Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 13 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 16 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 23 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 22 |
| 1892 | 57 |
| 1893 | 65 |
| 1894 | 68 |
| 1895 | 89 |
| 1898 | 5 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1900 | 5 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 15 |
| 1904 | 21 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 8 |
| 1909 | 20 |
| 1910 | 6 |
| 1911 | 9 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 7 |
| 1915 | 7 |
| 1916 | 16 |
| 1917 | 10 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1923 | 8 |
| 1924 | 7 |
| 1925 | 1 |
591 stories matching reduc
- City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision
A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.
- King County Commissioners Slash Pay Instead of Staff
Facing pressure to retrench, county commissioners cut deputies’ salaries across the clerk, treasurer, auditor and prosecutor’s offices—while Treasurer Maple fought to keep all twelve of his clerks.
- The Great Seattle Police Reduction Debate
City officials and taxpayers clash over whether the Seattle police force should be downsized despite rising city tensions.
- The Great Sleeping Car Price Drop: Seattle Gets a Cheaper Ride from the East
Railroad executives confirm that first-class sleeping car fares from St. Paul to the Pacific Northwest will plummet from $13 to $10 starting April 10, signaling a broader trend of reduced travel costs for settlers and tourists alike.
- The $430,000 Question: King County's Treasurer Bond Fight
A taxpayers' committee demands commissioners reduce John Maple's bond and seat him as county treasurer, but the board says his sureties aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
- King County Lawmakers Want to Cut the Budget—and Railroad Rates
Ahead of the 1901 legislative session, King County’s representatives outline a shared agenda: slash state expenses, abolish useless commissions, lower railroad freight and passenger rates, and create a state grain inspector to protect farmers from brokers.
- The City’s Fiscal Turnaround
Seattle’s rapid debt reduction and infrastructure growth are hailed as a success story for low-tax policy.
- Olympia Cut Salaries and School Terms to Survive the Panic of 1893
Facing depression, Washington’s capital city slashed official pay, shortened the school year to six months, and bet on harbor work and a new capitol to pull itself out.
- Everett's Economy Drive — While the City Kept Paying Boston for Its Water
As officials cut six policemen to save money, the Labor Journal asked the obvious question: why pay a private company three times what publicly owned Bellingham pays for water and lights?
- Seattle's Library Reopens — With a Fee for Taking Books Home
After slashing salaries, trimming the light bill and a landlord's six months of free rent, the library commission reopens the doors under a 10-cent-a-month borrowing charge.
- The Day the Wharves Froze: Tacoma’s Lumber Workers Strike Over Wage Cuts
In March 1890, dockworkers at Tacoma’s massive timber mills walked off the job when owners slashed their monthly pay from $60 to $45. The resulting gridlock piled lumber so high it brought the entire industry to a halt.
- The Shingle War at Ballard
Workers at the Seattle Cedar Lumber and Stimson mills walk off the job to resist a wage-cutting campaign, testing the limits of non-union labor.
- Seattle’s 'Reform' Government Promised Clean Streets and Low Taxes. Two Years Later, the Bill Came Due.
A furious 1894 editorial accuses the Democratic city administration of breaking every campaign promise—keeping Whitechapel open, protecting gambling, and cutting day laborers while salaried officials kept their pay.
- Seattle's 1894 Budget Crisis: $89,787 Short and Cutting the Police
A comptroller's statement exposed a looming deficit, the council created a retrenchment committee, and eight patrolmen were dropped from the force—over the mayor's personal objection.
- The Saloon Was Their Paycheck: Everett Labor’s Fight Against Prohibition
In November 1910, Everett’s union locals — cigar makers, brewery workers, bartenders, cooks and waiters — urged a vote for license, warning that Prohibition would throw hundreds out of work and scatter their families.
- Labor Takes a Scalpel to Tacoma's Budget — and Calls Out the Boodlers
As Tacoma's finance committee hunts for cuts, the Trades Council arrives with its own salary schedule, demands depositories for the city's money, and accuses the Chamber of Commerce of encouraging 'unlawful appropriation.'
- The Tax Revolt of 1923
Legislators in Olympia face a political firestorm as they struggle to cut state spending while voters demand 'hands off' the schools and roads.
- Seattle’s First Great Austerity Drive
Facing municipal budget woes in 1885, the City Council slashed worker salaries and abandoned the investigation into a scandal involving the Police Chief.
- The Great Squeeze: How Timber Barons Cut Wages in Mason County
By consolidating operations and forcing loggers into company-controlled boarding houses, the industry’s giants effectively reduced worker pay while crushing independent competition.
- Farmers vs. the Railroads: The $3-a-Ton Fight in Olympia
At a legislative hearing, Washington's grain growers demand a cap on wheat freight rates — while Northern Pacific warns the bill will come straight out of its working men's wages.
- The Tyranny of the Tracks
An editorial from 1877 warns that railroad monopolies are forcing settlers and laborers into ruin by prioritizing corporate debt and high freight rates over the survival of the community.
- The Great Seattle Teacher Pay Cut of 1894
Facing public backlash, a school board director defends controversial salary slashes that hit the lowest-paid educators hardest.
- The $1-a-Month Man: Seattle Tries to Gut Its Plumbing Inspector
With theft charges pending against the nominee, delegates debate whether to abolish the office or just pay a competent inspector.
- The Treasurer Who Said Getting Elected Cost Too Much to Cut His Salary
County Treasurer Maple answered charges that he had broken a campaign pledge on office expenses with a defense of overwork, new tax laws and the price of his own election.
- Seattle's Free Kindergarten Prepares to Open Its Doors
A new charity school at the old South School on Main Street will offer free early education and train a new generation of kindergarten teachers.
Also about this, in other words
- Kennewick’s Wartime Red Cross Success
A local Red Cross supper and sale raises $215 for the war effort, highlighting community unity during the First World War.
- Kennewick Gains Official Red Cross Status
A newly formed local branch grants the community control over its own funds and operations for the war effort.