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17 stories matching despot
- The White Ribboners’ Crusade in Cosmopolis
A local chapter of the W.C.T.U. mounts an impassioned campaign against the ‘despot’ of alcohol, labeling licensed saloons a failed experiment.
- The Tyranny of the Injunction
An editorial critique of the judiciary's increasing reliance on court orders to break labor strikes and circumvent legislative power.
- The Rising Power of the Farmers' Alliance
A political commentary warning the established parties that the Farmers' Alliance and labor organizations have become a political force that can no longer be ignored.
- The Election of 1876: When Seattle Held Its Breath
As the U.S. Congress deadlocked over the disputed Hayes-Tilden election, the frontier town of Seattle processed the national anxiety through the lens of political 'vultures' and the hope for a peaceful transition.
- The Price of Patriotism: Why Congress Ignores Its Own Workers
The Everett Labor Journal skewers federal lawmakers for posturing over international crises while blocking life-saving safety legislation for American laborers.
- The Sheriff Who Stopped a 'Socialist' Wedding
When the radical labor agitator August Spies and his bride attempted to marry while Spies was in custody, a Seattle-area official intervened to prevent the 'empty formality' from taking place.
- The Loyalty Oath of a Washington Surveyor
Public official James Tilton defends his reputation against accusations of secessionism during the onset of the Civil War.
- The Political 'Boodle' That Nearly Toppled Seattle's Republican Party
A look back at the chaotic 1889 Republican primaries in King County, where internal factions, broken promises, and the 'boodle' system turned a local race for the U.S. Senate into a full-scale political scandal.
- The Newcastle Riot: When Labor Turned on Labor
A preliminary examination reveals the chaotic morning of the Newcastle strike, where a mob of Knights of Labor marched to stop non-union miners from working—and ended up shooting at them.
- The Ring That Ruled: Whatcom’s Postal War and the Coal Company’s Grip
A furious letter from Blaine exposes how the local post office was hijacked to serve the interests of the coal barons, turning a bureaucratic dispute into a battle for democratic survival.
- There's "Dough" in Every Street Contract: A Preacher Takes On City Hall
Rev. Napoleon Hoagland reads the nation's municipal record aloud — reeking streets, a million-dollar franchise given away, councilmen who elsewhere would count themselves lucky to stay out of prison — and asks why democratic America breeds more thieves than the Tsar's Europe.
- Seventeen Hours in the Jury Room, Then 'Guilty'
Rev. M. H. Nichols is convicted of criminally libeling Rev. T. B. Ford after an all-night jury fight; his lawyers promise a new trial.
- Seattle's Chinese New Year: Fireworks, Debt Settling, and a Tartar Emperor
Local Chinese merchants celebrate the new year with fireworks and a week of festivities, while manager Woo Gen voices his opposition to the ruling Tartar dynasty.
- The Judge Who Declared Unions Illegal
In a landmark charge to the grand jury in 1893, Chief Justice Thomas Burke declared that any combination of workers preventing employment was a 'conspiracy against the law of the land,' effectively criminalizing the labor movement before Washington even became a state.
- The Scab Who Spoke Out: A Newcastle Miner’s Defense Against the 'Ring'
In a fiery letter to the editor, a coal miner defends his decision to cross the picket line during a violent strike, accusing union leaders of forming a tyrannical ring and replacing loyal workers with non-union laborers.
- The People’s Franchise: Seattle Votes Down Municipal Ownership of Streetcars
In a pivotal moment for the city's infrastructure, voters reject the Navin resolution to take control of street railways, cementing private corporate dominance over public transit.
- A House of Prayer for All the Nations
In 1892, Seattle's Congregation Ohaveth Sholom dedicated the first Jewish synagogue in Washington, filling the new sanctuary at Seventh and Seneca with Jews and Gentiles and with sermons that insisted the building must be more than stone and gold.