56 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



broken by the river bluffs and streams flowing into the river, grad- 

 ually becoming less broken and less rough as the distance from the 

 river increases, until a few miles back it is a gently rolling to level 

 farm country. Limestone or creek gravel of an average road-build- 

 ing quality is found generally over the county. 



A well-crowned and maintained road in the Monett district. 



The assessed valuation of Marion county is twelve and one- 

 half million dollars. This figure includes real and personal prop- 

 erty and all public service corporations. Road revenue is derived 

 from a regular road tax of 10 cents on the $100 of assessed valua- 

 tion, a special road and bridge tax of 25 cents on the $100 of as- 

 sessed valuation, and saloon licenses. The total amount of road 

 funds available for the year 1912 is derived from the following 

 sources : 



Saloon licenses $14 , 000 



Regular tax ■ 6 , 000 



Special tax, 25 cents on $100.00 28,000 



Total yearly expenditure $48 ,000 



Of this sum $6,000 is paid to the road overseers for district 

 work. Fifty per cent of this amount is paid to the road overseers 

 in salaries alone. The remainder is spent on repairing wooden cul- 

 verts and grading roads. According to a statement made by one of 

 the county judges, "there is absolutely nothing to show at the end 

 of the year for an expenditure of $6,000 of the county funds." 



The sum derived from saloon licenses, $14,000, is expended 

 in the construction of concrete culverts and steel bridges and the 

 purchase of road machinery. Twenty per cent of this fund has 



