STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDITURES 23

tively lower than those of all but 2 states! When it is considered
 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 capital
 purposes, there seems to be little doubt that Missouri in
recent years has failed to develop its social welfare institutions
 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, include
 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 governmental
 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 exception
 that the expenditures of those cities for debt redemption
cannot be segregated from the total for all local governments.
 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.