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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 23 |
| 1898 | 1 |
31 stories matching vanter
- Seven Votes Decide an Office: The Ballots Are 'Indescribable'
A contested Seattle election heads to the state supreme court, where a recount has whittled a 78-vote plurality down to seven — and counsel warns that some ballots defy description.
- Seven Votes Decide the Sheriff: Judge Langley Tosses Out Fraud Charges and Seats Van de Vanter
After a six-week ballot-by-ballot recount, a Seattle judge ruled that clumsy election officers could not disfranchise King County voters—and confirmed the Republican sheriff by a seven-vote margin.
- Two Offices Hang on a Pile of Double-Marked Ballots
Lawyers spend a full day before Judge Langley fighting over the sheriff's and coroner's seats, as Moyer and Van de Vanter trade technicalities over initials, stamps and hundreds of spoiled ballots.
- The Borrowed Buggy and the Secret Flight to Sumner
A woman hires a horse and buggy for a short ride, but instead takes a man and a child on a 30-mile journey to Sumner, where they are arrested as supposed horse thieves.
- A Missed Deadline for the Rainier Avenue Line
A failed payment leads to the forfeiture of earnest money for a local electric railway.
- 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 Horse, the Furniture, and the Sumner Theft
An abandoned horse and a cache of furniture tie a Sumner arrest to a grand-larceny investigation.
- The Widow, the Prisoner, and a Near-Miss on Yesler Hill
Mrs. Harry L. Fraser demanded to face Paul Page, the man accused of killing her husband in a Northern Hotel barroom—while Page was being arraigned a few blocks away.
- The Case of the Tampered Transcript
A legal battle over a contested election takes a dark turn when unauthorized documents appear in the official court record.
- The Senator Caught in the Act
A Spokane politician attempts a quiet wedding in Tacoma, only to be ambushed by his colleagues.
- A Railroad, a Tide-Land Tract, and an Elevator Go on the Auction Block
A bond debt forced the sheriff to sell the Terminal Railway Elevator Company's tracks, tide land, West Seattle elevator and warehouse, and franchise at the courthouse steps.
- The Sheriff’s Swift Justice at Commencement Bay
After a horse was stolen from Georgetown, the sheriff tracked the thieves to a camp near the Indian reservation and recovered the animal in less than 24 hours.
- The Ballot Box Was Too Full in Franklin
Populists brought witnesses to court to show that votes in Franklin precinct were pushed, shaken and crammed into an overflowing box—irregularity, they argued, even if not outright fraud.
- The Bondholders Take the Terminal Elevator
After years of litigation, the Seattle Terminal Railway Elevator and Warehouse properties are sold at sheriff's sale to the bondholders for $34,178.66, clearing title and opening the way for larger wheat shipments.
- The Battle for the White River Valley
Farmers rally against a plan to divert the White River, fearing a return to the devastating floods that ruined their land.
- Olympia’s Capitol Fight: Donate the Land or Lose the Statehouse
A late-night Senate debate over the new state capitol turned on eleven acres, a $150,000 land scheme and whether Olympia should pay to keep the building—before the bill passed to applause.
- The Elderberry Wine Defense: How a Contested Election Collapsed in Laughter
Populists dropped their challenge to Commissioner Nickerson, but testimony in the sheriff and coroner contests turned up sailors voting under protest and a lunch bag of elderberry wine at a Franklin polling place.
- They Ran Him to Earth at Kent
After a jailbreak and a three-day manhunt, the Northwest's most wanted outlaw died in a roadside gunfight — but not before wounding one of the deputies who cornered him.
- The Burglar Who Hid Behind a Show Case—and the Shoes That Gave Him Away
Richard Ford, a notorious clothing-house thief, got out of the King County Jail for four hours. A neighbor's sharp eyes and a pair of shoes ended the run.
- The Treasurer's Bond Begins to Crumble
Two surety names vanish from John W. Maple's $400,000 bond, and more may follow as King County waits for its prosecutor.
- The First Ward Has Not Yet Voted: A Rowdy King County Convention Picks Its Ticket
In 1894, King County Republicans packed Seattle’s Armory, fought over a contested First Ward delegation, hissed down rivals, and nominated a full county ticket in one raucous night.
- County Officials Take Voluntary Pay Cuts to Weather Hard Times
With business stagnant and fees falling off, the auditor and clerk cut their own salaries. Commissioner Heaton wants the treasurer to follow.
- Deadlock in Olympia: Allen Four Votes Short as Legislators Flee
The Washington state legislature remains gridlocked over the election of a U.S. Senator, with Senator Allen stuck at 41 votes and political maneuvering turning farcical.
- The Railroad Freight Fight That Nearly Forced a Special Session
Farmers and reformers pushed the Anderson railroad bill to a Senate showdown, while Gov. McGraw threatened to keep lawmakers in Olympia until freight rates came down.
- 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.