Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-12
The Daily Story
The Cooperative PLAINLY M. Quad.

e 1 was driving across the country
with a horse and buggy when I came
to the wreck of an auto in the ditch,
and a farmer was tinkering at it He
had a sledge, crowbaR an ak, a cold
chisel and a screwdriver and had work
ton
You appear to have wreck here"
1 said as I drew in my horse.
Appear he shouted as he looked
up. IF this isn't the durndest wreck
anybody ever saw I'll eat my hatr'
How did it happen?"
How does anything happen to an
auto with fool driving it?''
WAS 1t yours?" l asked, seeming a
story.
"One-fifth of her was mine up TO
last night Now the whole sad remains
belong TO me. Did you ever hear OF
the cooperative plan among farmersT'
Lots Of times"
WAL, then, this was cooperation in
buyin' and runnin' an automobile, and
this is one of the results of it The
other result is that l am about $500
out of pocket and have lost wilder
who was goin' to be my wife. If you
want to hear all about it I'll tell you,
for l guess it hain't any use to tinker
any more at this blamed old thing"
The farmer took a seat on the NOR
tai remains of the auto and drew a
long breath and proceeded to say:
There was Tom Evans, Joe Baxter.
FrTl.-
are all farmers and live about here.
They are all married men, and each
one has Il gang Of children. AS for
me- I am an old bachelor, but l was
a-sparkin' of the incest wilder woman
in this county. The four men l have
mentioned come over to my house one
evenin a month ago. and Tom Evans
he asks if / would go in with 'em on
the cooperative plan to buy an auto.
How muchT says ].
"A thousand says he.
That's $3.50 each
"'Jest so. Sam
"And the auto was bought?" I
queried
"She was, sir. She arrived here glis-
TENN like star, and she excited the
wonder of folks for ten miles around.
We got Teller from town to show us
how to run her, and in about a week
we was all ready to glide around the
country Bein' | was a single man and
nightly in love with a wilder, they
said l might take the auto out first,
which was very decent OF them. I felt
sure l could run the machine as good
as any man in the state. 1t was n
bright moonlight night, and the whip
poorwills were singin' and the katy
dds chirpin', and that wilder woman
should promise to be mine before we
returned"
And did shey' was asked as the
farmer heaved a long sigh.
"She didn't. stranger, and I'll tell
you why. We had gone about a mile
as steady as an old horse when the
auto SHE'D at a stone in the road, ran
through a rail fence. wrecked the auto,
and the widow gave me fits"
1T gets interesting" | said.
kinder interestin', stranger-kinder
so. We got a machinist TO tinker $50
worth OF tinker. and the old machine
could run again. Then It was Toms
turn. He has a wife and FIVE children,
and they all piled in. They was clip
pin along as happy as larks when
they came to a crossroad. The auto
was for keepin' straight ahead Tom
wanted TO turn TO the right and his
wife to the left, and the result was
that the machine run into and knock
ed over the guidepost and then tried
to climb fence. The whole family
took a spill and was scattered for
twenty rods around. No one was kill
ed, and there was no broken bones.
but the bruises are yet blue. and Tom
stil walks bent over like an old man