Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 10 › Conversation 010-099

Nixon phone call with Colson on Stock market and Tax bill

Wednesday, October 6, 1971 · 5:19 PM–5:22 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation010-099 on Tape 10 (tape position 03:09:21–03:11:24)StartWednesday, October 6, 1971 at 5:19 PMEndWednesday, October 6, 1971 at 5:22 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 010-099 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss a significant surge in the stock market, which Colson attributes to the passage of a tax bill and the positive anticipation surrounding the President's upcoming Phase II economic policy speech. The two also verify positive data regarding wholesale prices, noting a rare decline that provides favorable optics for the administration's economic efforts. Colson reports that speechwriter William Safire is incorporating this favorable pricing data into the President's scheduled remarks.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
I was just calling back, Mr. President, to say that that figure is accurate.
Oh, it did go up.
It did, and Al Gordon in New York said it did.
all went up on a huge buying spree in the last hour.
A hell of a lot of buying pressure.
Fifteen million shares.
How does he think?
Two things.
The passage of the tax bill.
The tax bill, of course, of course.
But he thinks that's secondary, definitely, to the fact that you're speaking tomorrow night.
Yeah.
The wire service stories on your speech are running very positive.
Yeah.
That we are going to have controls.
Well, it says, although details of the phase two plans are not yet confirmed,
It's clear that they'll provide for continued stabilization.
It's a long, very bullish release.
It hit about $2.30.
What is the situation on the wholesale prices?
That's coming out tomorrow.
Yes, sir.
Now, we've got something in here that says they went down.
They didn't go down, did they?
Yes, sir.
The wholesale prices actually declined?
An actual decline in wholesale prices.
Sapphire's standing here and smiling like a shasher cat because I told him that, Haldeman had told me, they went up, he said, three-tenths of one percent actual and four-tenths adjusted.
No, that's down.
Well, he had it wrong.
I said, well, that isn't very much.
I said, hell, it was four-tenths last time.
Oh, hell no.
It went down, actually.
Interestingly enough, it is the first decline in wholesale prices of any kind since November of 1970.
They've only gone down twice in the last two years.
Sapphire's got that in his speech.
And it's the biggest single drop since October of 1966.
So something happens.
We must have done something right.
Oh, there's no question.
The industrial prices went down 1%.
A lot of it was food, of course.
Yes, sir.
But the important thing about the industrials is that on a seasonally adjusted basis, this is the first time in three years that they've decreased.
Right, right.
So it's a hell of a good shot in the air.
Great.
Fine.
Well, I'm glad to hear about the market.
Yes, sir.
And we'll...
We'll get Sapphire back to work.
Fine.
Fine.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On October 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 5:19 pm to 5:22 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 010-099 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 10-99

Date: October 6, 1971
Time: 5:19 pm - 5:22 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Charles W. Colson talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 284-14D]

     Stock market
          -Level of increase
          -Albert H. Gordon
          -Buying spree
               -Tax bill
               -President's schedule, October 7
                      -Phase II speech

     Wholesale prices
         -Decrease
         -William L. Safire
         -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
         -Decline
               -Past trends

Also recorded on October 6, 1971

  • 284-013 4:39 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:39 pm.
  • 284-014 4:40 PM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William L. Safire, White House operator, John B. Connally, and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:40 pm to 5:25 pm.
  • 010-096 5:16 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:16 pm.
  • 010-097 5:16 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:16 pm to 5:18 pm.
  • 010-098 5:18 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.
  • 284-015 5:25 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:25 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 284-016 5:25 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:25 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 284-017 5:30 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:30 pm to 5:45 pm.

All 110 conversations from October 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 010-099, October 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-099 (accessed October 11, 2026).