12 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI 
Before considering expenditures for debt redemption it 
should be pointed out that the amounts so expended may 
result in double counting when a period of years is con- 
sidered. If funds received from the sale of bonds bearing a 
maturity date of 1928 were used in 1923, for example, and if 
the expenditure was shown under the proper classification, 
then the inclusion of the redemption payments in the later 
year results in a duplication of the amount originally ex- 
pended. This is a form of duplication that is difficult to 
avoid, and it seems preferable to include payments for debt 
redemption in order that as complete a picture as possible 
may be obtained of the aggregate fiscal transactions. It 
should be remembered, however, that when bond proceeds 
are used during the same period in which the bonds are 
retired, double counting results if debt redemption also is 
included as an expenditure. Since borrowed funds are in 
many instances commingled with funds from other sources, 
it would be practically impossible to make allowance for this 
form of duplication in computing the gross total of expendi- 
tures over a period of years. 
The figures for debt redemption in Table 2 represent the 
retirement of outstanding bond obligations. The repayment 
of current debt items is not construed as debt redemption. 
Reference to the table indicates that the state expended 
$14.7 million for debt redemption during the period 1923 
through 1928. This amount is equivalent to a considerable 
proportion of the bond issues of the state during the period. 
The combined expenditures for debt service were appre- 
ciably larger in 1926, 1927, and 1928 than in the three years 
preceding. For the six-year period interest and debt re- 
demption accounted for slightly more than 10% of the gross 
total state expenditures. 
Distribution of Net Expenditures between Maintenance and 
Capital 
In the years 1913 and 1918 the net expenditures of the 
Missouri state government were predominantly for main- 
tenance. Capital outlays in both years amounted to less 
than 109% of net expenditures. During the period 1923 
through 1928, however, capital outlays were relatively of