STATE AND LOCAL INDEBTEDNESS 71 
slightly more than $90 million in 1928, or almost 609, of the 
total local net bonded indebtedness in the state. In 1923 
and later years the net bonded debt of Kansas City exceeded 
that of St. Louis City. School indebtedness of Kansas City 
is considerably larger than school indebtedness of St. Louis 
City, and this fact accounts for the larger total in the case 
of the former. Comparison of the city data for recent 
years indicates that the net bonded indebtedness of the four 
cities has been increasing at a more rapid rate than total 
local indebtedness; the increase for the five-year period 1923 
to 1928 amounted to almost 2009. 
TaBLe 23: Missourr State AND Local Ner BonpeDp 
Dest, 1928 
Computed by National Industrial Conference Board 
Tvpe 
Sate. ......s 
ocala 
State and local... . 
Total Net 
Bonded Debt 
in Thousand 
Dollars 
Lyf 
Per 
Capita 
17.98 
42.70 
60.68 
Percentage 
Distribution 
29.6 
70.4 
100.0 
Ratio of Net 
Bonded Debt 
to Wealth 
Per Cent 
0.57 
1.36 
1.93 
ComeINeD StaTE AND Locar Net BonDeED DEBT 
Probably the most significant interpretations of indebted- 
ness are obtained by considering combined state and local 
net bonded indebtedness in relation to population and 
wealth. Table 23 shows that the per capita state and local 
net bonded debt for 1928 amounted to $60.68, and the ratio 
of state and local net bonded debt to wealth was 1.93%. 
Both of these figures are considerably lower than compar- 
able figures for the United States as a whole. It appears, 
therefore, that, although both the state government and the 
local governments in Missouri have issued a large volume of 
debt obligations and have increased their indebtedness at a 
rapid rate, Missouri’s state and local net bonded debt on 
a per capita or wealth basis is below the average for the 
United States. 
Cost or MONEY TO THE STATE oF MISSOURI 
Any consideration of the cost of borrowed funds must take 
nto account a number of factors. In the first place, the