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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1914 | 1 |
44 stories matching misrepresent
- The Territorial Legislator and the Editor’s Ego
A fiery public feud erupts in 1861 between a Clark County representative and the editor of the Washington Standard, highlighting the volatile politics of the territorial legislature.
- Puyallup Land Sales Spark Tension With Federal Agent
Agent Eells defends his role in the controversial sale of tribal lands, claiming the Puyallup people are being manipulated by real estate speculators.
- The Dispossession of Josephine Hatch
A Snohomish widow, unable to speak English, sues a powerful land conglomerate for swindling her out of a multi-million dollar stake in the founding of Everett.
- The Streetcar Strike and the Press
Everett labor leaders push back against media portrayals of the ongoing streetcar strike, demanding an end to misrepresentation.
- The Thief in Blue: Police Chief Exposes Captain’s Theft of Prisoners’ Belongings
A dramatic hearing reveals Officer Fayban’s accusation that Captain Henry Sheahan stole handkerchiefs, neckties, and cash from arrested men, sparking a bitter war of words between Seattle’s top law enforcement officials.
- They Promised Clean Bunks and Good Food. The Sailors Knew Better.
At a longshoremen's meeting in Tacoma, a delegate described how ship's officers lured landsmen aboard with false promises — and told of a sailor who drowned swimming for shore rather than sail on the Henry Failing.
- The Gall and Wormwood of Olympia: Tacoma’s Defeat in the Senate Race
As Washington's first U.S. Senator is chosen in a bitter legislative battle, defeated candidate Calkins' supporters cry foul, while Jefferson County delegates secure the victory for Watson Squire.
- The Hidden Fortune of Captain Renton
Heirs of a sea-captain's forgotten partner sue the estate of William Renton, alleging decades of financial deception and a secret stolen legacy.
- The Collapse of the Merchants' National
Tacoma bank officials indicted on charges of false entry and 'straw paper' schemes amid a brutal city-wide financial rivalry.
- The Parasite Trade: Fighting the Employment Sharks
A scathing report to the State Federation of Labor exposes how corrupt employment agencies trap migratory laborers in a cycle of debt and exploitation.
- The Great Blaine Betrayal: How a Few 'Carpet-Baggers' Humiliated Washington's Republicans
At the North Yakima convention, local leaders rejected a resolution honoring James G. Blaine, sparking outrage and accusations of political conspiracy.
- Old-Timer Assaulted by Land-Grant Lobbyist
A pioneer settler is attacked on Main Street by a man hired to lobby against land reform, fueling local outrage against corporate influence.
- The House Rejects Treason Resolution
Tensions reach a boiling point in the territorial legislature as members debate the loyalty of Delegate Isaac I. Stevens during the onset of the Civil War.
- The Squatter-Citizens of Port Angeles
Before Port Angeles was fully incorporated, a determined association of residents occupied government land to force federal recognition and protect their homes from wealthy speculators.
- The Free Train Passes That Kept a Senate Seat in Play
In Olympia, a deadlocked legislature, a withdrawn reform candidate, and John L. Wilson's railroad-funded lobby decide who will represent Washington in the U.S. Senate.
- The Newspaper Feud of 1877
A Snohomish editor accuses a local county official of petty corruption and personal vendettas, exposing the raw tensions of early frontier governance.
- The Great Butter Robbery of West Street
A bold waterfront heist ends with an unlikely intervention by an old gentleman, a flight across the city, and a classic retort from a local thief.
- The Town That Shed Its Violent Name
Citizens of Slaughter petition the legislature to rebrand their town to something more inviting.
- The Socialist Civil War
A fiery dispatch from Spokane exposes a rift within the Socialist Party over internal discipline, alleged corruption, and the fight for union labor in city government.
- The World's Fair Forestry Fiasco
Grays Harbor lumbermen express outrage over the state's 'shabby' display at the Chicago World's Fair, claiming their industry was ignored and misrepresented.
- A Seattle Woman Defends the Italian Immigrant
Interviewed at the Rainier, a language teacher recently returned from Europe rejects the caricature of Italians as a degraded race and describes them as industrious, sober, and devoted to home and family.
- A Fraternal Leader Draws the Line at English—and at the Ballot Box
Visiting Knights of Pythias supreme chancellor W. W. Blackwell wants the order to require English and ties voting rights to language, warning of foreign anarchists.
- The Great Freight War: Tacoma vs. Seattle
Seattle merchants accuse the Pacific Coast Steamship Company of deliberately starving the city of goods to favor rival Tacoma, sparking a public dispute over civic equity and economic survival.
- The Great Front Street Fraud: City Council Exposes Fake Petition for Cable Car
In a stunning display of civic integrity, Seattle’s Common Council unmasks a fraudulent petition designed to grant a monopoly cable car franchise, revealing that applicants forged signatures and misrepresented property frontage.
- The Lake That Wasn't: A Territorial Identity Crisis
In January 1890, a prominent New York journalist claimed Washington Territory wanted to be called 'Tacoma.' The Seattle Post-Intelligencer fired back with a scathing editorial, proving that the name 'Washington' was not just a political compromise, but a point of fierce local pride.
Also about this, in other words
- The Birthday Deception in Ballard
A local reading circle purposely published a false meeting announcement to surprise a popular schoolteacher on her birthday.
- The Unlucky Look-Alike
A case of mistaken identity in a Seattle courtroom saw an innocent man nearly extradited for a Pennsylvania forgery because he looked exactly like his cousin.
- The Case of the Misidentified Robbers
Two men accused of assaulting a storekeeper in Palmer are discharged after the victim fails to identify them; the judge notes the evidence was practically nonexistent.
- The Drummer’s Deed: A Tale of Lost Blocks and Mutual Recrimination
A traveling salesman thought he’d scored a bargain on Seattle real estate, only to discover his deed was for the wrong lot—and his seller had no idea either.
- A False Shock of Hair, a Slouch Hat, and $10 at Maplewood Station
A Tacoma department-store clerk steps off the Puyallup car and is stopped in the dark by a masked man in a false wig, who takes her money and orders her home on foot.
- The Deaf Dodge
A local drunkard tries to outsmart a judge by faking deafness, only to be tripped up by the prospect of a free drink.
- The Unflattering Portrait Gallery
After a shoplifting incident, a local merchant commissioned life-sized paintings of the thieves for public display.
- The Brutal Reality of 'Assumption of Risk' in the Mills
A shingle sawyer loses his hand in a mill accident, only to have his lawsuit dismissed due to legal doctrines protecting corporations.