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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 8 |
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39 stories matching racket
- The Spokane Racket Over Male Attire
When an amateur actress faced a local scandal for wearing pants on stage, the press stepped in to defend the choice as both traditional and modest.
- The Racket on Tacoma Avenue
Local business owners demand the streetcar company silence its noisy, 'flat-wheeled' cars.
- Prisoners Stage Great Escape Attempt
Seven inmates caught tunneling out of North Yakima city jail and sent packing by local authorities.
- The Coal-Throwing Landlady of Third Street
A quiet complaint about a noisy apartment turns into an assault charge after a tenant is struck by a thrown piece of coal.
- The Lamp-Explosion Racket at Snoqualmie
Confidence men peddling a miracle powder to stop lamp explosions are run out of town after a local skeptic replicates their 'scientific' trick without the product.
- The McKinley Tariff Sham
A political critique on how proposed protectionist duties on farm goods served industrial monopolies rather than the rural population.
- The Shadowy 'Sailor Boarding House' Racket
Diplomats gather in Tacoma to confront the exploitative system of boarding house masters who held a monopoly on crew procurement for Pacific ships.
- A Circus Brawl Breaks Out in Chehalis
A local deputy sheriff attempts to arrest a carnival worker for short-changing a farmer, only to be beaten by a mob of show employees.
- The Coal-Throwing Lodger
A domestic dispute in a third-floor rooming house leads to a trial over property and manners.
- A Labor Day Skirmish at the Salvation Army
A reveler celebrating Labor Day early finds himself in a brawl after a nap at the Salvation Army barracks.
- The Price of a 'Wide Open' Town
A citizen accuses the County Attorney of enabling a graft scheme that granted a single operator a lucrative monopoly on slot machines while allegedly shaking down other business owners.
- Smuggling Across the Border
A new team of customs officials is struggling to curb the flow of undocumented Chinese laborers entering the U.S. through the northern boundary, as local agitators reportedly run wild.
- The Price of Being a 'Wide Open' Town
Tacoma’s city officials are formalizing a system of monthly 'bail' payments for gambling house owners, effectively legalizing the industry through a protection racket.
- Anti-Chinese Discrimination on the Sound
A prominent merchant is insulted and denied service on a passenger steamer, exposing the growing intolerance of the era.
- The Laundry Con Artists
Two men posing as city water works employees extorted a Chinese laundry owner, sparking a police crackdown on a recurring racket.
- New Year's Eve Brawl Leaves Landlady Stabbed
A festive celebration at a Jackson Street boarding house turned violent when a dispute between two women resulted in a serious stabbing.
- A Lamp, a Three-Story Frame, and Two Families in the Street
A predawn fire at Bismarck and Hanks streets in Lake Union leaves the Krieger and Masly families uninsured and out of their belongings.
- The Jury That Sang for Its Supper
After a heated, near-violent deliberation over an attorney's fee, a sequestered jury finally reached a verdict—but only after singing 'Home, Sweet Home' to calm their nerves.
- Seattle's Fruit Inspection Racket: Dumping California Produce to Protect Local Markets
A dispute over British Columbia's fruit inspection leads The Ranch to admit that Puget Sound inspectors have used the law to condemn California and Oregon fruit, easing market congestion and raising questions about regulatory abuse.
- The Unmaking of a Mayor: Corruption and Scandal in 1885 Seattle
Ahead of the municipal elections, the 'Post-Intelligencer' launched a blistering attack on the incumbent mayor, calling for his ouster over accusations of police negligence, gambling racketeering, and moral failings.
- A Pulpit Punch-Up at the Epworth League
A church dispute over meeting protocol ends in a physical confrontation and a stinging verbal jab.
- The Great Ellensburg Map Scandal
A bitter, humorous local feud between North Yakima and Ellensburg reveals the lengths to which frontier boosters went to lure railroads and settlers with 'imaginary' geography.
- The Terrors of Belltown: Youth Gangs and Civic Chaos in 1870
Before it was a bustling neighborhood, Belltown was a site of 'villainous' youth pranks and neighborhood disturbances that left residents clamoring for order.
- The Right-of-Way Racket: How One Man Tried to Sell Seattle's Waterfront Twice
A legal battle in King County reveals the chaotic land grabs of early Seattle, where a single deed could claim ownership of deep-water access rights across the entire waterfront.
- Rabid Coyotes Terrorize Richland Farmers
A bold coyote invades a local ranch, biting livestock and triggering a community-wide alarm over a potential rabies outbreak.