COST OF GOVERNMENT IN MASS. 



178 



CHART 2. Total Ezpenditures per Capita for All Purposes and for Local Purposes 

 in Cities and Towns, 1910 and 1926, and the Percentage Increase. 



Dollars Pep Capita 



20 40 60 80 



Cities 



1910 



i9a6 



Towns Over 5ooo 



I9IO 



) 



1926 



1910 



Towns Under 5000 



1926 



State Total 



I9IO WWV^WVM 



I9e6 



Cities 

 Tov/NS Over 5 coo 

 Towns Under 5000 



State Total 



240 



Relative Importance of State and Local Expenses 



The relative importance of the expenditures of the various groups is 

 shown in Chart 3. Citi«ss spent over three-fifths of the total of $356,971,000 

 in 1926. Towns of less than 5,000 population, which are largely rural, spent 

 about one-tenith as mruch as cities. 



Approximately one-sixth of the total expenditures were made by the State 

 and coimties for general puposes, while five-sixths were for local town or city 

 purposes. 



The Relation between Population and 



Expenditures Per Capita 



Table 4 shows total expenditures per capita for towns and cities, grouped 

 according to population, for the years 1907, 1912, 1917, 1922 and 1926. Sub- 

 stantial differences will be noted between groups each year. However, a change 

 has taken place in the relation of population to expenditures per person. Until 

 1917, there was a fairly distinct tendency for expenditures per capita to bear 

 a direct relationship to population, that is, for expenditures per capita in large 



