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27 stories matching sane
- The Trial of Neil Sweeney: Sane or Mad?
A Seattle probate court spends an afternoon determining the mental state of a man accused of madness, highlighting the precarious nature of asylum discharges and personal liberty in 1887.
- Puyallup Man Re-committed to State Asylum Following Breakdown
A young man who struggled after a wilderness ordeal is returned to Western State Hospital after his mother reports fear for her safety.
- Federal Judge Hanford Sentences Coxeyite Protesters
Twenty-six members of the Coxeyite industrial army face jail time after seizing a Northern Pacific train in defiance of federal court orders.
- The Politics of the Red Light
Spokane's mayor refuses to suppress the 'social evil,' arguing that regulation in a restricted district is the only realistic approach to human nature.
- A Woman Defies Her Husband’s Attempts at Institutionalization
A Colfax woman successfully defends her sanity after her husband attempts to have her committed to an asylum.
- The Double Standard of Seattle Justice
An editorial challenges the public sympathy afforded to a female slayer, arguing that the law must remain blind to gender in cases of homicide.
- The Campaign for a 'Sane Fourth' of July
A growing national movement pushes to replace dangerous fireworks with organized pageants and parades to curb Independence Day carnage.
- The Ghost Railroad Through Cowlitz Pass
Booster papers are peddling impossible surveys for a transcontinental line that exists only in the imagination of speculators.
- The Tragic End of a Traveling Grifter
A notorious card shark is declared insane by the courts after a life spent deceiving folks from British Columbia to Virginia City.
- Everett Labor Unions Denounce Arrest of McNamara
Local labor councils pass scathing resolutions condemning the abduction of union officials in the Los Angeles Times bombing case.
- The Political Shapeshifting of Colonel Winston
A vitriolic profile of Colonel Patrick Henry Winston and his transition from Republican federal attorney to Populist firebrand.
- The Streetcar Strike Was Only the Beginning
After forcing the Stone-Webster corporation to yield, Everett’s organized labor sets its sights on public control of utilities.
- The Trial of Amelia Tuttle
A young woman in Houghton is dragged into court by a neighbor on charges of insanity, revealing a tangled web of rural gossip, romantic rivalry, and petty jealousy.
- Love Letters and Lunacy Charges
A wealthy Eastern Washington rancher faces a lunacy trial sparked by a long-standing family feud involving forged love letters.
- The Widow of Endicott Shoots Her Son-in-Law
After her daughter eloped, a wealthy widow and old resident of the Endicott neighborhood is jailed for the shooting of her son-in-law.
- City Hall Bans the Big Firecrackers
A heated debate over fireworks and public safety ends in a compromise measured by the inch.
- The Tragic End of a Seattle Pioneer
A successful ship carpenter, unsettled by a head injury and the pressures of the local real estate market, is found in a slough near Bothell after his second attempt at suicide.
- Tragedy in the Fields: A Family Destroyed by Mental Illness
A young man, recently released from an asylum, murders his mother and brother in a sudden, violent break near Bridgeport.
- Everett City Hall Clears Path for Public Water System
Mayor Hartley assures voters that city debt refinancing will precede a municipal water survey, easing tensions at a local ward meeting.
- The Eccentricity Defense: Sarah McDonough Fights for Autonomy
A Seattle woman fights to keep control of her property after local officials attempt to commit her to an asylum.
- Fireworks Panic at Wright Park
A lack of basic safety measures at Tacoma's Fourth of July celebration nearly leads to a deadly stampede.
- The City Council's Yellow Flag Fiasco
When Seattle officials passed a health ordinance to curb contagion, they refused to apply it to a notorious local brothel, sparking a public outcry against political hypocrisy.
- The Wife-Slasher Who Tried to Play Insane—and the Seattle Jury That Didn’t Buy It
McGee feigned madness so badly that the jury convicted him on the first ballot. A Steilacoom asylum doctor explained why three months of observation found no insanity—only a terrified wife.
- The Horse Thief Who Challenged the Whole Jail to a Fight
Frank Clinefelter escaped during a jailbreak, got recaptured, and now the sheriff wants him declared insane—while he shadowboxes and calls out convicts from Cell No. 6.
- 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.