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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 3 |
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27 stories matching nefari
- The Man Who Exposed the Bribe: Metcalfe’s Stand Against Olympia’s ‘Boodle’ Gang
In a rare display of moral courage in Washington's early political history, Representative Metcalfe turned a bribe into evidence, sparking a war with corruptionists that the paper defends as necessary for good government.
- The Political Price of Railroad Favors
A Washington Territory legislator faces backlash for allegedly prioritizing railroad monopolies over public interests.
- The Knife Wounds on the Railroad Tracks
A man called Downey told police two strangers attacked him. Officers suspected he had been selling liquor to Native people—and that a fight over the illicit trade had turned violent.
- Vandals Wreck Indian Canoe
Youths on the Seattle waterfront destroy an Indigenous person's boat for sport.
- The Governor’s Veto: A Political Backstory
A defense of Governor Henry McBride’s 1903 veto of a local option bill, shifting blame from his personal stance to legislative corruption.
- The Shadow of the Railroad Lobby
A scathing editorial from 1885 warns of the corrupt influence of railroad corporations over the Washington Territorial Legislature.
- Crackdown on Human Trafficking in the Pacific Northwest
Federal officials in Portland and Seattle move to deport Japanese women brought into the country for forced labor and prostitution.
- Armed Children Defend Their Home Against Burglars
When two thieves raided the Morrisey home, they were met by a young boy and his armed neighbor, who sent them fleeing into the night with a fusillade of gunfire.
- The Great Tacoma Water Flimflam
A look back at the 1890 council scandal that left the city with a mountain of debt and a useless water system.
- The Great Land Ring of the Northern Pacific
Settlers of Washington Territory take on a powerful railroad corporation accused of hoarding public land for private profit.
- The High Price of Delinquency
An Aberdeen taxpayer exposes how the county's tax collection laws inflate minor debts into heavy penalties for ordinary residents.
- The Schoolmaster Who Took on the Text-Book Trust
Before he was an alderman, E.S. Ingraham led Seattle's schools and became a local hero for exposing a $3,000 bribery attempt by a corrupt book monopoly.
- The Phantom Arsonist of Queen Anne Hill
A grand residence on Highland Drive vanishes in a blaze, leaving investigators to wonder if a spurned enemy, a clumsy painter, or a spontaneous chemical reaction fueled the inferno.
- The Hidden Enemies in the Workshop
A leaked solicitation letter exposes the shadowy industry of private detective agencies planting 'operatives' in Everett's factories to dismantle labor unions from within.
- A Judge Calls the County-Seat Law ‘Nefarious’
Judge Ballinger dismisses Snohomish’s appeal over moving the county seat to Everett, blasting officials for defiance and the legislature for a law that leaves the court powerless.
- Franklin Miners Blast Calls for a New Disaster Investigation
After 37 men died in the Franklin mine explosion, 152 miners signed resolutions defending the coroner's verdict and accusing outside agitators of exploiting their grief.
- The Carpenter's Secret Compartment
A crafty smuggler’s hollowed-out tool chest, designed to look like the property of a humble working man, fails to outsmart Seattle Customs inspectors.
- The Editor Who Sold His Paper to a Brothel Keeper
A scathing letter in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes the corrupt alliance between Seattle’s Republican party and its most notorious vice kingpins, asking: 'What of that newspaper publisher... who for a palm share in the wages of prostitution gives his aid and influence?'
- 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 Grave Robbers of Spokane Falls
A quiet cemetery south of town is disturbed by a bizarre act of desecration, leaving a grieving family and a mystified community.
- Washington Took Their Votes. These Women Want Them Back.
Meeting at Tacoma Hall, the Equal Suffrage Association thanks the state supreme court, calls the loss of the ballot an 'outrage' that 'became national in character,' and appeals to the manhood of Washington's men.
- The Mayor Who Bought His Seat with Lottery Money
In Seattle’s first hotly contested municipal election of 1876, the newspaper publisher who ran for mayor lost to Dr. Weed—not because he lacked support from mechanics and laborers, but because his opponent mobilized the city’s notorious lottery gamblers.
- The Ring is Broken: Seattle’s Republicans Revolt Against the 'Corrupt' Delegate
In a stunning display of local defiance, prominent Seattle citizens and Republican leaders publicly repudiate Territorial Delegate George W. Gillette, accusing him of betrayal and corruption ahead of the 1873 election.
- Spokane Falls Wins the Land Office—and Sprague Howls
A Sprague paper accused Spokane Falls of backroom land speculation to land the federal Land Office. The Review answered with boosterish fury and a warning to the 'upper country.'
- Seattle’s 1891 Election-Eve Alarm: ‘Watch Until the Vote Is Counted’
On the eve of municipal elections, the Post-Intelligencer accuses the Democratic administration of protected gambling, a looted treasury and stacked election boards—and warns Republicans that the only danger left is the count.