The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1918-12-26

asked his reason for this he explained
that while the war was on and the
boys were being called in the draft
there was a scarcity of help which
had an adverse effect upon farming
operations. Now that it is over the
boys are returning to the farms, and
many of them will go to farming for
themselves on their own land rather
than working for others or renting,
while those who still desire to work
for others will tend to increase large
farming enterprises. Many fathers
who have boys in the army are ar
ranging to finance them in farming
now that they are no longer needed
in the army
With the problem of feeding the
most of Europe for many years, as
well as assisting in rebuilding the de-
vastated country, this country which
was untouched by the war, will have
to deal. 1t is up to us to supply the
needs of those people and the prod
ucts of the soil are bound to be in
great demand, and Mr.. Baughman
is of the opinion that land values will
soar as a result.
And Mr.. Baughman sees good
things ahead for Liberal. He ven
lures the assertion that the record of
growth for the past dozen years will
be shattered the coming year. Thru
the sale of Liberty Bonds and War
Savings Stamps many have learned
the lesson of thrift, and when the
time comes when these are no longer
offered as investments the revenues
which has been previously put into
these securities will find their way in
to town lots and homes. He conf
IDENTIFY expects an era of building and
general improvement in excess of any
previous year, while all kinds of
town property will be in strong de-
mand.
In all these conclusions Mr.. Baugh-
man uses the same methods of fore
casting he did when he first came to
the county. The fact that he bought
land here at from three to five dollars
per acre which is now worth from
thirty to fifty, and that town prop
erty which he has handled shows even
a greater increase, leads us to be-
lieve that his method of forecasting
conditions is sound, and that his jddg-
ment is worth backing.
w. V. Griffith of the Griffith &
Baughman firm came to Plains from
Coldwater in 1915 to take a position
with Mr., Baughman as stenographer,
but he did not last long in that ca
pacity. Recognizing his ability Mr.
Baughman soon filled his place and
put him in charge of the Plains Of
flee, and he proved a whirlwind in
going after and landing business. He
was on the job all the time and it
was not a great while until the little
became one of the in
fluential citizens of the town and one
of the leading busiess men. He was
very successful in handling his own
interests also, and in 1914, realizing
the great possibilities of Liberal,
formed partnership with Mr.. Baugh-
man and came to Liberal.
The firm specialized on local bust
ness, devoting its energies principally
to Liberal and Seward county, hand
ling all the lines that go with the real
estate business.
When Mr.. Griffith came into the
firm he displayed the same energy as
he had at Plains and it is due to his
effort that the firm has built
up one of the largest institutions in
the Southwest. Since he has been
with the firm Al 200 acres have been
which will give an idea of
the volume of business transacted by
them. In addition to the local force
the firm has large number of live
representatives in all parts of the
country, enabling them to reach buy
ers over large territory, and thru
their efforts many new settlers have
been brought to the county, and the
advantages of the country have been
made known to thousands who other
wise would never have heard of it.
In addition to the farm lands and
ranches handled by the firm they do
a large business in town property,
town lots, residences, etc.
They handle the Aetna Building &
Loan Association business here, hav-
ing purchased the line from G. W.
Sawyer in 1915. This business has
shown a remarkable increase since
that time. At the time it was pur-
chased the monthly remittances of