On October 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 3:25 pm to 3:32 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 010-136 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
Mr. President, Mr. Sapphire.
All right.
Yeah.
Mr. President, I have a couple of minor changes that might be helpful.
All right.
On page two, where you say three and a half years, that's now seven years.
Just a second.
Page two.
Are you reading, Captain?
Yeah.
Wholesale prices in September posted the what?
The biggest price of industrial commodities has declined for the first time.
Well, you say in three and a half years.
Yeah.
It's in seven years.
All right.
We'll get that because seasonally adjusted, it's seven years.
Yeah.
But you don't have to say seasonally adjusted.
Oh, I don't need to say that.
Page nine.
Just a second.
Yeah.
On page nine, at the very end...
business should pass along a fair share of its cost savings to the consumer.
I think it makes the point a lot firmer if you add in the form of lower prices.
By cutting prices, is that better?
By cutting prices, I seem direct to you.
Yeah, where are we?
Page?
Page nine, the very end of the page.
Well, I must be looking at it.
Do you have, what, my copy or another?
I have, I think it's your copy.
Well, no, no, I have a different situation because I changed a few things.
I mean, I've broken up the pages.
All right, I'll find it in a minute.
This is on the profit thing.
Right if you say win-for-profits or another matter.
Yeah.
That business should pass along a fair share of its cost savings to the consumer.
By cutting prices?
By cutting prices.
I think by cutting prices is better than, say, in the form of lower prices, don't you think so?
By cutting is tougher, right.
But somehow, when I read it again...
Hold, hold.
Yeah.
I think folks understand cutting prices.
By cutting prices.
Okay, that's all I have.
Is there anything you want me to do?
No, I think I've got everything I need.
I'm just going over the final pages now to get some up in my head.
Okay, I'll be here.
I think it reads fine.
15 minutes, it's all it's going to take, 15 minutes, which is good.
It's about 1780 words, isn't it?
Maybe 19.
Yes, I had 1750 last year.
Well, it's fine.
It's not too long.
It's too long.
Although some take a little longer to read because you know those letters and things.
I don't want to rush them.
You've got to let people sort of sink in on those.
15 minutes is a pretty short speech for a major speech.
Anything over two minutes is too long.
People get so bored.
But if you go past two minutes, then I think people are ready for a meat and potatoes meal, you know, on your speech.
Yeah.
Well, actually, I think we've got a good thing here.
We just don't know how people are going to take the business community.
They've been squealing for all this thing.
When they see a little of it hurting them on the profit thing, they're likely to go right up the goddamn wall.
and the interest and so forth.
But that's fine.
I mean, if this is going to work, you've got to let it apply to everybody.
And everybody's going to, if everybody screams equally, then it'll play well.
That's right.
Except the business guys take it out to you by their market and so forth.
But I don't care.
I think we're doing the right thing.
I don't think this is going to hurt the market.
Well, if it does, I don't care because it's only temporary.
What's going to count in the market is what happens.
And if the inflation is down and
Jobs go up gradually, and the market's going to go up.
That's what's going to happen.
The market is basically, as George Shultz says, neurotic.
Okay, I'm here if you need me.
Thank you.
Right there.