The age-herald., 1897-11-14
MIR COCERELL OF MISSOURI The Senator Who is EverybOdy's
 Friend in His State. HE KNOWS THOUSANDS
His Letters to Constituents Readiness to Do FavOrs-HOmely Ways That Take
 With the Farmers He Visits.
From the New York Sun.

St. Louis, Nov 12.-Francis Marion Cockrell, of Missouri, senior senator on the democratic side, is a candidate for reelection. Gen. Cockrell is not losing any sleep over the outcome of his candd- dacy, because there IS nobody in the inn perial state of Missouri, as the friends of that commonwealth call it, who in- tends to be a candidate against him. The reason for this is that Cockrell has a mighty hold upon his people.
 The man who has never seen the senior senator from Missouri ought to know something about Cockrells personality, for his physical qualities have much in common with his character. Gen. Cock rell is tall. He is slightly stopped of shoulders, and has no sign of superfiuous tissue, front, back, or side. He is fatll- CT shambling as to gait, and his wearing apparel is never within three seasons of the mode. All of the summer that just ended he went about the state with loose alpaca coat that was nowhere if. His trousers were baggy at all points and his waistcoat was not wholly but toned HIS head was always carried quite bit in advance of his shoulder S. and his speFse beard, more luxuriant at the chin than elsewhere, Was not any heater in arrangement than the locks that stood awry on the top of his broad head. The general talked great deal
 but when he was not talking or snol:- ing he stood about with his mouth open, very much after the fashion of the youth from the country at his first circus
 ilts description may brllg the reaier N lro is net fully informed as to the geii- eral~to the belief that the ssnor senator from Missouri is not a prepussessing in- dtviduaL The man who knows the sen Gt0r well W1fll rQP0pniza al Ina iptc ,,f descrir ton, but will hasten to show how they are redeemed by almost uncoanta- ble good qualities-qualities that have placed the general whsne he Is and kept him thera.
 There is no member of the upper house Of congress who has kept so close to his people through long term of years as tf'is senator. For twenty-two years he has lived al Washington as the senator from Missouri. In all of that time he has not failed to keep in touch with the big men of Missouri, and he has con tdnued his acquaintance with the plain people He has broadened that ac- quaintanee year by year until 1t is doubt ful If thece is a man in Missouri who has larger personal acouaintance with the men of the state and their families.
 Much of this acquaintance has been de- yeloped by a series of personal letters If John Brown, of Texas coun.y-the larg- est county in Missou,i--wrote to the sen dlpl lOl d PdGhdSt Ol SeetS or a 1CDOrl on some obscure subject the senator not only supplied the constituents demands. but followed 1t up with a letter worth more to the recipient than all the docu- mants at the national capital. The sem ator would not only say, in his own hand writing no doubt, that he had compiled With the request, but he would branch off into discussion of topics of national interest and wind up with regards to the family Later the same man would send for something else. Another letter would go out. In the meantime the senator had been back to M ssouri and to Texas coun- ty and had struck up a personal ac- quaintance With John Brown. Therefore With the coming of the second letter he had something more to say. He not only referred to the first letter. but he also spoke of the good time he had had in Texas county, of the good crop pros poets and of the work that the countys representative was doing in the leg.sla- ture. Then there was someth ng more about national issues, and last and best of all, he wanted to be remembered to John, Jr tow-headed boy about the farm, and to Jane the pretty daughter who was just blossoning out in her first long dressss.
 Again is it necessary to do some ex- blaming for the benefit of those who do not know Gen. Cockrell personally. Let 1t be understood that no word of the senator's letters was affected or calcu- lating. He actually had a good time down in rocky Texas county, he really remembered all about John Jr., and the pretty Jane, and he was glad enough that he knew all of that so as to be remembered to them. But the effect down there dn Texas county when the envelope from Washington with the sem atorial frank got to the town of Cabool! John Browns eyes were not the only ones that looked over the letter that it contained. Every man at the postof- flee saw it, and when Brown got to his home he exhibited 1t to the family and to everybody who came for the month that followed.
 Fs|ends of the senator who know all about his way of getting next to the people who vote and make things out west, tell a story that serves to illus trate the Cockrell way of attending to detail in behalf of Missourians. A man in one of the northern counties was de- s,rous of getting a, bit of information that could not be had outside of Wash ington and even then not without some effort on the part Of some one at the capital with access to the records of one of the departments. He wrote lightly about 1t to his congressman. expecting an immediate answer With all the de- sired information. Several weeks went by and there was no reply. Then the Missourian. thinking that his letter had gone astray, wrote again. After arl- other walt, a typewriter note from private secretary informed the plain oft izen that both letters had been received, but that it was not possible, without the loss of a great deal of valuable congress s.onal time, for the busy representative to furnish the information. This did not astonish the plain citizen, who, for the moment, began to doubt his own judgment because it had permitted him
 to ask a representative to perform a trif1ing service. By chance he showed the private secretarys note to an old citizen.
 "HumphI' said the old citizen, "send to Frank CockTell and he'll fix you out"
 But he is iphe senator and I don't know him." said the other man. But he took the old citizens advice and sent to Senator Cockrell for the information In less than week he had a full and complete answer to his inquiry. The work had involved a good deal of time and some research, butt the senator had accomplished it. Further than that, Gen. Cockrell branched off from the main subject before concluding his letter and asked his correspondent if he was