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646 stories matching liquor
- The Beer War of Puyallup
When the Puyallup city council halted new liquor licenses, the local brewing industry retaliated with an economic embargo on the valley’s hop farmers.
- The Temperance Movement Comes to the Territory
A new petition arrives in Olympia calling for the total prohibition of liquor sales in the Washington Territory.
- Nine in Ten Convicts Blamed on Whisky
A Walla Walla prison chaplain's letter gives Washington's temperance movement its starkest statistic—and a bill for the saloon.
- Will the Prohibition Law Hold Up?
As Washington prepares for a total ban on alcohol, legal experts and brewers prepare to challenge the statute's limits on interstate commerce and advertising.
- Seattle Ends the 'Pay-to-Play' Liquor Fines
A local judge breaks with a years-long precedent of allowing restaurant owners to pay a monthly fee in lieu of a full liquor license.
- The Fight to Keep Seattle’s Messenger Boys Out of the Saloons
A local judge cracks down on a liquor ordinance, forbidding businesses from sending underage employees into bars, even with parental consent.
- New Liquor Licensing Rules in North Yakima
The city council implements a neighborhood-consent requirement for new liquor licenses on major thoroughfares.
- The City’s ‘Losings-Bank’: A Temperance Sermon on Economic Ruin
In an 1881 sermon at Plymouth Church, a local minister argues that Seattle’s rampant saloon culture—not market forces—is the primary engine of financial instability.
- The Mayor's War on 'Vice' at the Pavilion
Mayor J. T. Ronald refuses to license liquor sales at the Laurel Shade resort, citing its proximity to a cherished family park.
- The Temperance Crusade Comes to Olympia
A prominent attorney argues for a 'Maine Liquor Law' to suppress the liquor trade in Washington Territory.
- Spokane's 'Spotted Egg' Targeted by 1,393 Petitioners
Residents demand an end to theaters and dance halls selling liquor, while the legislature bans women from working where liquor is sold—a law aimed squarely at Johnny Considine's Spokane resort.
- A Captain's Alaska Liquor Case Comes to Port Townsend
A federal warrant for importing liquor into Alaska and selling it to Native people sends Capt. Thomas Butler to Portland to answer the charge.
- Suspended Sentence for Liquor Sales
A local woman avoids prison for selling alcohol to Indians on the condition of future 'right behavior.'
- The End of Reservation Saloons
Tacoma’s county commissioners move to systematically shutter all liquor outlets on the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
- The Price of a Drink in 1885 Seattle
A newly passed city ordinance lays out a complex, bureaucratic, and cash-heavy system for anyone hoping to open a saloon or bottle house.
- The Puyallup 'Dry' War Turns to the Grand Jury
A simmering conflict between local factions erupts into a legal investigation, with druggists under fire for allegedly selling liquor in a 'closed town.'
- A Blackmail Scheme at the Statehouse?
Legislators suspect a proposed liquor licensing bill is less about temperance and more about extorting the state's saloon owners.
- The Oyster House Bootlegger
A local oyster house proprietor avoids conviction for selling liquor without a license by claiming he sold it at cost to his patrons.
- The Wet-Dry Tug-of-War: Voters Face Triplicate Liquor Initiative
As Washington state grapples with its new dry status, three competing liquor initiatives challenge the stability of the 1914 prohibition law.
- The Cigar Drunkards of Seattle
In 1877, police were baffled by a new phenomenon: Native Americans getting intoxicated not from liquor, but from smoking cigars. As the city grappled with enforcement of temperance laws, this bizarre loophole left officers scratching their heads and citizens demanding new legislation.
- Seattle’s Liquor Dealers Form Defense Association
Saloon keepers across Washington state organize to fight prohibition and regulatory pressure.
- A Widow's Justice: The High Cost of the Saloon
After a liquor-fueled murder left a young mother destitute, a Rockford jury issued a landmark verdict holding the saloon keeper financially responsible for the tragedy.
- The Attorney General Says Near-Beer Is Still Beer
Ruling on a Lewis County saloon closes the loophole that let 'temperance' drinks flow in dry towns: if it has any alcohol in it and you drink it, Olympia says it's liquor.
- Barbershop Booze Trial Ends in Acquittal
Three men accused of selling liquor without a license in a barber shop walk free after a jury trial.
- The Temperance Hotel of La Conner
An 1880s hotel proprietor promises a clean, quiet, and liquor-free establishment for the weary traveler.
Also about this, in other words
- Kennewick Declares War on the Bottle
With state prohibition looming, the city council passes a sweeping ordinance to criminalize the possession, sale, and even the advertisement of alcohol.
- The Great Liquor Heist: A Partner Vanishes with $2,000 of Goods
In a mystery that baffled Seattle's wholesale liquor trade in April 1882, one partner opens the store to find the stock largely gone, while his business associate has fled town without a word.
- The Usual Suspects and the Informant
An habitual drunkard arrested by the court 'peaches' on the local club supplying her with illegal liquor.
- The Cough-Mixture Case: Whisky, Good Fellowship and a Reservation Trial
A white 'Indian farmer' from Arkansas was charged with selling liquor to Indians after he shared cold medicine on a canoe trip. The case collapsed when the court heard it was born of a tribal feud.
- The Futility of Prohibition
A skeptical legislator warns that strict alcohol bans in Washington Territory will lead only to evasion, black markets, and public distrust.
- The High Court Rules on 'Dry' Possession
A state supreme court decision clarifies that possessing legally obtained liquor is not a crime, sparking debate over the future of Washington's prohibition laws.
- The Mayor's Battle Against the Saloon
Mayor J. T. Ronald vetoes a retail liquor license, charging the council with 'gerrymandering' and favoring special interests over the well-being of residential neighborhoods and schools.
- City Council Moves to Shutter Saloon Dance Halls
Legislators pass a sweeping ordinance to ban dancing in liquor-serving establishments, effectively targeting local variety theaters and saloons.