Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 010-121
Date: Thursday, October 7, 1971 at 11:19 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Burns, Arthur F.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-121

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Mr. President, I have Dr. Burns calling, and Mr. Bill Sapphire wanted to mention that he has talked to him first, and it is good news.
[0:10] Okay.
[0:11] President.
[0:12] Hello.
[0:13] Thank you.
[0:14] Hi, Arthur.
[0:15] Good morning, Mr. President.
[0:15] You were in New York yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to talk to you, but I wondered if Bill has talked to you yet?
[0:22] Yes, he has.
[0:23] Great, great.
[0:24] And I've made a few minor changes in language.
[0:27] Well, I wanted you to check the language.
[0:29] Yeah, right.
[0:30] Right.
[0:31] Mr. President, just a couple of things.
[0:34] Number one, I think it's wonderful that you've been able to reach a decision on Phase 2 so quickly.
[0:40] Yes.
[0:40] i think the faster you get this out the better and i'm delighted and i think you're going in a very sound way as you know they did uh they did bend to your wishes on the setting the target of two to three yeah i think that will help yeah now i will i'm not putting that in my remarks because it's too comp if i say two to three people it's too confusing but it's to be hit connolly will hit it tomorrow and of course uh
[1:04] McCracken will hit it today in the briefing.
[1:06] Yeah.
[1:07] Oh, I think that's very good.
[1:08] Now, let me ask you this.
[1:09] The one thing I was concerned about tonight, and I want to get you, Jeremy, I wonder the interest side of this, but on the dividend side, is that a proper thing for the Fed to do?
[1:20] Did that worry you?
[1:22] Well, they...
[1:23] I'd prefer to have you do it, you understand.
[1:26] But if it worries you, it's pure jaw-boning, and it might work.
[1:36] Well, what I thought in the actual operation, I could turn that over pretty much to Maury Stantz.
[1:44] The question is...
[1:46] The main thing, though, is if you can have the Burns Committee, it's going to be much stronger...
[1:51] medicine, Arthur, than to have the Stans Committee or the Romney Committee.
[1:54] You see, that's our choice on interest.
[1:56] Yeah.
[1:56] And we just can't have that.
[1:58] Yeah.
[1:58] And that's why I told, when we met on this, and they, you know, when you were in New York, I said, well, Burns was considering, and I said, well, the difficulty with the other names is that they're not going to have any impact, and part of this is the moral impact.
[2:13] Well, it's a little troublesome, but, Mr. President, we live in difficult times.
[2:20] Sure.
[2:20] I'm willing to assume a little trouble.
[2:22] I see you've changed.
[2:24] Bill just walked in.
[2:24] As a safeguard, that's good.
[2:27] I don't want to give the indication that we're going to step in with a lot of laws right away.
[2:30] Oh, I'm so glad.
[2:32] As a safeguard, I will ask the Congress.
[2:34] Now, that doesn't bother you?
[2:36] No.
[2:36] There's standby controls over infiltration.
[2:39] Mr. President, I don't think you have much of a choice.
[2:42] If you don't say it... Oh, well, you heard those people in those meetings.
[2:46] The Congress will.
[2:47] Congressmen will propose it.
[2:49] Well, Patman will.
[2:50] Yeah, sure.
[2:51] Well, others will, too.
[2:53] Well, as a matter of fact, even John McClellan came in to see me, Arthur.
[2:56] Very conservative.
[2:57] He's running this year.
[2:58] He says, you've got to do something about interest.
[3:00] Yeah, that's it.
[3:01] And I said, well, you know, you give them the gobbledygook, but...
[3:04] Well, we're doing something, but, well, no, the people don't think so.
[3:07] So let's say it and then hope to God to go down.
[3:10] I know it.
[3:10] Yeah.
[3:12] Well, I met with bankers yesterday, New York bankers, and I told them that we probably will have to go that way, but we'll try to keep this on a voluntary basis, and a lot will depend on them.
[3:23] And also they'll trust you, but on the other hand, Arthur, if you get on the phone call, somebody's going to have more impact than anybody else in this country.
[3:29] So you just do it, okay?
[3:31] Well, I'm going to help as much as I can.
[3:33] This is terribly important.
[3:35] I appreciate it.
[3:35] And I'm going to slug it to him on the high level tonight, and you do it on the low level, you know.
[3:40] But if you need to, kick him in the grind.
[3:43] Fine.
[3:43] Mr. President, I haven't read your speech.
[3:45] I hope the rhetoric is strong.
[3:48] Don't worry.
[3:49] It's very strong.
[3:51] Probably too strong, but it's strong.
[3:53] Yeah, fine.
[3:53] It just, it basically, it says...
[3:55] says we're going to continue rather than that we're that I'm not calling it a new program I'm going to I'm calling it a continuation of the old well now that's the right see and now basically it is new but I say we are going to continue the program of wages treatment that was the key thing that I thought had to be in there so I remember you recommended that and I put that out right
[4:13] But I've got some lines in there you'll like.
[4:15] Well, wonderful.
[4:16] That's right.
[4:17] Now that we're getting a little, some good economic news.
[4:20] Yeah, the wholesale prices was good.
[4:22] The price index.
[4:23] Have you seen the unemployment figure?
[4:25] I understand a little now.
[4:27] Just a little, not enough, but.
[4:28] Well, at least it didn't go up.
[4:29] Yeah, right.
[4:31] Yeah.
[4:31] Right.
[4:31] All right.
[4:33] All right.
[4:33] Good luck tonight.
[4:34] Thank you.
[4:35] Yeah.
[4:35] All right.