Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-055
Price & Butterfield on Presidential speeches and Speechwriting
Wednesday, September 8, 1971 · 3:08 PM–7:40 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min
AI Summary
Raymond K. Price, Jr. contacted Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate the final drafting stages of a speech the President was scheduled to deliver to Congress. Price, working from the Executive Office Building, requested that Nell Yates bring the current draft to his location to facilitate a review of necessary revisions. The pair confirmed that typing was underway and agreed to meet immediately to incorporate the required changes.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On September 8, 1971, Raymond K. Price, Jr., White House operator, and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-055 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 8-55
Date: September 8, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm
Location: White House Telephone
Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked with the White House operator.
Request for call to Alexander P. Butterfield
-Nellie L. Yates' office
Price talked with Butterfield.
The President's forthcoming speech to Congress
-Draft
-Price's location
-Executive Office Building [EOB]
-The President's requested meeting with Yates
-Typing
-Progress
-Changes
-Butterfield and Yates
-Meeting with the President in the EOBAlso recorded on September 8, 1971
- 008-052 3:05 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:05 pm.
- 008-053 3:06 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
- 274-040 3:06 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
- 008-054 3:08 PM · 41 sec — Raymond K. Price, Jr. and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
- 008-056 3:08 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
- 274-041 3:08 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.
- 274-042 3:08 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.
- 274-043 3:08 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 008-055, September 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-055 (accessed October 1, 2026).