50 THE FISCAL PROBLEM IN MISSOURI 
an amount not to exceed $1 million, to create a soldiers’ 
settlement fund which was to be used in co-operation with 
federal agencies in providing employment and rural homes 
for soldiers, sailors, marines, and others who served with the 
armed forces of the United States in the several wars in 
which it had been engaged.! Part two of this amendment 
provided for the levying of an annual tax of one cent per 
$100 of assessed valuation for the purpose of meeting interest 
and sinking fund payments on the indebtedness created. 
The second amendment? provided for the issuance of 
highway bonds not to exceed $60 million. With the approval 
of this bond issue the fundamental law of the state in rela- 
tion to indebtedness can be said to have undergone a very 
radical change. The inclusion of Section 44a as a part of the 
constitution represented a departure of most significant 
implications, for no longer were the activities of the state 
to be financed primarily on a pay-as-you-go basis. The 
adoption of this amendment was conclusive eyidence that 
the fundamental law of the state, as originally established 
in 1875, no longer fitted the conditions under which the 
state was operating. As is frequently the case, when the 
constitutional provisions did not harmonize with the re- 
quirements of changed conditions the constitution was 
amended. 
Section 44a was revised by a vote of the electorate No- 
vember 6, 1928. The revision permitted the issuance of an 
additional $75 million of highway bonds. The approval of 
additional bonds in a larger amount than had been approved 
eight years before gives ample evidence that a majority of 
the electorate was satisfied with the change that had been 
made in the constitution. The 1928 revision of this section 
was tested in the courts, and its validity was upheld by the 
Supreme Court of Missouri, August 19, 1929.5 
Other amendments of Section 44 involved the authoriza- 
1 For complete statement of this amendment, see subsection 4, Section 44, Article 
IV, of the constitution of Missouri, published by the Secretary of State in 1921. 
The bonds authorized by this amendment were not issued. 
2 Section 44a, Article IV, Constitution of Missouri, 1921 edition. 
8 Friendly suit brought by the chief counsel of the State Highway Commission 
and others against Mr. L. D. Thompson, State Auditor, who for the sake of the 
argument refused to register the bonds.