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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 14 |
| 1893 | 16 |
| 1894 | 20 |
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| 1916 | 5 |
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| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
136 stories matching lowest
- Everett’s Sweetheart Printing Deal: The Supreme Court Said No
In 1894, Everett’s city council awarded its official printing contract to a bid nearly four times higher than a rival’s. The Washington Supreme Court reversed course, warning that public money was not the council’s to give away.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- The Granite War: Why Seattle’s Federal Building Might Not Use Washington Stone
A federal contract for San Francisco's new courthouse has sparked outrage in Seattle. The lowest bidder proposed using granite from the Puget Sound region, but California lobbyists are pushing to force the use of local stone, raising questions about patriotism versus free enterprise.
- The Struggle Over the Port Orchard Dry Dock
The federal government hesitates to award a massive contract for a key Navy project, citing doubts about the contractor's ability to deliver.
- Local Labor Beats the Low Bid on the Kennewick-Finley Road
County commissioners chose Kennewick’s Wm. Morain over the lowest bidder because he promised local crews and teams instead of trucks.
- The Battle for the City's Official News Contract
A political struggle unfolds at City Hall as the board of aldermen chooses official newspapers based on partisanship rather than price.
- The Great City Printing Graft
Seattle’s local newspapers accused the Telegraph of padding city bills, sparking a political firestorm that reached the city council.
- The $8,000 Schoolyard Fight
A losing contractor accuses Seattle’s school board of steering a South School grounds contract to a favored bidder and wasting taxpayer money. The board fires back that the cheapest bids were unsafe and that a $25,000 schoolhouse was at risk of falling.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- The $12,000 Garbage Scow: How Seattle’s City Council Tried to Buy a Trash Boat for Less Than a House
When the lowest bid for a municipal garbage scow came in at nearly $13,000—more than double the estimate—the city council was forced to slash specifications, revealing the tight financial straits of early 20th-century Seattle.
- The Alder-men's Secret Handshake
The Board of Aldermen ignored the city charter to funnel a printing contract to a favored paper, prompting a scathing accusation of graft.
- Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise
As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.
- The Paper Trail of Patronage
A bold act of civic favoritism in King County sees the Board of Commissioners award a lucrative printing contract to a higher bidder, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
- The City Hall Newspaper War
Seattle's Board of Aldermen is embroiled in a heated dispute over city printing contracts, with critics alleging the fix is already in.
- The Rising Tide of Transient Labor
A federal report highlights the growing reliance on Mexican migrant workers in the American West and the social shifts it triggers.
- The Fight Over Who Gets the Road Contract
Prosser taxpayers challenge Benton County commissioners over the awarding of the Kennewick-Finley road contract to a non-lowest bidder.
- The Great Seattle Teacher Pay Cut of 1894
Facing public backlash, a school board director defends controversial salary slashes that hit the lowest-paid educators hardest.
- The Dangerous Precedent of the 'Lowest Bidder'
The local paper critiques a political candidate for promising to run a public office on a budget that defies fiscal reality.
- Rainier Is Taller Than the Map: The Barometer Fight Over Washington’s Mountain
A new summit reading revived a two-year-old claim: Olympia’s Dr. Riley had used three government barometers to put Mount Rainier near 15,000 feet—well above the official 14,444.
- Seattle’s School Board Said No to $153
Contractors crowded the board meeting, but a fight over $4,000 versus $4,153 left a school addition unbuilt—and a Lake Union petition for 107 children pending.
- Competition for the Port Orchard Dry Dock
A flurry of bids arrives for the massive Navy project in Port Orchard, testing the influence of Seattle and Tacoma firms.
- A Holiday Horse Raffle
A local man wins big at a Christmas horse raffle, walking away with two animals and a tidy profit.
- The Price of Printing: A 19th Century Fight Against 'Cheap John' Contracting
An editorial from the 1873 Seattle Dispatch excoriates the municipal habit of awarding city printing contracts to the lowest bidder, arguing it degrades the press and serves only the interests of 'ward demagogues.'
- The Grassroots Railway That Built Modern Seattle
How a small group of ambitious local citizens took on the corporate giants to secure Seattle's future against the 'contemptuous neglect' of the Northern Pacific.
- The Last Train out of Carbonado
After miners descended on the coal camp to forcibly expel Chinese laborers, a group of workers recounted the indignity of their forced departure.
Also about this, in other words
- The Last Stand of Bebe Low: A Saloon Keeper’s Final Plea
In August 1876, Seattle saloon owner Bebe Low publicly demanded his debts be settled before disappearing from the city, leaving behind a cryptic notice and a legacy of vanished frontier commerce.
- Taxation Without Representation for the Poor
A scathing breakdown of how local tax laws favor wealthy landowners while crushing the small lot owner.
- The False Doctrine of 'Supply and Demand'
A labor manifesto argues that using the 'cheapest man' to set wage standards is a race to the bottom that threatens the integrity of community and family life.
- The Janitor's Failed Replevin of Romance
A Seattle janitor attempted to sue his former flame for the return of bedroom furniture after she refused to marry him, only to be laughed out of court.
- 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 Last Acreage Near the Creek
An 1877 real estate notice offers fertile bottom land near Snohomish, marking the transition from homesteading to organized development.
- The Price of a Wheat-Only Future
A prominent grain miller warns that Washington farmers are flirting with ruin by ignoring oats and barley, leading to an expensive and unnecessary reliance on Eastern imports.
- The Price of a Bride
A Spokane man seeks a wife who meets very specific, old-fashioned criteria to claim a $30,000 legacy.