Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 1 › Conversation 001-074
Nixon phone call with Lincoln on Texas drought and Disaster relief
Tuesday, April 13, 1971 · 9:36 AM–9:40 AM ET · White House Telephone ·4 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and General George A. Lincoln discuss the federal response to a severe drought in Texas, weighing the implications of a full disaster declaration versus narrower agricultural relief. Nixon expresses concern that a full declaration would trigger unmanageable unemployment claims and complicate the status of migratory workers. Ultimately, Nixon directs Lincoln to have Secretary of Agriculture Clifford Hardin coordinate with Senator John Tower, prioritizing a swift, politically advantageous release of aid information.
- Texas drought
- Disaster relief
- Clifford M. Hardin
- John G. Tower
- Agricultural policy
- Political strategy
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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though general lincoln yes yes mr president i was asking going to ask about the texas disaster thing did we get something done on that or are we going to do something yes sir uh i talked to the secretary of agriculture this morning about this yeah and uh uh he is having a meeting right now i think of his people i had a long meeting yesterday but principally with his people right and uh
I believe that he should make an agricultural disaster declaration immediately, which will make available their emergency grain program and will also make available their FHA loans.
And I also believe that he should press along on what these people are already doing, which
use their extension services in Texas and probably in Colorado to start, be a catalytic agent to get hay, which they say is in Colorado, moving to Texas.
I have on my desk to think about what I'm going to send you.
I question very seriously that we should make full disaster declaration.
A full disaster declaration triggers everything in that law.
It triggers unemployment compensation.
And the estimate is that we get 65,000 applications.
I have that from the Department of Labor.
They wouldn't be able to distinguish whether they were due to the droughts or not.
We get all these workers down there in the south, the migratory workers who they want to migrate north.
And
So I have to determine.
Let me ask you to do this.
I noticed the governor had to do it.
Why don't you have Hardin give the governor a call?
And I think the main thing is swiftness.
So if they don't build it up, he could give the governor a call and tell him where.
See what I mean?
I will.
Yes, sir.
And get that done.
I'll get that done right away.
So that we get that much.
I'll say we were doing this emergency, so forth and so on.
And then the other thing, I noticed you used the small business type of thing.
I just want to be sure that Texas is there really squealing down there.
Yes, sir.
Well, with an FHA declaration, that immediately triggers the SBA.
It does.
Yes, sir.
Well, if you could, would you see that Hardin or you or somebody get to the governor on it?
And the other one that I would inform would be...
uh, the, uh, tower.
Yes, sir.
We're a tower.
No, we're in touch from him.
Well, what I mean is so that he can, I tell tower first so that, and then, and then let the governor know.
See what I mean?
Yes, sir.
All right.
It might be better as a matter of fact, just to, just to give it, just to give it the proper buildup is to have tell tower and let him pass the word back.
See what I mean?
Let's, let's let it, let's make a little politics out of this.
Tell John tower.
Yes, sir.
And have Hardin give Tower a call and tell him what's available, and then Tower can...
can make the release from here, because it's mainly a political problem.
It's a political problem.
It's a disaster, too.
Would you do that, please?
Yes, sir.
I should make clear, sir, that our estimate of the situation is that this is not yet a disaster.
Right, I understand that.
But it might be very tough in three or four weeks if they don't get havens.
Right, and if they don't get some rain.
In any event, you tell, if you could have Hardin call Tower, so that Tower could then say what we're going to do, right?
I will raise that, sir.
I'll get that done right away.
NARA Description
On April 13, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. George A. Lincoln talked on the telephone from 9:36 am to 9:40 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-074 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 1-74
Date: April 13, 1971
Time: 9:36 am - 9:40 am
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Gen. George A. Lincoln.
[See Conversation No. 478-2B]
Texas disaster
-Lincoln's conversation with Clifford M. Hardin
-Agricultural disaster declaration
-Emergency grants and loans
-Instructions for Hardin
-Disaster declaration
-Effects
-Migratory workers
-Lincoln's schedule
-Hardin
-Governor of Texas
-Lincoln's possible conversation with Governor
-John B. Connally
-Hardin
-Federal Housing Administration [FHA]
-Small Business Administration [SBA]
-Lincoln, Hardin
-John G. Tower
-Administration's policy
-Hardin's possible conversation with TowerAlso recorded on April 13, 1971
- 053-001 8:04 AM — President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and members of the Cabinet, including John N. Irwin, II, Paul A. Volcker, Melvin R. Laird, Richard G. Kleindeinst, Winton M. ("Red") Blount, Hollis M. Dole, Clifford M. Hardin, Maurice H. Stans, James D. Hodgson, John G. Veneman, George W. Romney, John A. Volpe, David M. Kennedy, George P. Shultz, Robert H. Finch, Donald H. Rumsfeld, George H. W. Bush, John D. Ehrlichman, Clark MacGregor, Ronald L. Ziegler, Raymond K. Price, Jr., Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., Peter M. Flanigan, John C. Whitaker, William E. Kriegsman, Arthur J. Sohmer, Robert J. Brown, Paul W. McCracken, Gen. George A. Lincoln, S. David Freeman, Milton Shaw, Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Chet Holifield, John O. Pastore, Howard H. Baker, Jr., and John B. Anderson, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 8:04 am to 9:07 am.
- 478-001 9:17 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:17 am and 9:30 am.
- 478-012 9:17 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:17 am and 9:30 am.
- 001-073 9:30 AM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:30 am and 9:36 am.
- 478-002 9:30 AM · 1 hr 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Gen. George A. Lincoln, Henry A. Kissinger, Peter G. Peterson, Ronald L. Ziegler, Emily (Sears) Lodge, Paul W. McCracken, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:30 am to 11:13 am.
- 001-075 9:59 AM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:59 am and 10:16 am.
- 001-076 10:16 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Peter G. Peterson, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 10:16 am to 10:21 am.
- 001-077 11:13 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 11:13 am to 11:14 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 001-074, April 13, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-074 (accessed September 18, 2026).