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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
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23 stories matching dispar
- The Fight for Fair State Banking
A candidate for state treasurer calls out the disparity in how government money is distributed across Washington counties.
- The Fight Against Unfair Tax Assessments
Prominent taxpayers petition the State Board of Equalization, claiming Chehalis County is being squeezed for more than its fair share of state taxes.
- The Great Railway Debate
Legislators in Olympia grapple with the Farmers' Alliance, railroad monopolies, and the fight for equitable shipping rates as tension mounts between East and West Washington.
- The Fight for Fair Pay at the Grays Harbor Docks
Aberdeen’s civic leaders mobilize to demand a living wage for federal inspectors, arguing that local maritime workload has far outstripped their meager compensation.
- The $100-a-Month Bosses: Mining Executives Earn More Than Presidents
A new report reveals that the average salary of mining officials in Washington Territory is $100 per month—double that of state legislators and far exceeding the wages of the men who dig the ore.
- The Brutal Economics of the 'Marginal' Farmer
Extension agent H. J. Lechner argues that efficiency is the only path to survival for Washington farmers as market forces ruthlessly weed out the less skilled.
- The Growing Divide: A 1889 Look at Wealth Inequality
A century before modern debates on income disparity, a Seattle newspaper reflected on a New York attorney's grim statistics concerning the extreme concentration of American wealth.
- The Shadow of the Fetting Tragedy
After the mysterious murder of a Seattle woman, the subsequent death of her son-in-law in Tacoma exposes a web of conspiracy, desperate poverty, and local suspicion.
- The Cascades of Disparity
Federal engineers reveal that Washington state's infrastructure projects receive only a fraction of the funding allocated to Oregon.
- South Tacoma’s War on the Monopoly
Citizens revolt against the Sunset Telephone Company’s discriminatory rates and poor service, calling for competition to break the city's grip.
- The Double Standard of Yakima Justice
When three prominent young men were fined for a drunken brawl, the local paper noted a stark disparity in how the court treated them versus a solitary woman arrested for the same charge.
- The Great Grain War of the Columbia River
When the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company tried to undercut Seattle's shipping dominance, the press was quick to call their bluff.
- Territorial Jobs and the Politics of Pay Cuts
Local outrage over congressional moves to slash federal salaries in Washington Territory, sparking fears of a political power grab.
- The Forgotten Dream of a Seattle County Fair
In 1876, local boosters argued that Seattle needed a central fair to bring together the disparate agricultural valleys of King County—a dream of connection in a fragmented frontier.
- The $5,000 Price of a Farmer’s Freedom
In January 1891, Seattle Judge Humes upheld an excessive bail for George Watkins, sparking a legal debate over whether justice should be measured by wealth rather than guilt.
- An Interracial Marriage Scandal in Whatcom
A young man files for divorce, alleging his wealthy widow wife treated him as a menial servant and schemed to discard him for a new husband.
- The Million-Dollar Tug-of-War Over Seattle's Waterfront
When two railway titans clashed over the location of a union depot, Seattle's newspapers turned the city's future into a public spectacle of corporate ego and investigative scoops.
- The Unholy Alliance Behind the Mayoral Win
A deep dive into the disparate coalition—from saloon owners to railroad bosses—that ousted Mayor Campbell in favor of George P. Wright.
- A Tale of Two Trials: Inequality in the Courtroom
A commentary on how disparate legal outcomes for two accused men—John Thompson and a man named Sutton—reveal the systemic influence of wealth, counsel, and community perception on justice in the Washington Territory.
- The Ghost of a Civic Dream: Seattle’s Lost City Hall
A century-old bequest for a grand municipal building sits unclaimed, as a local property owner laments the city's scattered, inefficient offices.
- Seattle's School Census Explodes: One Year Beats Five
Clerk W. H. Taylor counts 2,675 children under 21 in District No. 1—a one-year jump of 798 that the paper calls proof of the Queen City's rapid rise.
- Spokane Merchants Take the Railroad Monopoly Back to Court
Thirty-five Spokane merchants ask a federal judge to force the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific to obey an 1891 Interstate Commerce Commission order that found the roads were gouging the inland city.
- Washington's Public Lands Were Run by a Patchwork. Reformers Wanted One Powerful Board.
A joint legislative committee concludes that county tide-land boards, roving land cruisers and district attorneys have wasted public money, and recommends a three-member state land board to manage school and tide lands.