Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 17 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 24 |
| 1894 | 20 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1899 | 7 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 11 |
| 1904 | 6 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1909 | 6 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
174 stories matching excess
- The Struggle for Water Autonomy
Facing a decaying irrigation system, Kennewick farmers are urged to stop fighting the provider and take control of their own infrastructure.
- 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 Bankers’ Bailout for City Debt
Seattle’s financial elite push for state intervention to retroactively legalize city debt incurred in excess of the constitutional limit.
- The Price of Seattle's Growth
A desperate push to validate city warrants issued in the chaotic wake of the Great Seattle Fire and the city's sudden expansion.
- The Great Western Land Grab
A federal investigation exposes how massive railroad corporations illicitly claimed hundreds of thousands of acres of public land by exploiting loopholes and keeping government clerks in the dark.
- The Pullman College Scandal
Regents of the State Agricultural College face serious accusations of misusing public funds, including charges of billing the state for personal hotel extras like overalls and Sunday travel.
- The Hanford Irrigation Crisis
With the receiver out of funds and water users refusing to pay excess charges, the future of the Hanford irrigation project hangs in a precarious legal balance.
- 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.
- 100 Miners Take a Receiver to Court Over Cut Wages—and the Company Store
A petition filed in King County Superior Court says a coal company's receiver cut pay, forced miners to shop at his store, and fired a man who refused to back his candidate for police justice.
- Tacoma's Water Chief Accused—and the City Hall Feud Behind It
Mayor Orr's appointment of George H. Hollidge to run Tacoma's water and light plants blew up into a public corruption fight, with secret affidavits, anonymous postal cards and a grand jury waiting.
- The Taxpayers' League vs. The Railroads: A Battle for Fair Valuation in Columbia County
In May 1903, local citizens and tax experts challenged the massive capitalization of the Oregon Railway Navigation Company, arguing that its true value warranted a higher tax assessment to fund public services.
- The Governor's 1895 Warning: Washington Is Spending Itself Into Debt
A message to the legislature tallies a looming deficit, runaway appropriations and a public-land system under pressure — while urging lawmakers to lease harbor areas cheaply and defend taxpayers.
- The Governor’s Veto and the State’s Looming Deficit
Governor McGraw slashes funding for two new normal schools, citing a constitutional mandate to keep the state's spending within its revenue.
- Democrats Call for Fiscal Reform
A new political club forms in Aberdeen to challenge the 'excessive expense' of Republican-led local government.
- World's Fair Commission Cleared of Dishonesty, But Spending Called Extravagant
A joint legislative committee finds no evidence of dishonesty in the World's Fair Commission, but criticizes excessive expenditures and recommends $50,000 more to finish the work.
- The Victorian Anxiety Over 'Fat Babies'
An 1880 advice column warns parents that 'excessive fat is really a disease' and cautions against the physical toll of oversized toddlers on their own developing bones.
- The Soldier Who Missed: Why Seattle Is Rooting for a Court-Martialed Hero
Sergeant Mason’s attempt to assassinate the man who killed Garfield has turned him from a mutineer into a martyr, sparking petitions and subscriptions across the Pacific Northwest.
- Tacoma’s Water War: A City Divided Over Private Utility Buyout
A heated municipal battle erupts as citizens protest the proposed purchase of a private water plant, fearing corruption and an exorbitant price tag.
- The Tragedy on James Street
A young music teacher's life is altered by a violent streetcar accident, leading to a landmark legal fight against a transit corporation.
- The Waterfront Right-of-Way War
Prominent developer J. M. Colman seeks to block a railroad from cutting through his prime real estate, claiming the company forfeited its right-of-way by price-gouging.
- A Banker's Day of Reckoning in Walla Walla
A local savings bank president is charged with larceny and receives a stinging rebuke from the bench over his bond amount.
- Battle for the Soul of Tacoma’s City Hall
Republican and Democratic mayoral candidates trade sharp accusations of corruption, ring rule, and financial mismanagement in final campaign rallies.
- The Front Street Fraud: How Seattle's Council Sold Its Soul for a Cable Car
An editorial outcry accuses city officials of corruption in the approval of a lucrative franchise for a non-resident corporation, warning that the public interest is being sacrificed for private profit.
- The Scapegoat of Pierce County
A prominent local businessman finds himself the target of a smear campaign after a financial scandal guts the county treasury, revealing the toxic power of public rumor in 1870s Tacoma.
- The Bank That Rose from the Ruins
After the collapse of Ben E. Snipes Co.'s bank, depositors gather in Roslyn to weigh a plan for the institution's comeback.
Also about this, in other words
- A Merchant's Plight: The Cost of Overstocking
A Snohomish businessman faces financial ruin after a bad season leaves his shelves full and his creditors at the door.
- The Trust’s Empty Wallet: How Monopolies Are Starving Seattle’s Hotels and Stables
As giant combines fire thousands of traveling salesmen to boost profits, the ripple effect hits local businesses hard—yet consumers see only higher prices.
- The Price of 'Progress' at the Turn of the Century
A Seattle property owner battles the city over grading costs she claims amount to 'almost confiscation' of her land.
- The Seattle Milk Glut
Dairy farmers are warned that an oversupply of milk threatens the industry, as managers push for culling 'boarder' cows.
- The Professor’s High-Rolling Farewell
A lodge trustee embezzles thousands and leaves the local treasury empty for a life of excess on Washington Street.
- A Populist Outcry Against the 'Money Oligarchy'
Mining tycoon William M. Stewart denounces the economic misery of 1893, blaming the financial elites of New York for the nation's despair.
- A Wealthy Suitor, a Slashed Awning, and Twenty-One Counts of Jealousy
A prominent Seattle property owner is charged with shredding his ex-fiancée's store awning hole by hole, driven — she says — by jealousy of the man helping her run the shop.
- The Curse of the Golden Calf: Seattle’s Economic Anxiety in 1877
As banks tightened their grip on local capital, a Seattle editor warned that hoarding wealth—rather than investing in local industry and homes—was a dangerous path to ruin.