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67 stories matching ratifi
- Seattle's Schools on the Brink: The 1895 Debt Vote That Could Have Cut the School Year to Six Months
With floating warrants piling up and the tax base shrinking, School District No. 1 asked voters to ratify about $387,000 in debt and refinance it before the school term was cut from ten months to six.
- The Senate Ratifies the Treaties That Remade the Northwest
Ratified in 1859, the 1855 treaties with tribes across Oregon and Washington promised annuities, schools and mills while ceding millions of acres to settlement.
- The Railroad Men Had the Proxies. The Chamber’s Businessmen Had Had Enough.
A fight over a Chamber of Commerce nominating committee exposed how thoroughly Northern Pacific and T.R.P. men had captured Tacoma’s civic boosters—and how a reform faction decided to run its own ticket.
- The Price of Tacoma’s Railroad Growth
After a grueling two-year standoff, the city grants Jim Hill massive concessions in exchange for long-promised freight terminals and a new depot.
- The Corruption of the City Council
Mayor John N. Nickols of Tacoma is arrested and indicted for soliciting a $10,000 bribe to approve ordinances ratifying city contracts.
- Seattle's Schools Were Running on Borrowed Money—and the Bill Was Due
In 1895, the school board urged voters to ratify a stack of bonds and warrants incurred to build schools, warning that the alternative was a six-month school year—or repudiation.
- The Looming Treaty Conflict
Washington state leaders fear that a new proposed treaty between the U.S. and China might undermine local exclusion laws.
- Seattle’s Schools Ask Voters to Make the Ledger Balance
With teachers discounting their own salary warrants, the school board calls a special election to validate a $37,000 floating debt and put the district on a cash basis.
- Dirty Tricks, 1892: Yakima's Candidate for Governor Fights Back
A Seattle paper accused the Democratic nominee of fleeing his debts and defrauding orphans. Snively's supporters called it a Republican smear—and produced letters to prove it.
- Two Railroads Cut a Deal Through Ballard
The Ballard council ratified a track-swap agreement between the Seattle & Montana and the Lake Shore & Eastern, settling access to Shilshole Avenue and the mills.
- The Republican Rally for John McGraw
A boisterous night of cheering and song at the First Regiment Armory as Republicans ratify their gubernatorial ticket.
- The Privatization of Seattle's Waterfront
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad declares exclusive ownership over tide lands south of King Street, locking the public out of the harbor.
- The Railroad Draws a Line in the Mud: Seattle's Tidelands Declared Off-Limits
In a public notice, the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company claims every foot of Elliott Bay shore south of King Street — wet sand, deep water and all — and warns the public to keep off without written permission.
- The Price of Building a City: Seattle's 1892 Great Debt Gamble
Facing a mountain of unpaid warrants and legal judgments, the city government asked voters to ratify a massive bond issuance—and, for the first time, to approve a sweeping, 37-point overhaul of the municipal charter.
- They Refused the Money and the Land
In 1895, the Wenatchee Indians turned down a $36,000 payment and allotments, fearing it would erase their claim to a promised Mission Creek reservation.
- The Hatch Heirs' Victory: A Seattle Attorney Wins Half of a $400,000 Everett Tract
A federal appeals court upholds the rights of the children of Ezra Hatch—a Mexican War veteran who married an Indian woman—to 128 acres in the heart of Everett, and their lawyer, A.D. Warner, takes home half.
- Republican Convention Erupts Over Railroad Regulation
A bitter, chaotic fight at the state GOP convention sees Eastern Washington reformers crushed by the party machine.
- The President’s Directive at the Hotel Tacoma
A leaked account of a 1903 banquet reveals how Theodore Roosevelt settled a local political dispute over railroad regulation with a single, sharp rebuke.
- School Board Debt Scandal
Walla Walla residents head to the polls to rectify the school board's unauthorized debt, but skeptics wonder who really benefits from the higher interest rates.
- A Community Gift for a Sick Neighbor
When J. J. Heatherington fell ill with paralysis, his White Bluffs neighbors organized a subscription to buy him a cow, offering a lifeline of support in a time of crisis.
- A.P.A. Secures Victory in Ballard School Election
The American Protective Association flexes its political muscle in a high-turnout school board race.
- The Governor’s Dilemma: Can Washington Skip Congress to Become a State?
Territory’s top lawyers clash over whether the Governor can unilaterally call a constitutional convention to bypass federal delays in statehood.
- Washington's 1889 Convention Settles Prohibition, Corporations
Delegates in Olympia rush to finalize state constitutional provisions, including contentious debates over railroad commissions and alien land ownership.
- The Struggle for Sovereignty at Puyallup
As Congress debates the future of reservation lands, the Puyallup people mount a final, unified stand to retain control of their home.
- Pierce County Voters Reject Debt Validation
A tight election in Tacoma leaves the county's financial future in limbo after voters narrowly defeat a measure to ratify outstanding debt.