The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-10-18
ANOTHER CONVERT.
GOVERNOR O'FERRALL DECIDES IN
FAVOR OF SOUND MONEY.


Are on a Gold Basis-The Free Coinage
of Silver Would Cause stagnation 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:
~ am opposed to the free coinage Of
silver in 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 parity between gold and
silver at any fixed ratio.
"We are strong in resources and III
all the elements that go to make ma
| ton 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 commercial re-
lations with other countries. TO deal,
| then, with other countries our 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.
cit may be surprising to some to
know it, yet it is an incontrovertible
fact that gold standard countries furnish
SIN per cent Of the international COM
MERGE Of the world, and that about "a
per cent Of the exports Of the United
| States are to countries having gold
standard, and about 80 per cent of our
imports are from countries having the
same standard.
"Shall we cut loose in our monetary
system from these countries Of such
commercial power and attach ourselves
to the small and weak nationalities to
which we sell scarcely anything, and
from which our purchases are absolute-
ly insignificant?
"There is no country that has dou-
BILE monetary standard. Wherever there
is free silver coinage, silver monometal-
lism prevails. All countries with gold
standard utilize silver as far as it can
be kept at parity with gold. That is,
gold countries use both, metals as mon
ey; silver countries only silver. The in
| dependent free coinage Of silver in the
I United States would place her on a sill
yer standard and in direct antagonism
/ to 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 whitens the seas
with the sails Of commences and unite
her monetary fortunes with the weak
combination whose craft are scarcely
ever seen and whose products and fruits
constitute SO small percentage IN the
grand total?
"Wiu 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 nm opposed
to the doctrine of free and unlimited
silver coinage without international
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 Scat so
cent silver dollar as sound dollar in
this country, much less in tlse markets
Of Germany, France, Austria; or Eng
| land, with whom our interestsiare close
| ly identified. There are many things
we can do regardless of the opinions or
wishes Of other lands We can arnend
or change our system Of government,
manage our internal affairs and enact
laws to govern our own peoplb without
let or hindrance from any foreign source,
but there is one thing we cannot do.
We cannot coerce other peoples and
lands to recognize any money we may
see proper to engrave or coin as me-
dunn of exchange. between them and us.
AS we'll might We attempt to change
the laws Of gravitation or make water
| run up MIL.
II am for sound dollar, and what i
mean by sound dollar is, one that will
pass for 100 centsand 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 mean by sound dollar is one
that the farmer, the mechanic and the Ia
boring man can use with purchasing
power of 100 cents and buy as much
with it as any other dollar. What
mean by sound dollar is one that its
holder may lay away to buy home, save
for rainy day or provide for himself
in old age with absolute certainty that
it will be as good as any other dollar
when Inc wants to use it. Gold is that
dollar. Silver cannot be unless by inter.
national agreement it is made equiva'
lent to gold dollar.
81 am for sound dollar for the poor
man as we'll as for the erich man. l shall
never consent to monetary system
which will place it in the power OF the
rich man to hoard his gold and pay hi.
Il A Ill .s.aN