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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 13 |
| 1862 | 11 |
| 1863 | 8 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 44 |
| 1877 | 45 |
| 1878 | 37 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 9 |
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 44 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 34 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 16 |
| 1888 | 36 |
| 1889 | 57 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 61 |
| 1892 | 116 |
| 1893 | 104 |
| 1894 | 151 |
| 1895 | 38 |
| 1899 | 27 |
| 1900 | 4 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 71 |
| 1904 | 59 |
| 1905 | 11 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 55 |
| 1910 | 10 |
| 1911 | 11 |
| 1912 | 7 |
| 1914 | 17 |
| 1915 | 24 |
| 1916 | 51 |
| 1917 | 30 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 10 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1925 | 6 |
1,286 stories matching servic
- A Walla Walla Pastor Defends the Prison's Sunday 'Boxing Bouts'
Rector W. Law writes to defend Warden Coblenz and the penitentiary's Sunday programs, insisting the glove contests that scandalized critics were gentler than a schoolyard game.
- The Mail Comes to the Farm: White Bluffs Wins Rural Free Delivery
Washington's Post Office Department orders a tri-weekly carrier route out of White Bluffs to begin February 2, 1917 — provided every rancher on the line gets a box up in time.
- The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.
- The Northern Pacific Offers Strikers a Last Chance—With Strings Attached
General Manager Kendrick says former employees can reapply after the Pullman strike, but only if they were not leaders or agitators—and they will rank behind the men hired to replace them.
- The 1909 City Hall Power Grab That Tacoma Voters Were Told to Stop
A fiery Times editorial urged citizens to pack the council chamber against charter amendments it said would gut civil service, raise council pay, and hand city jobs to political loyalists.
- Nine Votes to Kill Civil Service—Tacoma's Council Tries to Gut the Charter
At a special meeting, nine councilmen back a plan to let the mayor fire city workers at will; reformists need to hold two more votes to stop it.
- The Rule That Told Workingmen to Keep Out of Politics
Everett's Labor Journal goes after Roosevelt's civil service order, arguing that machinists and mechanics in government shops are muzzled while partisan appointees run the machine — and quotes Grover Cleveland back at the administration to prove it.
- The Citizen Soldiers Rewrite the Rules of the Guard
Officers of the First Regiment, National Guard of Washington, pick apart a proposed military code — deciding who can drum a man out of a company, setting the adjutant general's salary, and asking why the troops who put down last summer's riots are still waiting to be paid.
- King County's Almshouse 'Vindication' Came With a Taxpayer Bill
A committee appointed to investigate charges against King County commissioners billed the public for its own defense—including $10-a-day duty and a detective sent after a newspaper leak.
- King County Auditor Accused of Padding His Salary with Extra Jobs
A letter to the editor details how Auditor Frank Twichell drew extra pay as purchasing agent, building-fund agent, and legislative lobbyist—all while collecting his regular salary.
- The Pioneer Pastor Who Counted Seattle's Weddings and Funerals
Rev. John F. Damon arrived in 1869 and spent a quarter-century marrying and burying Seattle—often without enough in return to cover his car fare.
- The Federal Jobs That Came With Life Tenure
A new civil-service order gives Puget Sound customs officers—from deputies to private secretaries—protection that even a change of administration may not break.
- The Spoils System Must Go
In an 1880 letter of acceptance, a presidential candidate lays out a radical vision to dismantle political patronage and return to a government based on merit rather than party service.
- The Clerk Who Refused to Leave Office—and the Books That Wouldn't Balance
King County and former clerk W. B. Spencer submit a long-running dispute over fees, continuances and a disputed shortage to Judge Humes for a final ruling.
- The Postmaster’s Patronage Problem: Civil Service Warns Port Townsend
Postmaster McNamara threatened to replace Port Townsend’s post office staff with loyal Democrats. The Civil Service Commission warned that patronage could cost him personally—and cited a Pennsylvania postmaster who paid $600 out of pocket.
- City Council Faces Backlash Over Civil Service Repeal
Tacoma’s city council attempts to dismantle the civil service system in favor of the old patronage 'spoils' system, sparking an immediate call for voter registration and reform.
- The Battle for the Puyallup Line
Commuters in Fern Hill join forces with the South End Improvement Club to protest service cuts on the Puyallup streetcar line.
- A Funeral Crowd Calls for a Killer's Neck
Thousands filed past the bodies of Philipina Miller and her child as Seattle police rushed the accused murderer to the county jail to stop a lynching.
- The Mail is Broken in Seattle
Citizens and businesses are forced to pay for private clerks because the federal postal service cannot keep up with the city's explosive growth.
- The Partisan’s Price: How Civil Service Reform Cost a Delegate His Seat
In 1876, King County’s Republican establishment turned on Judge O. Jacobs for refusing to hand out federal jobs to party loyalists, revealing the brutal mechanics of the spoils system in early Washington Territory.
- Jailed on a Ten-Word Telegram: A New Arrival Fights an Arson Charge From Manitoba
Charles F. Ireland moved his wife and children to Puget Sound to start over. The morning after he landed, a Manitoba 'government detective' wired ten words, and he was locked up with 'convicted criminals of every hue.' He wants Seattle to hear his side.
- The Cable Car King vs. The Free Press
A transit monopoly manager attempts to bully a newspaper into silence by pulling advertisements after they report on poor service.
- The Battle to Protect Civil Service Reform
Tacoma’s City Council faces a showdown as political machines push to dismantle merit-based municipal hiring.
- The Mail Monopoly Hurting Washington’s Pioneers
Settlers in Snoqualmie and Fall City faced weeks of delays because a contractor prioritized convenience over the needs of isolated rural communities.
- Seattle Merchants Fight to Keep Their Own Revenue Service
The Chamber of Commerce rallies to block a congressional bill that would fold the independent Revenue Marine Service into the Navy.