The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-11-09
ANOTHER CONVERT.
GOVERNOR o'FERRALL DECIDES IN
FAVOR OF SOUND MONEY.

Ali the Commercial Nations of the World
Are on O Gold Basis-The Free Coinage
of Silver Would Cause S~tagnation of
, Trade In the United States.
Governor O'Ferrall of Virginia adds
another name to the already long list
Of prominent men who have changed
their position ON the silver question aft
er long and careful study. His recent
four column open letter in the Rich
mond Dispatch will give cold comfort
to the friends Of silver" We reprint
the following extracts from it:
81 am opposed to the free coinage Of
silver il the United States except
through an international agreement
with the great commercial countries of
the world.
81 do not believe this country alone
can maintain a parity between gold and
silver at any fixed ratio.
"We are strong in resources and in
all the elements that 20 to make a ma
tioE powerful, but we are not strong
enough to live within ourselves, trade
only with ourselves, raise and manufac-
ture all we need, consume and use all we
produce and make, import nothing. ex-
port nothing and have no commercialre-
latiOns with other countries. To deal,
then, with other countries u money
must be measured by their standard
when we are in their markets and the
principal countries whose markets We
seek and with which we must deal in
selling and buying have a gold standard.
sit may be surprising to some to
know it, yet it is al in~controvertible
fact that gold standard countries furnish
67b per cent of the international conf
merce of the world, and that about 81
per cent Of the exports of the United
States are to countries having Il gold
standard, and about so per cent Of our
imports are from countries having the
same standard.
"Shall we cut loose il u monetary
system from these countries of such
commercial power and attach ourselves
to the small and weak nationaIities TO
which we sell scarcely anything, and
from which our purchases are absolute
" insignificant?
There Is no country that has = dOu-
bic monetary standard. Wherever there
is free silver coinage, silver monometal-
lism prevails. All countries with Il gold
standard utilize silver as far as it can
be kept. at a parity with gold. That is,
gold countries use both metals as mon
- EI1rpr .or,,,+T5C- g,1- r51,-ar Tl,a -,
dependent free coinage Of silver in the
United States would place her on a sill
yer standard and in direct a~ntagonism
70 the standard Of the countries with
which she does nearly all Of her bust
ness.
will the United States lower her
crest, withdraw from the strong sister
hood of nations which whiters the seas
with the sails of commerce and unite
her monetary fortunes with the weak
combination whose craft are scarcely
ever seen and whose products and fruits
constitute so small q percentage i'll the
grand total:
"Will she continue to stand with
Germany, Austria, France and England,
or link her destiny with China, Japan
and Mexico?
"These are my views, stated briefly
and concisely as possible.
"FOr the reasons given l am opposed
TO the doctrine of free and unlimited
silver coinage without interpational
agreement with the principal CONNER
cial countries Of the world. We cannot
adopt a monetary system different from
these great nationalities and force them
TO recognize it. We cannot float a 90
cent silver dollar as q sound dollar IA
this country, much less III the markets
of Germany, France, Austria or Eng
land, with whom our interests are close
" identified. There are many things
We a do regardless Of the opinions or
wishes Of other lands. We can amend
0E change our system of government,
manage our internal affairs and enact
laws to govern own people without
let or hindrance from any foreign source,
but there IS II thing we cannot do.
We cannot cOerce other peoples and
lands to recognize any money we may
see proper to engrave or coin us a me
dunn of exchange between them and us.
As well might we attempt to change
the laws Of gravitatiG or make water
run up hill.
81 am for a sound dollar, and what I
mean by a sound dollar is one that will
pass for 100 cents and be as good as any
other dollar anywhere within the limits
of the civilized world. Gold is that dol
lar now. Silver may also be if kept on
a parity with gold. But this can only
be done by international agreement.
What l mean by a sound dollar is one
that the farmer, the mechanic and the Ia
boring man can use with a purchasing
power of 100 cents and buy as much
with 1t as any other dollar. What I
mean by a sound dollar is one that its
holder may lay away to buy a home, save
for a rainy day or provide for himself
in old age with absolute certainty that
it will be as good as any other dollar
when he wants to use it. Gold is that
dollar. Silver cannot be unless By inter
national agreement it is made equiva-
lent to a gold dollar.
81 am for a sound dollar for the poor
as well as for the rich man. I shall
never consent to 8 monetary system
which will place it in the power of the
rich MAJ to hoard his gold and pay his
poor creditor in 4 deprecated dollar"