Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 12 |
| 1892 | 17 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 24 |
| 1895 | 32 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 18 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1908 | 4 |
| 1909 | 14 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1923 | 3 |
218 stories matching expenditur
- The Battle for Budget Transparency
Voters are urged to support Referendum No. 9 to force public officials to publish expenditure estimates and hold open hearings.
- Aberdeen’s New Water System Takes Shape
City council approves major expenditure to secure water rights and bond financing for local infrastructure.
- Territorial Superintendent Critiques School Spending
A report to the Legislature highlights the tension between building a university and funding basic district schools in 1862.
- City Finances Near Total Collapse
Tacoma’s Controller warns that general expense funds will run dry within six months as expenditures dwarf tax collections.
- Seattle’s Fight Against Municipal Debt Limits
City leaders protest a state constitutional provision they claim will cripple local growth and infrastructure expansion.
- King County's Relief Roll: 1,680 People and $4 Apiece
Behind the county's monthly $1,500 poor fund was a line of widows, abandoned wives and barefoot children—many turned away.
- The Price of a Growing City: 1885 Fiscal Realities
A rare glimpse into the municipal balance sheets of 1885 Seattle, revealing the heavy costs of litigation, infrastructure, and the high price of maintaining public order in a boomtown.
- The Price of a Growing City: Mayor Leary’s 1885 Fiscal Reckoning
Mayor John Leary delivers a scathing audit of Seattle’s municipal debt, high-interest scrip, and the struggle to maintain public services while balancing the budget of a booming town.
- The Harbor Plan That Won on 214 Votes—and Three Ballots on Nob Hill
A port-district proposition for harbor improvements passed by 22 votes in a listless special election, with one polling place recording only three ballots.
- Is Walla Walla’s City Budget Just Smoke and Mirrors?
As election season nears, local officials are promising tax cuts, but a local newspaper questions if the administration has the willpower—or the record—to pull it off.
- The Streetcar That Ate the Profits: Third Street Line May Shut Down
A federal receiver gets permission to issue $15,000 in certificates, but the order bars any more money from being sunk into Seattle's losing Third Street railway.
- The 30-Mile Tunnel That Would Have Turned the Big Bend Green
Federal reclamation engineers looked at damming the Spokane River to water two million acres of dry Columbia Basin land — and then said the money wasn't there yet.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle’s Growth
After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, city officials debated the ethics of sending relief funds to fire-ravaged Vancouver while the city struggled with its own credit and debt.
- The High Stakes of Olympia's Final Session
Legislators face political uncertainty as the 1923 session nears its end, with debates over taxation and state spending threatening to ignite the 1924 campaign.
- A Massive Education Project for Native Youth
Catholic mission leaders acquire 100 acres near North Yakima for a new industrial training school.
- Seattle’s Million-Dollar Water Gamble
Facing a growing population and urgent infrastructure needs, city leaders propose a massive bond measure to build a municipal water system, aiming to secure control over the city's future.
- 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 Capitol Betrayal: Olympia’s Seat of Power Shipped to Vancouver
In a stunning political maneuver, the Territorial Legislature has voted to move the capital from Olympia to Vancouver and the penitentiary to Port Townsend, sparking outrage among local editors who see it as a betrayal of trust.
- The Quest for a Clean City
A proposed 'Liernur System' could turn Seattle's sewage into marketable fertilizer while solving a desperate public health crisis.
- The Army Is Coming—and Seattle Can Already Hear the Payroll
A federal military post looks all but certain for Magnolia Bluffs, promising construction spending and a steady stream of soldiers' pay.
- Seattle’s First Great Infrastructure Boom
An 1877 report captures a young Seattle at a crossroads, boasting of massive rail investments and its first-ever public spending on city grading, setting a precedent for a city that never stops building.
- Democrats Call for Fiscal Reform
A new political club forms in Aberdeen to challenge the 'excessive expense' of Republican-led local government.
- A Victory for Press Freedom in Aberdeen
A jury vindicates a local editor who faced criminal charges for criticizing public spending.
- The Unending Drain at Columbia Street
A classic city mistake in 1886: an improperly built drain leads to a massive, costly wash-out that requires days of manual labor to repair.
- The 'Sawdust Swamp': A Public Health Warning for Seattle
A century and a half ago, the Intelligencer warned that Seattle's lack of proper drainage was not just a civic embarrassment, but a lethal threat to the growing population.