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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
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| 1885 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
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80 stories matching defer
- City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision
A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.
- The Day Washington Was Born: A City Holds Its Breath
As the nation celebrates statehood, Seattle gathers in a packed hall to hear speeches on liberty, land fraud, and the future of the 'Queen City.'
- Buy the Mudflats, Give Them Away, and Pray for a Payroll
Olympia's newly organized Improvement Company wants every business man in town to buy one $100 share so it can purchase the tide flats and hand them, free, to any manufacturer willing to set up shop — because railroads and construction crews come and go, but a payroll stays.
- A City on the Brink: Olympia’s 1891 Debt Crisis and the Fight Over Jobs
Facing a constitutional debt limit, Olympia’s city council considers firing the deputy clerk, assistant city attorney, and city engineer—while a motion to revoke the street railway franchise fails by a tie.
- The Battle for the Benton County Roads
Kennewick business leaders protest a county road project, arguing that their tax dollars are being diverted to build infrastructure in empty, undeveloped territory.
- The $800 School Contract That Smelled Wrong
A losing bidder says Seattle’s school board changed the bonding rules mid-bid to steer the South School job to a higher bidder—and cost taxpayers hundreds.
- Seattle Leaders Press Railroad President Harris
Local business leaders force a tense public confrontation with the Northern Pacific Railroad president over land monopolies and deferred development.
- Seattle’s City Council Rejects Public Power in Favor of Private Monopoly
In a decisive vote that prioritized corporate interests over municipal control, Seattle leaders refused to condemn the city's water supply, effectively handing power to private developers.
- The Bankrupt Giant and the Tacoma Land Ring
A skeptical editor exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad's questionable finances and a suspicious telegraph campaign used to inflate land values in Tacoma.
- The Struggle for Industry in Fairhaven
A local Chamber of Commerce defends its record against editorial attacks, citing structural economic barriers and the legacy of broken 'boom' promises.
- Seattle's 1895 Warning: Secure Cedar River Water Before Private Speculators Do
City Engineer R. H. Thomson says Seattle's overworked pumps cannot survive another summer and urges the city to buy the Cedar River watershed, dams and reservoir sites while it still can.
- American Lake Prepared for 25,000 Recruits
War Department designates Tacoma site as concentration camp for new national army training.
- The Hypocrisy of the Anti-Chinese Movement
An editorial rebuke to Seattle businessmen who exploited anti-Chinese fervor for public clout while quietly retaining their labor, amid rising local tensions.
- Hop Growers Pledge Their 'Word and Honor' to Pay Pickers Less
With the hop market collapsing in the summer of 1894, growers from ten Puget Sound counties met at Puyallup and fixed a single price for picking — 65 to 75 cents a box, down from the dollar they had promised. Ezra Meeker, the valley's biggest grower, said out loud what the resolution implied: the pickers had no seat at the table.
- The Senator vs. The Railroad Barons
A fierce Senate debate erupts over the Northern Pacific’s attempt to claim land through a 'coal branch' built years earlier.
- She Sued Him for $10,000—Then Married Him Before Trial
A long-running Woodinville breach-of-promise case collapsed when a minister, a widow and a reluctant bachelor slipped out of the courthouse and came back married.
- Irrigation Bond Election Halted by Corporate Standoff
Horse Heaven growers demand transparency as power company refuses to disclose critical water rights data for the $15 million project.
- Olympia’s Fight for a Deep-Water Harbor
Citizens tell the harbor-line commissioners to claim Budd Inlet’s tide flats for public wharves—not a narrow waterway that would hand the waterfront to private owners.
- The Councilman Who Lived Across the State Line
A lawyer’s residency challenge nearly voided a railroad franchise—and forced Councilman Eckerson to offer his resignation.
- The Town That Can't Be Bought
Federal land withdrawals have frozen property rights in Metaline, leaving residents in a legal limbo as they wait for the government to clear their titles.
- The Mayor’s Gambit: Humes Defers to Council as Seattle Sweeps Away Its Gambling dens
In a rare moment of unified reform, the City Council has ordered the closure of all gambling houses and restricted saloons in the business district. Mayor Humes, citing legal ambiguity over the saloon ordinance but promising strict enforcement against lotteries, leaves the fate of Seattle’s vice industry to the police chief.
- The Gambler’s Shield: How Seattle Saloon Keepers Dodged Mayor Moras’ Purge
When Chief Justice Burke urged the city to revoke liquor licenses from gambling dens, the Common Council refused—citing legal technicalities and protecting the very establishments the mayor wanted shut down.
- The High-Stakes Gamble at City Hall
Local gambling syndicates prepare a desperate political maneuver to force Mayor Ronald to legalize their operations upon his return from the East.
- A Miner’s Jealous Rage Left a Woman Dead in Roslyn
Rosa Baltimore surrendered without regret after shooting Sallie Turner; the 1894 press framed the killing around her work and reputation.
- The Railroad That Threatened to Make Serfs of Us All
An 1884 open letter urges Democrats and independents to break the Northern Pacific's grip on land, taxes and the delegate election.
Also about this, in other words
- A Law to Protect Debtors — or Scare Off Every Lender?
Washington's legislature passed the 'judgment deficiency bill' to shield mortgage debtors from ruinous foreclosures. The Portland Oregonian read it as a recipe for a credit freeze, and begged the governor to veto it.
- Legislature Moves to Protect Debtors from Foreclosure
A new bill seeks to allow judgment debtors to retain possession and profits of their property during the legal redemption period.
- The Governor Vetoes Debt Relief, and the Paper Cheers
A bill meant to soften deficiency judgments after foreclosure is killed — on the theory that frightened capital would simply stop lending, hurting the very debtors it was meant to save.
- The Street Grader’s Injunction
Prominent real estate developer H.L. Yesler halts work on Third Street with a temporary restraining order against local contractors.
- Legislature Offers Tax Relief to Struggling Property Owners
A new bill aims to waive penalties and interest for delinquent taxpayers, while proposing a shift to semi-annual payments to ease the burden on residents.
- Judge Greene Slaps Down Legal Nitpicking
A Territorial judge refuses to let a clerical error in the law strip working teamsters of their property exemptions.
- The State Tries to Soften the Panic for Delinquent Taxpayers
The Senate passes a bill remitting penalties and interest on delinquent 1893–94 taxes, citing “great financial stringency” and declaring an emergency.
- The Governor Vetoes Debtor Relief—and Warns It Would Speed Foreclosures
Gov. McGraw kills a bill meant to shield struggling debtors, arguing it cannot apply to existing contracts and may trigger the mortgage sales it was supposed to prevent.