The State: Principles and Promises

The inaugural edition of The State newspaper was published Feb. 18, 1891 – 125 years ago. The Palmetto section Thursday presents edited excerpts from the first editorial published in The State. Included are the values endorsed by N.G. Gonzales, founding editor.

To the people of South Carolina, The State promises:

That it will be an independent paper – independent in its judgment and its utterances, holding no man exempt from just criticism, and none beneath just praise.

That it will be a fair paper – giving to its opponents entry to its columns wherever they have a grievance and are willing to express it decently and tersely.

To the citizens of Columbia, The State pledges a friendship ... It is of Columbia, by Columbia and for Columbia, as it is of, by and for South Carolina.

From this time forward it will speak, when occasion arises, on state politics, and when it sees a wrong-doer it will strike him hard. But it does not propose to invent cases of wrong-doing ... To promise more than this would be truckling. To do less would be unfair.

As a newspaper, The State trusts that it approximates the expectations of its friends. It has been designed to be the best newspaper ever published in Columbia, but its readers must be the judges of its success in that regard.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "The State: Principles and Promises."