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267 stories matching deem
- Seattle’s Yesler Donation Claim Goes on the Auction Block
An administrator petitions to carve 86 lots out of Sarah B. Yesler’s donation claim to settle an estate drowning in debt and taxes.
- The Hustlers of the Waterfront: Regulating Seattle's Hotel Runners
In 1878, the Seattle City Council cracked down on the aggressive solicitors who haunted the docks, requiring them to wear badges and pay a quarterly tax for the right to hawk boarding houses.
- Seattle's Mayor Vetoes Boiler Safety Bill Over a Clerical Error
Mayor J. T. Ronald sends a steam-boiler inspection ordinance back to the House of Delegates because a duplicated section would not survive court—and warns that a $3 inspection fee has already stirred opposition.
- The Martial Law Debate that Rocked the Territory
When the Democratic Party of Washington Territory tried to denounce Governor Squire for imposing martial law, they ended up in an awkward tangle of political hypocrisy.
- A Tin Box of Gold Hidden in the Rafters
South Seattle police say the hammer that killed a mother and her baby belonged to Henry Cramer — and the money taken from the dead woman's house was stashed in his shed. Now the neighbours are talking about a rope.
- The 'Unfair' Blacklist of 1910
The Everett Trades Council issues a sweeping blacklist of local businesses and contractors, pressuring workers to boycott those deemed hostile to union interests.
- The $275,000 Plan to Dredge Olympia Into a Deep-Water Port
In 1892, a federal engineer proposed cutting a 12-foot channel through two miles of tide flats so ocean steamers could reach Fourth Street. The price tag was $275,000—and a bet on Olympia’s future.
- The Great Constitutional Gamble: How Washington Will Become a State
With the enabling act signed, the territory prepares for a historic election in May to frame a constitution. The clock is ticking toward July 1st, when delegates will meet in Olympia to decide the fate of the new state.
- The Mayor's Power to Fire: Seattle's Removed Police Commissioners Fight for Their Jobs
J. G. Niggle and E. G. Cheasty argue that Mayor Byron Phelps removed them without notice or hearing—and that the city charter requires cause, not whim.
- The Engineer Who Says Olympia Stiffed Him for Sewer Plans
A civil engineer hired to draft Olympia’s sewers says the city accepted his $700 bid, starved him of data, then canceled his contract and paid another man $1,500 for plans he calls a public nuisance.
- The Governor's Telegram: How the Militia Was Called Out to the King County Coal Fields
Colonel J. C. Haines lays out the paper trail behind the 1891 deployment of National Guard troops to the coal towns of Gilman and Franklin — and the labor war that nearly became a dawn battle.
- A Frontier Call to Stand by the Union
Meeting in Steilacoom, Pierce County Republicans resolve to support the Constitution and condemn the removal of the Territorial Capitol.
- Seattle's Fire Chief Accused as the Council Wrestles a Telephone Franchise and a Paving Bill
Both houses of the city council meet late into the night: charges that Chief Hunt holds office under false pretenses, a twenty-five-year franchise for the Seattle Home Telephone Company, and a fight over who pays for the sick and injured.
- The City Can Tear It Down: The Supreme Court Backs Seattle's Fire Limits
Daniel K. Baxter put up a twenty-foot shell of wooden posts wrapped in corrugated iron inside Seattle's fire limits. The state Supreme Court said the city could knock it down without ever going to court — and municipal building codes came out of it stronger than before.
- 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.
- The Captain’s Silence: A Seattle Court Rules on Brutality at Sea
In a landmark Admiralty case heard in Seattle in 1872, Judge Jacobs holds ship owner E.A. Nickels liable for the brutal beating of sailor Frank Griffin, establishing that a captain's failure to stop abuse is an endorsement of it.
- The Birth of Mount Rainier National Park
Federal officials move to secure the mountain's forests and glaciers for public preservation, setting the stage for a new national treasure.
- A Mountain of Coffins: Franklin Buries Its Miners
After a mine fire killed 37 men, the coal town of Franklin held a day of funerals—five graves at Black Diamond, three Italian miners on a hillside, and widows whose grief doctors feared would kill them.
- Seattle’s Late-Night Policing of Indigenous Women
A 1873 ordinance allowed police to criminalize Indigenous women as 'vagrants' for simply being out after dark.
- The Great Vancouver Land War
A government ruling unravels decades of competing claims between the St. James Mission, the U.S. Military, and the heirs of Amos Short over the heart of Vancouver.
- The State Paid the Troops That Faced the Coal Riots
Washington's Supreme Court ruled that militia sent to Gilman, Franklin and Newcastle during the 1891 coal-mine troubles acted in the state's service — and the state, not King County, had to pay.
- A Town Buries Its Miners
Funeral services for the Blue Canyon mine disaster dead fill Bay View cemetery as a coroner's jury begins asking whether enough air—and enough regulation—reached the men underground.
- The Great Tide Land Tug-of-War
Delegates at the Washington Constitutional Convention debate whether to reserve the state's waterfronts for the public or sell them to private interests.
- The Unjust Burden of the Geary Act
Chinese laborers in the United States face an expensive and discriminatory federal mandate to register for residency or risk immediate deportation.
- Washington Writes Equal Access to Inns, Barbershops and Streetcars Into Law
In March 1895 the state legislature amended its civil-rights code so that every person in Washington — 'of whatever race, color or nationality' — could claim the full enjoyment of public accommodations, with fines and jail for those who refused.
Also about this, in other words
- Ezra Meeker’s Golden Rules for Hop Success
The legendary pioneer shares his controversial methods for baling hops hot to secure the crucial foreign market.
- A Blind Elder's Suit to Undo a Land Fraud
In 1889, Washington O-dit went to court to void a deed for 160 acres on the Ahtanum, saying it had been taken from him without his knowledge or consent.
- A Horsewhipping on Fourth Street
Herman Ramm publicly thrashed Dan House with a blacksnake whip, drawing a crowd—and leaving the 'outrageous offense' unnamed.
- A $20-a-Month Alimony Bill, a Vow to 'Starve Out,' and a Warrant
Frank Heath, a Seventh Avenue line conductor, was wanted on a warrant after his ex-wife said he refused to pay $20 a month and vowed to 'starve out' rather than comply.
- The Trial of a Shadow Marriage
A Chinese man faces a perjury charge in Seattle after a complex legal battle to reclaim his 'wife' from immigration detention.
- A Prisoner’s Descent Into Delusion in Everett
A man awaiting extradition for murder in the Everett jail claims to be under a 'divine' sentence, prompting local officials to question his sanity.
- Mrs. Dine, Aging Teacher, Needs Community Support
An aging Seattle resident, who once helped build the foundations of the city, now struggles in penury—prompting a call for civic support.
- Domestic Dispute Leads to Assault Warrant
A leader of the Puyallup tribe is sought by police after a violent altercation with his nephew.