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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1917 | 1 |
44 stories matching temptat
- An Orphan's Chance
A young boy, caught roaming the streets of Tacoma, is given a second chance on a farm.
- The Unsung Toll of the 19th-Century Newsroom
A sermon reprinted in the Seattle press reveals the brutal reality of working as a journalist in 1877—from midnight shifts and 'fetid alley-ways' to the constant temptation of artificial stimulants.
- The Hypocrisy of the Saloon Petition
The local editor lashes out at the moral contradiction of community members who sing hymns in church on Sunday while petitioning for a new saloon on Monday.
- A New Refuge for Working Girls
Concerned citizens organize to protect young women arriving in Seattle from the moral and economic perils of life alone in the city.
- Thief Caught Red-Handed at the Lansing Hotel
A young man looking for a room is thwarted by a vigilant saloonkeeper who catches him searching through hotel belongings.
- The Battle for the Mayor’s Office
Gambling syndicates attempt to oust Mayor J.T. Ronald after he refuses to legalize or ignore their operations in Seattle.
- The Struggle of the Sailors' Home
While Seattle’s churches held regular Sunday services, a pressing plea for a new facility on the wharves highlighted the neglect faced by the city's waterfront laborers.
- The Peril of Backyard Marksmanship
A Deep Creek Falls woman’s attempt to shoot a hawk ends in a gruesome accident that serves as a cautionary tale about home gun safety.
- The Mayor's Uncertain Future
Mayor J. T. Ronald faces a swirl of rumors as political factions battle over his potential resignation and the city's gambling policy.
- The Deputy Auditor Who Wept for His Young Wife
A Spokane County official admits embezzlement, gets two years—and promises he'll be out in eighteen months.
- The Struggle to Become a Citizen and a Tradesman
A legislator argues that the Donation Land Law is forcing tradesmen into failed farming careers, harming the region's economy.
- Jailer's Rounds Foil Burglars Digging Through Cell Wall
Two burglars nearly tunneled out of the King County Jail, thwarted only by a sharp-eared jailer and an unfortunate musical choice.
- The Arrest of Addie Woodward
A young Seattle woman is found cross-dressed and intoxicated in a Pacific Avenue saloon, sparking a moralizing headline in the local press.
- A Desperate Plea Against the City’s Gambling Dens
A woman struggles to protect her family from the unchecked gambling houses that thrive in the shadow of Tacoma's railroad industry.
- Why Everett’s Unions Need a Watchdog
The Labor Journal argues that without a business agent, small-scale non-union work will erode the gains made by organized labor in a rapidly expanding Everett.
- The Great Debate: Where Should the University of Washington Live?
As Seattle contemplated the future of the state's flagship university, President Charles Eliot of Harvard weighed in on the risks of isolated campuses versus the 'liberal atmosphere' of city centers.
- Zoe Gayton Bets the World She Can Walk It — Then Cheats at the First Tunnel
A week out of Seattle on her round-the-world wager, the pedestrian record-breaker was told she could not walk the two miles of the Northern Pacific's Stampede Tunnel. A locomotive pulled up. Everybody swore secrecy. A newspaper man heard anyway.
- The Price of Rebuilding Seattle After the Great Fire
As the city rises from the ashes of the 1889 Great Fire, editors urge property owners to resist the temptation of 'fire traps' and prioritize permanent, safe construction over quick profits.
- The Feathered Truce: How Seattle High School Girls Promised to Save Birds
In a rare moment of progressive activism in 1900, students at Livingston Avenue High School pledged to stop decorating their hats with the plumage of songbirds, responding to a plea from a local ornithology advocate.
- 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 Wheat Gamble: A Warning to Inland Empire Farmers
Former State College President E. A. Bryan cautions local farmers against abandoning diverse crops for the high-stakes 'wheat gamble' driven by war-time market trends.
- When a Railroad Pass Was a Bribe in a Pocket
A Tacoma editor demands Washington's lawmakers enforce the constitutional ban on free train passes, arguing the 'courtesy' bought influence one legislator at a time.
- Boss Bennett’s Moving Birthplace
A Tacoma political boss keeps relocating John H. McGraw’s birthplace—Bermuda one week, New Brunswick the next—as a Seattle paper cries foul in the 1892 governor’s race.
- The Integrity Test of 1876
A young dressmaker, struggling against the poverty of pioneer-era Seattle, faces a life-changing moral dilemma when she discovers a hidden fortune in an old waistcoat.
- The Ethics of the Sting
A century before modern debates on police entrapment, Washington courts were already grappling with the line between preventing crime and creating it.