Conversation No. 536-4

Date: July 3, 1971
Time: 8:00 am - 9:55 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Charles W. Colson

     Schedule
          -Meeting with James D. Hodgson and George P. Shultz

     Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]
          -Geoffrey H. Moore
               -Offer of resignation
                     -Approval of Labor Department release of report on unemployment
                           statistics
                     -White House request for transfer of “Goldstein” [Leon Greenberg]
          -Release of report
               -New York Times
               -Handling by Labor Department
                     -Moore
                           -Understanding of political implications
                           -Hodgson, Shultz
          -Moore
               -Arthur F. Burns
               -Action on “Goldstein”
                     -Timing of action
               -Question of Moore’s tenure
                     -Firing versus resignation
          -Forthcoming meeting with Shultz, Hodgson
          -Need for reorganization of BLS
          -Replacement for Moore
               -Deputy
                     -”Goldstein” as Associate Commissioner for Statistics
               -Shultz’s reaction
                     -Moore

     Schedule
          -Request for Shultz and Hodgson to join meeting

Colson left at an unknown time after 8:00 am
                                               3

                          NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                      Tape Subject Log
                                        (rev. 10/08)



[Pause]
Colson, Shultz, and Hodgson entered at 8:10 am

     BLS
           -Recent release of unemployment statistics
                -Statistical aberrations
                -Political ramifications
                -Herbert Stein
           -Deliberate nature of action
                -Bureaucrats
                -Reflection on Hodgson
                -Moore
                -”Goldstein”
                      -Attitude during the President’s administration and during Dwight D.
                             Eisenhower’s administration
                      -Scholarly background
                             -Comparison to Daniel Ellsberg
                      -Effect of forced resignation
                -Statistical aberration
                      -May and June 1971 figures
                -News reports
                      -Reporters’ attitude toward administration
                -Moore, “Goldstein”
                -Preparation of report
                -Effect of incident on Hodgson, Peter M. Flanigan
           -Reorganization
                -Transfer of “Goldstein”
           -Ronald L. Ziegler’s report on Hodgson’s briefing
           -Bureaucrats
           -Moore
           -Burns
           -Unemployment statistics
                -Use
                      -Comparison to poll figures
                -Seasonal adjustments
                      -January to June comparison
                -Effect of recent release on news reports
                      -Emphasis on joblessness
                             -John W. Chancellor
                      -Ziegler
           -”Goldstein”
                -Position
                                    4

               NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                           Tape Subject Log
                             (rev. 10/08)



            -Appointment
            -Transfer
-Reorganization
      -Possible merger of statistical agencies
      -Congress
            -William Proxmire
      -Plan
-”Goldstein”                                                  Conv. No. 536-4 (cont.)
      -Polygraph
-Responsibility for statement
      -Associated Press [AP], United Press International [UPI]
      -Effect of news story
            -Politicization of labor statistics
-Handling of statistics
      -Census Bureau’s role
      -BLS’s role
      -Payroll records
      -Household survey
      -”Goldstein”
-Congress
      -Proxmire’s attitude
-Press
-Replacement of Moore
      -Moore’s responsibility
            -”Goldstein” public appearances
-Unemployment
      -Belief in decrease
      -Effect of stories
-Moore
      -Search for replacement
      -New job
-Political effect of release
      -Comparison to news stories on Vietnam War casualty figures
-Reorganization
      -Frederic V. Malek
      -Removal of “Goldstein”
      -Replacement as statistician
            -Wilson Allen Wallis
            -Effect of politicization of statistics
-Replacement for Moore
      -Domination by bureaucracy
            -Contrast to Wallis
                                        5

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                               Tape Subject Log
                                 (rev. 10/08)



                       -Cabinet committee on economics
                       -Wallis compared to Burns
     -Timing of action on reorganization
          -Proximity to 1972 election
          -Labor Day 1971
     -Reorganization
          -Possible merger of statistical agencies
                 -Departmental responsibilities                Conv. No. 536-4 (cont.)
     -Forthcoming call from Hodgson to John B. Connally
          -Explanation of incident
          -Administration’s chief economic spokesman
     -Unemployment
          -Analysis of trends
                 -Effect on retail sales
          -Regional figures
                 -California
                 -Pacific Northwest
                       -Montana
                 -The South, Texas
                 -Minnesota, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
                       Massachusetts
                 -Michigan
                       -Aerospace industry
                       -Efforts to cool off the economy
                              -Durable goods
                              -Automobile industry
                                   -James M. Roche
                                   -1970 impact
                              -Lingering effect of problem
                 -California
                       -Aerospace industry
                              -Three to five year impact
          -Effect of economic upturn
                 -Impact of government action
     -Forthcoming retail sales figures
          -Laurence E. (“Larry”) Lynn, Jr.
     -Credibility of statistics
          -Compared to George H. Gallup, Louis Harris polls
     -”Goldstein”
          -Proxmire

Possible meeting with Colson on the Pentagon Papers
                                               6

                           NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                       Tape Subject Log
                                         (rev. 10/08)




Shultz, Hodgson, and Colson left at 8:50 am