The Telephone Companies' Budgets - Nov. 21, 1928 Address - C.A. Heiss

Sep 21, 2026

A bibliographic microform record from Columbia University Libraries Preservation Division presents an address by C.A. Heiss, Comptroller of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., delivered before the Railway Business Association on Nov. 21, 1928. The text explains how telephone companies shifted to five-year provisional budgets, describing their impact on manufacturing stability, delivery scheduling, reduced non-earning capital periods, and forecasting of traffic growth compared with railways. It also includes resolutions and a related reprint and administrative details.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

THE TELEPHONE COMPANIESBUDGETS

Address Nov.21,1928, before the RAILWAY BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

Purpose and working of the telephone companies' budgets

BELL SYSTEM BUDGETS ANDTHEIR FUNCTION

BY C.A.HEISS

97-84080-25Heiss,C.A. The telephone companies'budgets[Philadelphia] 1928 # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISIONBIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 308 Heiss,C i Z Te tolnglio:19 Go:1)anies'bulgat;s;allress oy. Bozx.250 3 21,100,be?orn书ailvay bsiness nsonint,ion,by C.A.Iein ….with anin,rolust,ion by tshepresilent,of the Aointion,the reprint of anaddress by it,s secret,ary "Cnn the railvays stabi-lize their ovm earnings?"and the Associationresolutiors.[Philalelphiny iailway businessassociation,1988. 18 p. 23 cm. 小1 Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia UniversityLibraries. ## RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE:_ 5mREDUCTION RATIO: /0:/ IIB IB I IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA INITIALS: DATE FILMED: .5-9.91 2S10o TRACKING\#: FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. # THE TELEPHONE COMPANIESBUDGETS Address Nov.21,1928,before theRAILWAY BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONby C.A.HEISSComptroller,American Telephone Telegraph Co. With an introduction by the President of the Association,the reprint of an address by its Secretary,"Canthe Railways Stabilize Their Own Earnings?”and Association Resolutions Railway Business Association1928 沙 TN studving means for the stabilization of railway purchases the RailwayI stuuying meanis Ior uie stauuizauon u1 ialiway puiCiidscs Lic ianwayBusiness Association some time ago learned that since the adoption bythe telephone companies of budgets involving five-year provisional esti-mates of traffic demand and facility needs,the manufacture of plant andaccessories has become substantially steadier one year with another.This,wewere told,has accomplished economy in maintenance and in enlargement offacilities as well as forehandedness and hence thrift in financing.As withrailways,the equipment and other materials required by the Bell System arefor the most part highly fabricated and specially manufactured for the purpose.That equipment and supplies may be manufactured and delivered under normalschedules,construction and service programs are anticipated and requirementsfurnished to the suppliers as far as possible in advance.Time is thus madeavailable for reasonable foresight as to price changes,enabling a more liberalpurchase of materials during periods when prices are at relatively favorablelevels.The tendency sought,and apparently attained,is that deliveries ofmaterial can be scheduled and made available by the supplier in an orderlymanner so that no delay may result when work on a project is started.Themanufacture and delivery of equipment thus proceeds in such a way as tolimit to the minimum the preliminary non-earning period of capital tied up. We present herewith an address delivered before the Railway Business Asso-ciation Nov.21,1928,by the Comptroller of the American Telephone and Tele-graph Co.,Mr.C.A.Heiss,explaining the purpose and working of the tele-phone companies'budgets.The speaker was not requested to appraise theadaptability of the telephone forecasts and budgets to railways,and does notdo so.His address is restricted to stating why and how the telephone com-panies changed in 1922 from one-year to five-year estimates. It is interesting to note that the telephone companies,like the railroads,coverthe United States;that their number,24,is nearly the same as the number ofrailway systems which would result from unifications as recently under dis-cussion;and that each telephone company is independently equipped,on the onehand for budget purposes and on the other for mechanical experiment andprogress. Mr.Heiss frankly points out that the use of telephones,both business andsocial,is stabler than the use of railways,so that telephone traffic growth issusceptible of more accurate forecast than railway traffic growth.It may,however,be remarked tha

FAQs

What prompted telephone companies to change to five-year budget estimates in 1922?

The address explains why and how the telephone companies changed from one-year to five-year estimates, focusing on better planning and anticipation of traffic demand and facility needs.

How do telephone budgets aim to stabilize manufacturing and deliveries?

By using budgets with five-year provisional forecasts, requirements can be furnished to suppliers in advance so that deliveries are scheduled in an orderly manner and delays are minimized.

Does the address evaluate whether telephone forecasts and budgets apply to railways?

The speaker does not appraise the adaptability of telephone forecasts and budgets to railways; the address is restricted to explaining the telephone companies’ shift in estimate horizon.

Sep 21, 2026

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