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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1860 | 3 |
| 1861 | 9 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1863 | 5 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 49 |
| 1877 | 35 |
| 1878 | 21 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 8 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 15 |
| 1885 | 22 |
| 1886 | 24 |
| 1887 | 18 |
| 1888 | 21 |
| 1889 | 57 |
| 1890 | 10 |
| 1891 | 42 |
| 1892 | 97 |
| 1893 | 79 |
| 1894 | 107 |
| 1895 | 143 |
| 1897 | 5 |
| 1898 | 14 |
| 1899 | 21 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 32 |
| 1904 | 23 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 16 |
| 1909 | 46 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 7 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 6 |
| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 12 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
1,047 stories matching proper
- Ousted Over an $18.90 Lumber Bill, a Councilman Gets His Seat Back
Ballard's council removed Thomas Winsor without a hearing — right after he accused the city treasurer of pocketing $1,058. A judge ruled the whole thing illegal and threw out his replacement.
- The Sheriff’s Hammer: Snohomish’s Last Stand Against the 'Nuisance'
In March 1877, Judge J.R. Lewis and the local Grand Jury launched a coordinated assault on vice, seizing brothels and fining operators, while simultaneously exposing corruption in county bonds.
- Internal Strife in the Baptist Convention
A fiery protest from the Mount Vernon Baptist Church challenges the claimed vindication of Reverend D. D. Proper.
- The Bishop, the Convicts, and the Sparring Match
Bishop Wells insists a prisoner-run entertainment at the penitentiary was decorous and proper—not the prizefight rumor made it out to be.
- The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company
In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.
- The Day Two Houses Fell on Their Owners: A Seattle Collapse That Should Have Killed Everyone
W.H. Burrett’s attempt to raise two frame buildings for renovation turned into a nightmare when the structures collapsed onto workmen and families below, leaving only miraculous luck to keep the death toll at zero.
- The Fireman, the Broken Leg, and the Brotherhood
When a Spokane Falls railroad fireman was badly hurt and allegedly left untended, the railroad Brotherhood organized — demanding an investigation and that the company hospital be moved to Sprague.
- The Taxation Trap: How Seattle’s Liquor Licenses Were Feeding the County, Not the City
In 1876, a territorial newspaper railed against a fiscal injustice: Seattle taxpayers were footing the bill for policing and street maintenance, while the county kept the revenue from liquor licenses sold within city limits.
- Seattle's Schools Burst at the Seams as the City Booms
In 1893 the school board scrambles for classrooms, defends high-school education, and counts the cost of keeping up with a fast-growing city.
- The Preacher, the W.C.T.U. Woman, and the Congregation That Chose Not to Look
Rev. C. C. Marston talked his way out of a scandal in Centralia, was dismissed in Olympia, and has resurfaced in Illinois doing revival work — with another man's wife at his side and his own wife and five children left in want.
- Judge Hanford Draws the Line: Sheep Can't Graze on Railroad Land Without Consent
A federal court ruling in Yakima County upholds the Northern Pacific Railway's right to protect its unenclosed lands from sheep, setting a precedent for property rights and land use in the West.
- Newport's Petition to Expel the Kalispel
In 1909, a petition circulated by a local captain asked Congress to move Calispel families off their Pend Oreille Valley lands—using smallpox and timber fires as arguments for removal.
- The Kidnapping of the Kerr Child: A Battle for Custody and Morality
Charles L. Kerr and his new wife Viola Bell Thorndyke are accused of snatching an infant from a boat in Seattle, sparking a legal war over whether the child will be raised by her father or placed in a home deemed 'proper.'
- The Man Who Thought He Owned Seattle Died Chasing a Ghost Fortune
Henry Zechow spent nine years and a small army of lawyers trying to claim an uncle's imaginary empire—including a block of downtown Seattle—before his body turned up in the Fraser River.
- The State Tries to Soften the Panic for Delinquent Taxpayers
The Senate passes a bill remitting penalties and interest on delinquent 1893–94 taxes, citing “great financial stringency” and declaring an emergency.
- Spokane Falls Denounces the Legislator Who Would Keep the County Whole
At Cannon's Hall, citizens passed resolutions demanding that the Territorial Legislature ignore Jacob Stitzel and split Spokane County in two.
- The Pacific’s Lesson: Floating Decks and Real Sailors
A correspondent proposes turning steamer decks into life-rafts—and blames the wreck of the Pacific on owners who replaced seamen with freight handlers.
- The Postal War: How Snohomish’s Star Exposed Seattle’s Corrupt Postmaster
In June 1877, the editor of the *Snohomish Star* launched a blistering public attack on the Seattle post office, alleging that political cronyism and negligence were deliberately delaying his paper to protect local rivals.
- Judge Lewis Blasts Portland and Olympia Over Seattle's Canal
A Tacoma judge's letter urges Washington state to fund the Lake Washington canal, accusing Portland's Oregonian and a political 'combination at Olympia' of trying to strangle Seattle's growth.
- When Seattle's Mayor Took on Poverty: The 1895 Charity Bureau Meeting
At the Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Byron Phelps and local leaders discussed unemployment, aid to families, and the growing demand for relief during a depression year.
- A Fortune in Strawberries: The Grower Who Says Thurston County Is Sleeping on Its Own Soil
Olympia closed the fruit season with its biggest shipments yet, but veteran orchardman George B. Hartman says the county's trees are thriving on forty years of neglect — and that proper cultivation could out-earn Oregon and California combined.
- The Great Columbia Salmon Run Was Dying — and Oregon and Washington Couldn't Agree Who Should Save It
In 1894 a Portland memorial to Congress warned that the Chinook were vanishing: a $31.5 million trade, thousands of jobs, and a two-state turf war over who got to regulate the river.
- The Supreme Court Stops a Judge From Sending Yakima County the Stenographer’s Bill
A superior court judge tried to force the county treasury to pay for trial transcripts. The state Supreme Court said no—and used a rare writ to stop the warrants before they became county debt.
- Tacoma’s Theaters Under Fire Safety Review
Building inspectors find local stages lacking modern fire protections, prompting calls for new safety ordinances.
- Free Mail Delivery Is Coming to Olympia—If the City Numbers Its Houses
Postmaster V. A. Milroy says carriers, boxes and three new routes will be ready by New Year’s Day, but two-thirds of the city’s houses still lack numbers and property owners must pay to add them.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Table Etiquette Debate
An editorial scrap between the Intelligencer and the Post-Intelligencer over whether eating with a knife is a sign of 'vulgar' breeding.
- The Case for Naming an Olympia Street After Judge Hewitt
A memorial sermon for a territorial judge becomes a plea to carve his name into Olympia's street map—and a meditation on what makes a public life worth remembering.
- The Vulgarity of Legislative Gratuities
An editorial critique argues that tipping public officials during legislative sessions undermines the dignity of the state.
- The Strict Moral Geometry of the Schoolroom
Teachers debate the merits of strict discipline, the threat of school suspensions, and the 'moral atmosphere' of the classroom.
- A Father Arrives After a Policeman Is Shot
The father of a young clerk accused of shooting a Seattle policeman comes to town, hires counsel, and blames liquor for his son's fall.
- The Reverend and the Editor Spar Over Grammar
A local minister demands public corrections for his column, leading to a feisty rebuttal from the newspaper's editorial staff.
- The Funeral Faux Pas
A daughter’s confusion during a somber Seattle funeral creates a moment of awkward levity in the midst of mourning.
- An Invitation to a Celestial Feast
An 1877 dispatch offers a rare, albeit patronizing, glimpse into the intricate social etiquette and lavish dining culture of Seattle’s Chinese mercantile class.