The daily Alaskan., 1916-05-31
The Cooperative Plan A Farmer Tnes It on an Auto
 By M. QUAD Copyright, 1916, by the Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.

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 tiukcring at it. He had a sIedge, crowbar, an ax, cold chlsel and a scrcwdriver and had work ed up a nice little state of perspira- tiOn.
 You appear to have a wreck here," said as l drew in my horse.
 "AppearI' he shouted as he looked up. If tbis isn't the durndest wreck anybody ever saw I'll eat my hatT'
 How did it happen?"
 How does anything happen to an auto with a fool driving itY"
 Was 1t yours?" I asked, scenting 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 farmers"
 Lots of times"
 "Waal, then, this was cooperation in buyin' and runnin' an automobile, and this Is one of the results of it. The other result is that I am about $500 out of pocket and have lost widder who was goin' to be my wife. If you want to hear all about it I'll tell you, for I 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, Jim Williams and Si Perkins. They are all farmers and live about here. They are all married men, and each one has a gang of children. As for me, am an old bachelor but I was a-sparkin' of the incest widder woman in this county. The four men l have mentioned come over to my house one evenin' month ago, and Tom Evans he asks if I would go in with 'em on the cooperative plan to buy an auto.
 "'How much? says I.
 "A thOusand,' says he.
 "'That's S25O each
 "Jest so, Sam.
 And the auto was bought?" I queried.
 "She was, sir. She arrived here glls- tenin' like a star, and she excited the wonder of folks for ten miles around. We got a feller from town to show Us how to run her, and in about week we was all ready to glide around, the country. Bein' was a single man and mightily in love with @ widder, they said I might take the auto out first, which was very decent of them, I felt sure I could run the machine as good as any man in the state. It was a bright moonlight night, and the whip poorwills were singin' and the katy aids chirpin', and that widder woman should promise to be mine before we returned"
 And did sheT" was asked as the farmer heaved q long sigh.
 "She didn't. stranger, and I'll tell you why. We had gone about mile as steady as an old horse when the auto shied at a stone in the road, ran through a rail fence, wrecked the auto, and the widow gave me fits"
 Tt gets interesting" said.
 "Kinder interestin', stranger-kinder so. We got a machinist to tinker SEQ worth of tinker. and the old machine could run again. Then 1t 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 a 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 still walks bent over like an old man on account of the jar to his spine. By this time we had all got skeery of the machine: but, it bein' now Jim's turn and he not wantln' to be called cow ard, he took out his family for prone made. As the other accidents had oc- cured at night, Jim went out in the afternoon. He thought there might be