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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 7 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
85 stories matching decent
- The Receiver Cut Their Pay 2 Cents an Hour. A Judge Made Him Put It Back.
When the Rainier Avenue Electric Railway's court-appointed receiver trimmed motormen's wages from 20 cents to 18 cents an hour, the crews — months behind on pay, with houses in Columbia City bought out of their own wages — took him to court and won.
- The Tragedy of 'Cowboy Mary' and the Lost Lover of Whitechapel
After her partner died by suicide, a local woman known as 'Cowboy Mary' was arrested for disorderly conduct while mourning him at a Seattle morgue.
- The Capital Crisis of 1861
A fiery letter to the editor captures the volatile politics of Washington Territory, as Pierce County residents accused the legislature of a 'corrupt bargain' over the location of the capital.
- The Rowdy Rail Workers of Westport
A summer resort's peace is shattered by drunken railroaders, prompting a violent confrontation at the hotel.
- The Scandalous Church Rivalry of 1872
A Seattle editor lashes out against a local rival, defending his character against allegations of meddling in the affairs of the Methodist Church.
- The Wholesaler Tells the Growers the Truth: 'We Don't Love You'
Sixteen years in the Seattle commission trade and no patience left, R. Merchant tells a room of fruit growers that no middleman has ever cared about them — and that neat, uniform packing, not grievance, is the only thing that ever got a farmer paid.
- A Jury Called the Franklin Mine Fire Arson. Thirty-Seven Miners Were Already Dead.
A coroner's jury found that someone deliberately set the fire that suffocated 37 workers in the Franklin mine. The only survivor described how one opened door and one stopped fan turned the gangway into a death trap.
- A Mob Hanged Two Men at the Courthouse. Then the State Argued Over the Bill.
After Hill and Parker were lynched in Colfax, Attorney General W. C. Jones ruled that the county need not pay for a coroner's inquest—and said the real hunt for the mob belonged to a grand jury.
- A Brutal Attack on a Prisoner
An Indigenous man held in the Spokane jail is shot through the bars by an unknown assailant in a cowardly act of violence.
- The Dynamite Fiend of Oilman: A Lynch Mob’s Tragic Mistake
When a violent feud in King County’s coal fields ended in a massacre, the community turned to vigilante justice. But when they hanged the wrong man, the real killer walked free.
- The Tragic End of a Lonely Immigrant
A German immigrant, once prosperous and educated, dies by suicide in a lonely cabin on the Grant Street Bridge after years of decline and heartbreak.
- The Tragedy of a Miner’s Search for Work
A desperate father leaves his Seattle family to seek mining work, only to be found dead under a trestle.
- Denied Shelter at the Hospital, A Woman Gives Birth in a Police Station
A tragic case of medical red tape and bureaucratic cruelty exposes the lack of a social safety net in 1893 Seattle.
- The Sailors' Union Fights Back Against the Waterfront Crimps
Seattle's Sailors' Union answers charges from two boarding-house men, calling them crimps and accusing them of drugging and shanghaiing sailors onto ships.
- Tacoma’s Mayor Defends ‘Liberal’ Vice Policy
Mayor Wright responds to allegations that Tacoma is a hotbed of corruption, arguing that tax revenue from gambling is necessary for city operations.
- The Railway 'Bottleneck': Tacoma's Fight Against Northern Pacific
Citizens and the Chamber of Commerce declare war on the Northern Pacific Railroad for prioritizing Seattle and isolating Tacoma travelers.
- The Political Machine Topples in Walla Walla
Voters hand a crushing defeat to the local political machine, rejecting entrenched interests and the influence of gambling money.
- City Council Prepares to Give Away Valuable Tideflat Land
Tacoma officials are poised to hand over prime waterfront property to the Great Northern Railway without demanding fair concessions or adequate infrastructure in return.
- A Judge Calls the County-Seat Law ‘Nefarious’
Judge Ballinger dismisses Snohomish’s appeal over moving the county seat to Everett, blasting officials for defiance and the legislature for a law that leaves the court powerless.
- The Filipino Answer to a Labor Organizer’s Exclusion Demand
In 1929, Seattle’s Filipino Forum took on the Central Labor Council’s campaign to bar Filipino workers—and dismantled the racist case line by line.
- The City’s Refusal to Put Prisoners to Work
An 1877 editorial slams Seattle’s leadership for failing to use jail inmates to clear public road obstructions, citing the 'delicate hands' of the prisoners.
- The Tragic Final Wages of John Smith
A deckhand on the steamer 'McNaught' met a mysterious and lonely end on the Seattle waterfront, leaving behind nothing but a tragic search for dignity.
- The Shoemaker of Front Street
A quiet tragedy in a small storefront captures the desperate pride of a laborer working through the final stages of illness.
- The Minister and the Saloon
A fiery Memorial Day sermon calls out the city's corrupt politics and the vice rampant in the very shadow of Seattle's churches.
- The Missing Penknife and the Body in Lake Washington
Coroner Horton ruled Michael D. Warren drowned himself at Madrona Park, but the cuts on his body and his vanished penknife kept the case uneasy.
Also about this, in other words
- Something for Something: The Salvation Army's Beds, Baths and Basket Looms
At South Second and Weller the Salvation Army feeds and houses 150 jobless men — and makes them earn it, in half-hour shifts at a spruce basket factory and a bathhouse run on posted rules.
- The Ethics of Prohibition and the 'Beastly' Public
An editorial critique of a prohibitionist’s sermon that labels the common public as cowardly and corrupt.
- Undertaker Moves to Town
With no doctor in town, the local undertaker decides it is time to set up shop in Oroville.
- A Minister’s Sharp Critique of City Hall’s 'Joinery'
Rev. Wallace Nutting takes the pulpit to call out bureaucratic waste, road-grading failures, and a lack of conscience in police enforcement.
- The Unkindest Cut
A young boy's poignant question about inclusion and dignity sheds light on the treatment of people with disabilities in our community.
- Admitting the Stagnation: The Commercial Club's Self-Critique
The local Commercial Club meets to dissect why their organization has stopped functioning, leading to a vow of manual labor on the roads.
- A Wife, a 25-Cent Bed, and a Husband's Public Complaint
Mandy Heinegabubler left her husband for the Missouri Chop House in Old Town Newport—and Alec's notice disavows her debts before admitting he hates sleeping alone.
- City Hall Launches New 'Disorderly' Tax
Tacoma officials move to turn police regulation of vice houses into a monthly revenue stream.