Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 10 › Conversation 010-014

Nixon phone call with Colson on Pay deferral and Congressional lobbying

Tuesday, September 28, 1971 · 4:55 PM–4:57 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation010-014 on Tape 10 (tape position 00:22:57–00:24:46)StartTuesday, September 28, 1971 at 4:55 PMEndTuesday, September 28, 1971 at 4:57 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 010-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon expressed urgent frustration to Charles Colson regarding the lack of public mail support reaching Congress for his proposed pay deferral legislation. Nixon noted that legislative leaders, including Gerald Ford, reported being overwhelmed by opposition from government unions while receiving no backing from business groups like the NAM or the Chamber of Commerce. The President directed Colson to immediately mobilize these organizations to generate a substantial letter-writing campaign before the upcoming Tuesday vote.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Mr. Collison, sir.
Yes, sir, Mr. President.
I'm just meeting here with the leaders, and there's really a monumental problem with regard to this pay deferral.
There's absolutely no mail that's coming up there.
They're being deluged from the government unions, and they haven't heard from the NAM, they haven't heard from the Chamber of Commerce, they haven't heard from the Citizens Committee or the rest.
Jerry Ford says, understand, this has to go to the House members, Democrat and Republican.
Now, is there some reason that did something fall between the stories?
No, not that I know of, Mr. President.
We had the chamber of the NIM in.
We didn't have the Citizens Committee in.
We got the JCs in.
They all started a mail campaign about a week ago.
They doubled now about 10 days ago.
Yeah.
Shanebury takes credit for turning around two Democratic votes on that committee.
On a committee, but what I'm getting at, Hal, is that we need mail up there, and we need it fast.
You see what I mean?
Now, God damn it, I want them to get off and get going.
And this is really shocking to me.
You know, we really do need it because...
You know how some of those idiots are up there.
They weigh the mail rather than the evidence.
I'm surprised if they haven't gotten any because... Well, it's just hardly a smattering.
They've been checking it out.
It's got to be on this issue, not just on this issue.
Don't break the...
It's kind of price-free, you know, and so forth and so on.
It's really, I don't know how you can do it, but it's... Oh, they're good when they turn the machines on.
The chamber has always been good for several thousand letters.
Maybe they're just slow on this one.
But you see the boat's going to be Tuesday.
Right.
So you'll push them, will you?
Okay.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On September 28, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 4:55 pm to 4:57 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 010-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 10-14

Date: September 28, 1971
Time: 4:55 pm - 4:57 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 579-10D]

     President's schedule
          -Meeting with legislative leaders
                 -Pay deferral
                      -Mail to Capitol Hill
                            -Government Unions
                            -National Association of Manufacturers [NAM], Chamber of
                                  Commerce
                            -Citizens Committee
                            -Gerald R. Ford
                            -Jaycees
                            -Wage and price freeze
                                  -Accomplishments
                            -Chamber of Commerce

Also recorded on September 28, 1971

  • 579-008 3:59 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John C. Stennis, Gordon L. Allott, Leslie C. Arends, F. Edward Hébert, Melvin R. Laird, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Peter M. Flanigan, Ronald L. Ziegler, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:59 pm to 4:13 pm.
  • 579-009 4:14 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:14 pm to 4:23 pm.
  • 010-011 4:21 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 4:21 pm to 4:22 pm.
  • 010-012 4:23 PM · 12 sec — Ronald L. Ziegler and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 4:23 pm to 4:55 pm.
  • 010-013 4:23 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:23 pm and 4:55 pm.
  • 579-010 4:23 PM · 1 hr 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Hugh Scott, Robert P. Griffin, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, Clark MacGregor, Ronald L. Ziegler, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:23 pm and 5:21 pm.
  • 579-011 5:23 PM · 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John L. McClellan, Eugene S. Cowen, Peter M. Flanigan, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:23 pm to 5:51 pm.
  • 010-015 5:51 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:51 pm.

All 30 conversations from September 28, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 010-014, September 28, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-014 (accessed October 2, 2026).