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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 10 |
| 1892 | 23 |
| 1893 | 17 |
| 1894 | 22 |
| 1895 | 16 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 9 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1928 | 3 |
| 1929 | 1 |
185 stories matching motiv
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- A Streetcar Franchise on the Line Over Naphtha Power
A citizen charges the Olympia street railway is violating its charter with an unsafe naphtha motor and neglected trackwork at Fifth and Main.
- The Bear That Wasn't: Seattle’s War Department Scandal
A federal court of inquiry clears the city of corruption but exposes a bizarre military blunder involving refrigerated beef and embalmed meat during the Spanish-American War.
- The Man Who Took the Bribe to Expose It
Representative Metcalfe’s daring sting operation against Senatorial corruption has turned him into a hero for reformers and a target for powerful enemies.
- The Tragedy on King Street
A brutal robbery and murder in a Seattle rooming house leaves police searching for a culprit and motive.
- A 'Close Combination' at the Courthouse: Surveyor Accuses King County's Ring of Self-Dealing
King County's surveyor says commissioners paid the prosecuting attorney's rent to their own chairman's Union Block while refusing to cover his office — and he names the men he says run the courthouse for themselves.
- Two Weeks In, Still No Senator: Olympia's Republicans Tire of the Ankeny Fight
The legislature has been in session a fortnight and Washington still has no United States senator. A colleague's insulting letter blows up, the Wilson and Allen camps fold, and a caucus is called to force the thing to an end.
- The Candy That Killed: A Postal Clerk’s Tragic Mistake in Seattle
In May 1904, Assistant Postmaster W. H. Metralfe died after eating candy given to him by a stranger at the Seattle station, sparking an investigation into motive and madness.
- Should Seattle Have a Filipino Labor Commissioner?
A 1923 community-paper debate pits a call for Filipino labor representation against a columnist who says the workers should simply go home.
- Three Bickering Land Departments, Millions in Tide Lands, and a Demand for Answers
A state land commissioner admits the tide-land situation is 'chaotic in the extreme' and calls for a no-whitewash legislative probe — warning that divided authority is an open door to corruption.
- A Seattle Sermon Asks Capital and Labor to Read Scripture Together
At St. Mark's Church, Rev. D. C. Garrett blames class friction on a Christianity forgotten by rich and poor alike—and imagines employers and grievance committees studying Paul side by side.
- 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.
- Chinese Hop Pickers Murdered by White Mob in Squak Valley
A violent, racially motivated attack on Chinese hop pickers leaves three dead as anti-Chinese hostility intensifies in the territory.
- 1885 Editorial Urges Chinese Exclusion in Washington Territory
A committee of Seattle citizens formalizes their campaign to purge the city of Chinese laborers, framing their economic anxiety as a struggle for the 'Caucasian race.'
- Accusations of Trafficking in the Victoria Chinese Mission
Prominent Chinese merchants in Seattle level explosive allegations against the superintendent of a Chinese mission in Victoria, accusing him of extortion and human trafficking.
- The National Guard Mutiny at Sprague
Washington militiamen refuse to break the Pullman rail strike, leading to their arrest and transport under guard.
- The Effigy in the Pine Tree
Charles Gloystein crossed Spokane County's Populists and woke to find himself hanged in straw. Then he vanished.
- The Accused Killer Who Wrote to Seattle Police
Oluf Ellingson was found on the Lake Washington shore with his throat cut and a razor in his hand. Four years later, suspect Tony Miller’s letter still insisted he was coming back to clear his name.
- The Forgotten Wife at the Center of Seattle
Dr. David Maynard’s 1852 donation land claim, which comprises much of downtown Seattle, is tied up in a legal crisis over the validity of his divorce and the arrival of his first wife, Lydia A. Maynard.
- The Cedar River Siege: How a Power Mogul Tried to Steal Seattle’s Water
Seattle Star exposes the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company’s dirty game: using fake environmental panic to block municipal water rights and crush competition.
- The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.
- Hanged on a Doubt: Washington Territory's First White Execution
When John Thompson was hanged in Seattle in 1877, many believed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The Dispatch made the case that the law had taken a life it should have spared.
- The Arsonist Who Burned the Books: A Tacoma Cover-Up?
An attempt to torch the U.S. Custom House in Port Townsend raises eyebrows as officials fear a whistleblower’s evidence of corruption was destroyed.
- The Quarantine Lie: How Providence Hospital’s Smallpox Cover-Up Sparked a Public Health Crisis
A desperate letter from hospital staff reveals that patients were turned away or allowed to leave while infected with smallpox, leading to a chaotic quarantine and widespread community fear in early 1903 Seattle.
- The Six Who Vanished: Tacoma’s Senatorial Scandal and the Art of Political Silence
In the wake of a bitter Washington State Senate race, the six key allies of defeated candidate Judge Calkins have disappeared from public view, leaving behind a trail of bribery allegations and a furious debate over whether the election was stolen or won by superior strategy.
Also about this, in other words
- The Anatomy of a 'Quitter' in the Labor Movement
A fiery editorial from the era defines the unionist's ideal of solidarity—and the absolute contempt reserved for those who broke ranks.
- Organizing the Purchasing Power of Everett’s Wives
Mrs. Rose B. Moore brings a new strategy to the Labor Temple: mobilizing women to force local merchants to stock union-labeled goods.
- A Father’s Hardship and the Telegram That Changed Everything
An overworked, weary business man contemplates his supposed failures until a birthday message from his daughter provides a new perspective on success.
- The Organizing Power of Everett’s Women
Rose B. Moore reflects on a summer of mobilizing union women and shares a vision for the future of social labor.
- The Tailor-Made Confidence Man
A clever grifter leaves a trail of unpaid bills and stolen suits across North Seattle.
- The Unemployed March Across the West
Across the country, the 'Industrial Army' of the unemployed takes to the rails to march on Washington, D.C.
- The Bishop and the Bricklayer
Methodist Bishop Robert McIntyre writes on the spiritual necessity of labor unions and the soulless nature of modern corporate industry.
- The 'Industrial Mendicant' and the Fight for Union Solidarity
A 1909 editorial lambasts workers who accept union-won raises while refusing to pay dues or support the organization.