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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 3 |
21 stories matching muddl
- A Ticket Muddle for the Militia
A breakdown in communication leaves local militiamen feeling spurned at the ballpark gates.
- The Great Cascade Rail Land Gamble
A reader asks if the railroad owns the land it’s selling in the Cascades; the editor argues the company's title is as muddled as the mountain tracks.
- The City Council’s Perpetual Muddle
A failed attempt to sort out the city's chaotic tax records leaves property owners carrying the burden for their delinquent neighbors.
- The City Was Broke. The Paper Wanted the Mayor and Council to Quit.
With Olympia's finances in a muddle and a bond election already doomed by irregularities, the Tribune pressed Mayor Kerr and three councilmen to resign early so the newly elected government could take charge.
- The Boss and the Franklin Street Fix
Olympia’s public-works fight spills into council: a contractor says the job is done, Boss Sickles says otherwise, and the city engineer is caught in the middle.
- The Spokane Relief Scandal
Accusations emerge that funds meant for fire victims were diverted to municipal infrastructure projects.
- The Great Yakima Salary Standoff
A budget dispute between county officials and the courts threatens to leave the treasurer empty-handed and the county’s finances in limbo.
- The Tax Collector’s Quiet Heist in Thurston County
Assessments against “unknown owners,” doubled fees and $9,000 in illegal exactions left property titles tangled and taxpayers furious.
- Seattle Fire Commissioner Suspended Amidst Hose Scandal
Mayor Phelps fires T. Masel, alleging incompetence and a fraudulent fire hose contract, sparking a chaotic power struggle at City Hall.
- The Sleek Scoundrel of Second Street
A dapper bookkeeper flees Seattle after embezzling thousands to fund a lifestyle of high-priced wines and 'bad women,' leaving his employers—and a woman who mourns her lost diamond ring—in his wake.
- The Courthouse War
A fierce battle between a judge and county officials leads to a standoff, a jail sentence, and a wild threat to tear down the jailhouse to free the prisoner.
- The Unintended Migrant: An International Diplomatic Headache
When a destitute man seeking work was deported from Washington back to British Columbia, he sparked a minor diplomatic crisis that tested the porous borders of the Pacific Northwest.
- Tacoma's Labor Boycott: Business Men Forced to Meet in a Basement as Tensions Escalate
A planned meeting of business men to address the Trades Council's boycott of the Ledger newspaper is postponed after the Commercial Club refuses its rooms. Undeterred, a group meets in a basement, but the Trades Council dismisses it as meaningless. The city remains on edge as labor and business collide.
- The Political Brawl of 1885
As Seattle prepared for a high-stakes municipal election, a chaotic 'Business Men’s' rally struggled to gain traction against the reformist 'Law and Order' movement, exposing deep class and moral divides in the young city.
- Too Many Lawyers, One Accused Man
A convicted man’s defense became a fight among attorneys, a wealthy widow’s charity and an accusation aimed at Seattle’s police chief.
- 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.
- Hard Times Are Over, but Striking Railroad Men Need Not Apply
Northern Pacific managers touring the coast said the depression had turned, but they refused to rehire workers who had walked off the job.
- A Forgery Arrest, a Suicide Attempt, and a Case Spokane Papers Got Wrong
Brad Knapp was arrested in Seattle over school warrants; days earlier his wife had shot herself, and a mistaken identity muddled the story.
- The $1,000 Christmas Theft and the Clean-Shaven Fugitive
A Tacoma bookkeeper accused of lifting a gold-stuffed pocketbook is caught in Seattle after shaving off his beard and plotting a steamer run to Victoria.
- The Great Political Tickling: How Daniel Bugley Outwitted Seattle’s Beriah Brown
A fiery editorial in the *Snohomish Sun* exposes a political alliance between two rival editors, accusing them of using religious fervor as a cover for partisan maneuvering.
- A Newspaper Editor's Silence in Court: The Lugrin Libel Trial
C. H. Lugrin, managing editor of the Seattle Telegraph, rested his defense without calling witnesses in a libel trial brought by Police Chief Rogers. The case now goes to the jury.