STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDITURES 23 tively lower than those of all but 2 states! When it is con- sidered that Missouri’s capital expenditures for social welfare amounted to less than $1.4 million during the period, or only about 0.5% of total expenditures for maintenance and capi- tal purposes, there seems to be little doubt that Missouri in recent years has failed to develop its social welfare insti- tutions in a manner commensurate with the needs of the state, ExPENDITURES OF Missouri Local GOVERNMENTS The gross expenditures of all local governments in Missouri for the fiscal year ended in 1928 are estimated at $163.6 million.? Of this amount, the four cities over 30,0003 accounted for 390.6 million. The latter figure includes the expenditures of school and other special districts within the four cities, and interest payments. It does not, however, in- clude payments for debt redemption. Without making any allowance for the latter factor, it would appear that the expenditures of local governments other than those of and within the four cities amounted to slightly less than 459, of the gross total for all local governmental divisions. The statistical information concerning local expenditures in Missouri, as previously stated, is not entirely satisfactory. Complete information is available concerning certain gov- ernmental expenditures, but the data concerning others are incomplete or unavailable. The best method of procedure, therefore, would seem to be to consider the expenditures for which data are available or can be reasonably estimated and then by a process of elimination to obtain an estimated total for all other expenditures. The data for cities over 30,000 are complete for all governmental functions with the excep- tion that the expenditures of those cities for debt redemption cannot be segregated from the total for all local govern- ments. Accordingly, a later section of this chapter will be devoted to the expenditures of cities over 30.000. ! Arkansas and Kentucky. * For method of obtaining this estimate, see Appendix B, p. 356. ' St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Joseph, and Springfield.