dead line” is drawing drunken loggers, running a bar, and selling private boxes—and asks what the city gets for its license and police protection.
- Resign Now: The Tribune's Plan to Get Olympia Out of Debt Thirty Days Sooner
With the city paying $1,500 a month — $50 a day — in interest on its outstanding warrants, the editor demands that the outgoing mayor and three councilmen step down early so the incoming council can start refinancing immediately instead of waiting for January 12, 1892.
- The Tale of Jonathan Homespun's Granary
A cautionary tale of a farmer who learned the hard way that 'everybody's business' is nobody's business.
- Seventy Percent of Washington's Schoolbooks Came From One Publisher
A new textbook law forces Olympia to throw out most of the books Washington children use. One agent demanded a private hearing with the state board; the board opened the doors and he walked out.
- Legislators Debate Defenses for a Vulnerable Coast
Concerned that the Puget Sound region was 'utterly defenceless,' the state legislature drafted a formal memorial to Congress demanding coastal protection.
- The Pioneer Struggle to Fund Washington's Common Schools
An 1877 legislative session in Olympia debates selling off University lands to fund the territory's school districts, highlighting the precarious nature of public education in the early days of the Washington Territory.
- The Battle for the Council Floor
A legislative standoff in Olympia over petty offices and party control highlights the raw political maneuvering of the late Washington Territory era.
- The Senator Who Bought His Seat
A Washington State legislator admits to accepting $200 to sway his vote for U.S. Senator, sparking a scandal in Olympia that mirrors modern concerns about political corruption.
- The Fight for Washington’s Capital
The constitutional convention’s attempt to prematurely cement Olympia as the capital sparks outrage.
- The Ghost Rumors of Indian Conflict
Territorial officials mobilize as panic spreads across Puget Sound following unsubstantiated reports of violence.
- The Battle for the Capitol Grounds
A public dispute erupts between the Acting Governor and a Capitol Commissioner over the bidding process for clearing the grounds in Olympia.
- The Speakerless Session: A Legislative Standoff
After seventeen ballots and tense debates over legal swearing-in procedures, the Territorial House finally elects a Speaker.
- Olympia's Streetcar Franchise Shell Game
A franchise extension granted on a promise of negotiations turns out to be empty—and the editor wants electric cars for the capital.
- The $5,400 Handshake
A state land commissioner faces a Supreme Court battle over whether he can bypass a high-dollar bid for school lands in favor of a personal deal.
- The Fight Over Corporate Power
A proposed constitutional provision regarding stockholder liability triggers alarm among Seattle businessmen.
- Washington Burned the Nursery Trees—Then Came the Lawsuit
The state horticulture commissioner destroyed infected shipments from eastern nurseries. Now the nurserymen say he broke interstate commerce law.
- Is Washington's New Legislature Up to the Task?
A skeptical editorial from the Seattle Press warns that the Republican majority is prioritizing the wrong people for key committee chairmanships.
- The Great Railway Bribe Scandal of 1891
When the Northern Pacific Railway sent complimentary transit passes to Washington state legislators to influence a deadlocked U.S. Senate race, the blunder sparked a statewide scandal over corruption and corporate power.
- Fair Play for the Bandstand Builders
When businessmen whispered that the contractors erecting Olympia’s bandstand were outsiders, a letter to the editor insisted that a family man who had spent $600 waiting for work deserved a fighting chance.
- The Insurance Company That Refused to Pay
After his steamboat, the Wildwood, burned at the dock in Olympia, Thomas Quail publicly denounced the insurance companies that refused to settle his claim.