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 considered.
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 expended.
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 expenditures
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 appreciably
larger in 1926, 1927, and 1928 than in the three years
preceding. For the six-year period interest and debt redemption
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 maintenance.
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
