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290 stories matching liber
- The Logger’s Dilemma: Why Cheap Labor Is Killing Washington's Future
In a fierce editorial from January 1877, the Puget Sound Dispatch argues that low wages for loggers don't just hurt workers—they stunt the growth of the entire territory, creating a class of 'mental and physical wrecks' instead of future statesmen.
- Seattle's Audacious Bid for a Fresh-Water Harbor
In 1890, boosters promised that a ship canal from Lake Washington to Puget Sound would cut docking costs, defeat wood-boring teredo worms, and hand Seattle the world's cheapest harbor.
- The Paper War of Snohomish: How One Man’s Canoe Trip Launched a Newspaper
In January 1876, editor Eldridge Morse navigated the Snohomish River by canoe to secure his printing press, launching the *Northern Star* amidst fierce competition from rival publishers.
- The Price of a Scandalous Dinner
When the Liberal Club stopped holding dinners at the Tacoma Hotel, the local Ledger newspaper turned its editorial page into a weapon.
- Seven Votes Decide an Office: The Ballots Are 'Indescribable'
A contested Seattle election heads to the state supreme court, where a recount has whittled a 78-vote plurality down to seven — and counsel warns that some ballots defy description.
- The Pigeons That Flew Down From Rainier With News the Mountain Was Smoking
Seven homing pigeons carried dispatches from Mount Rainier's slopes, disproving the era's altitude limits and delivering word that the volcano was steaming.
- Pike Street Merchants Open Their Wallets for a Seattle Canal
A volunteer subscription drive added nearly $20,000 to the south canal fund, with Pike Street merchants leading the push and a railroad receiver boasting of Seattle's 'backbone and grit.'
- The Pioneer Spirit and the Building of Seattle
A look at the ambitious civic development of Seattle's Front Street and the men behind its early transformation into a modern business hub.
- The Snohomish Pulpit and the 'Spirit of Indifference'
A local sermon challenges the congregation to stop treating religion as mere entertainment and instead fight for their beliefs in an era of rapid scientific change.
- Seattle Laborers Call for Organized Removal of Chinese Workers
A crowded meeting of the Liberal League and local labor leaders culminates in a plan to systematically force the departure of Chinese residents from the region.
- The Unlikely Heroism of 'Old Yesler'
Derided as a 'hog' and a 'dog-in-the-manger' for years, Henry Yesler silences his critics with a massive financial commitment to Seattle’s future.
- Tacoma’s Mayor Defends ‘Liberal’ Vice Policy
Mayor Wright responds to allegations that Tacoma is a hotbed of corruption, arguing that tax revenue from gambling is necessary for city operations.
- The Seattle Municipal Landslide of 1900
Voters reject a fusion ticket of populists and prohibitionists, cementing a 'liberal' policy for Seattle's gambling and liquor trades.
- The Right to Vote in Washington Territory
Legislative debates heat up over the enfranchisement of Indigenous people in the mid-1850s.
- The Mesmerist’s Web: How Two Wives Defied Police to Free a Seattle Scandal
Charles Woodruff, the city's most notorious mesmerist and alleged bigamist, remains behind bars not because of lack of evidence, but because his former wives refuse to testify against him.
- The Great Welcome: Seattle Plans a 'Rousing' Ovation for Returning War Heroes
Mayor Humes and city officials rally behind a public subscription to fund fireworks, banquets, and even a mock battle at Lake Washington to greet the Washington Volunteers returning from Manila.
- The Canal That Would Drain Lake Washington
Boosters said a ship canal could end spring floods, redeem thousands of acres of marsh and turn the Duwamish Valley into farmland—if the property owners would help pay.
- A City Rallies for Its Miners: The Franklin Disaster Relief Fund
Seattle workers, unions, and businesses dig deep for families of miners killed in the Franklin mine explosion, pushing the relief fund past $1,000.
- The Ledger of Grief After Franklin
Roslyn miners pledged their September pay while Franklin’s relief committee set monthly sums for widows and orphans—and the veteran mine superintendent broke down.
- Tacoma’s Liberal Turn Stirs Public Outcry
Mayor Wright’s new administration faces harsh criticism for loosening city moral standards.
- Sixteen Seattleites Climb Rainier, With Carrier Pigeons and a Night on the Crater
Two members of a Seattle climbing party return from Mount Rainier after the rest push on to the summit, where they plan to camp amid volcanic steam and signal the city with bonfires.
- The Territory Owns the University. So Why Is Seattle Paying for It?
An exasperated editorial makes the case that the Territorial University — the ancestor of today's UW — belongs to all of Washington, yet the Legislature has adjourned without voting it a dollar, leaving Seattle's private citizens to keep the doors open.
- Seattle Lost the Ship Canal Fight in One Olympia Night
The 1892 Democratic state convention rejected the Lake Washington ship canal, humiliated King County's delegates and nominated Henry J. Snively for governor — setting off a political feud over Seattle's waterfront future.
- The Great Debate: Where Should the University of Washington Live?
As Seattle contemplated the future of the state's flagship university, President Charles Eliot of Harvard weighed in on the risks of isolated campuses versus the 'liberal atmosphere' of city centers.
- A Freethinker Takes On the Pulpit in Olympia
At Liberal Hall, P. D. Moore answers a minister’s sermon on law with a call for a religion of nature, reason, and good conduct rather than wrath and dogma.
Also about this, in other words
- The Unclaimed Inheritance of James O. Libbey
A public auction on the Seattle waterfront promises the sale of over 100 acres of land from a local estate, marking a fleeting moment of property transfer in the frontier city.
- The Unpaid Labor of Libbie Reinheimer
A rare 1876 court case highlights a wife suing her own husband's firm for unpaid wages.
- The Labor Vulture: A Radical Manifesto in a Seattle Pawn Shop
An anonymous editorial titled 'Capital vs. Lamb' appeared in the Seattle press in 1876, arguing that laborers are currently enslaved by capitalists and must unite to seize all profits of their work.