The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-06-29

record of 30 years in the senate of the
United Statcs--or -as he pompously ex-
pressed it six Roman lustruns be
"a marker to him
Luck! In 1874 he wanted to be gov
ernor of Missouri and came vrr;- near hay
Ing his hearts desire g:atificd in that re-
gard. He lacked only; one sixth of one
vote of securing the nomination. which
was equivalent to an election. Perhaps
that is the closest shave on record for !,
great office. The history of the governor
ship of Missouri Is the quccrcst and most
lncxplicablo chapter in the annals of Amor
lean politics. 1t is worthy of the profound
est consideration of the whole school of
philosophers. In every other state in the
Union tho govcrnorship is used rs step
ping stono to higher prcfcrmcnt-to tho
United States senate, tho cabinet, tho fed
eral supreme bench, foreign ministcrships,
embassadorships, the vice presidency and
even the presidency itself But in Nilsson
RI, by immcmorial custom, tho governor
ship Is considered as tho top round in tho
ladder, the jumping OFF place, the ultima
Thule. Missouri has had governors great
and small, governors good, bad and indif-
fcrent, but their fato is the same. Over
tho doors of tho stately gubcrnatorial man
sion at Jefferson City there ought to be
fcrno:' All hope abandon 20 who enter
here
"Only ono governor has really survived
1t, and that was Trusten Polk in antcbcl-
lum times He would not run for govern
or until all the party leaders had agreed
to make him United States senator, which
they did. He pulled tho party through,
and they kept their promise to him He
served rs governor only 81 days The his
tory of the govcrnorship of Missouri has
always reminded me of that tale In the
book of job, where the man of w and his
friends were fcasting and u messenger
broke In upon their mcrrimcnt with tho
grcwsomo intelligence that there had been
great storm In which all tho sons OF Job
md their retainers had been killed and no
alono was left to tell tho tale
AT any rate, Cockrcll wanted to be
governor and was baked in his ambition
by only fraction Of vote, but miss Is
ms good ms mile, so wo are informed by
somc ancient proverb maker. He ought to
thank God every night for that lucky es-
cape. Had ho succeeded he would in all
probability have had before him two years
In the governors Office and after that OBJ
livion. His defeat was blessing in dis
guisc and laid the foundations of his for
tunes. 1t is passing strange what small
and seemingly trivial things determine the
dcstinics of men and even of nations
by tho accident of being the last man
to embark on IL steamboat after the affair
Mt Belmont General Grant was started on
the road to Appomattox and the White
House. by flaying Sir Robert Peel on tho
night when he announced his FREQ trade
policy in the house of commons. BENJAMIN
Disracli took the first step in that marvel
Gus career which dazzlcd the world and
which ended in tho premiership and an
earldom. Because his uncomfortable
horse ran away and carried him straight
into the enemies lines in some obscure
battle In south Asia, enabling him to cap
turc the commanding general, Arthur
Wellesley subsequently added Waterloo to
the long limo of English victories, became
the Iron Duke and sleeps among the stored
great in Westminster abbey. BY reason of
the fact that his pistol failed to fire on the
occasions when he attempted suicide young
Robert Give concluded that God intended
him for great things and lived to create
the British empire in India, to become
peer OF the realm and to write his name In
characters of blood high upon the roll of
English speaking captains.
- But 20 return. to General Cockrell
During the campaign for the nomination
he repeatedly declared that if Hardin, Col
man or anybody else defeated him no voice
would be lifted louder and no hat thrown
higher than his for his successful compcti-
tor. So when Charles II. Hardin was
nominated ant! Cockrell was called on fer
speech he good naturcdly referred to his
promise, and then and there as the In
dictmcnts say, threw his big white SLOUGH
hat to the lofty ceiling of the convention
hall and gave IL lusty rebel yell which
started the catfish in the Missouri river.
That performance made him senator, and
no state ever had better one.
ut is said the great King Cyrus knew
Al, - II. 4