Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-003

Nixon phone call with Rumsfeld on Economic Stabilization Program

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 3:06 PM–3:10 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Rumsfeld, Donald H.Conversation012-003 on Tape 12 (tape position 00:08:34–00:13:27)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 3:06 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 3:10 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Donald Rumsfeld discussed the appointment of members to the newly formed Price Board and Pay Board, key components of the administration's economic stabilization program. Nixon suggested Hoyt Ammidon for a board position and emphasized the need for a strong, decisive chairman for the Pay Board to counter union leaders like George Meany. They also coordinated plans to finalize the announcements by Friday to ensure maximum media coverage in the Sunday papers.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Yes, sir.
Yeah.
Hi, Don.
Yes, sir.
Oh, I wondered what your final figure came from your friend up in Princeton.
Oh, I've not gotten it.
Oh, I see.
I was not aware that you were under the impression that I had.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
I thought you said that he was going to have it, but that's all right.
It's not important.
Well, I'll check with him and see what he's got.
Let's see.
Today's
Wednesday.
I think he has to send it out to the papers Wednesday night or Thursday morning, so he must have it.
We don't want it in advance, unless he wants to give it to us.
Sure.
Well, I'll take a crack at it and get back to you.
If you have it.
I'm just curious.
Sure, I am too.
If he's going to come out Sunday, if he's going to come out Sunday, he'll probably just as soon let you have it.
I would think so.
Since they're going to have it, because hell, he knows damn well you're not going to tell anybody.
No.
Right, right.
Good.
Well, I'm... How are you getting on your names?
Everything on the committee is still... Well, it's coming.
The price is completely done.
There's still one... You need a public member?
A private member.
One name that occurred to me, who's a very good man in social, I mean, public-minded, is Hoyt Amidon.
Has that name ever come across your desk?
No, sir.
I've not seen his name on there yet.
He's the president of New York Trust.
He's a great friend of Connolly's.
Connolly was on his board.
And he's about 60 years of age and, you know, very public-spirited, great fellow, and sort of one of the big men in the financial communities.
i'll pass that along to amadon peter knows him well they're all their social buddies very good i don't know why i hadn't thought of his name previously because we've he was so good that as a matter of fact we offered him ambassador to paris once so but he's he's a name that occurs to me we're hoping and shooting for an announcement tomorrow on both of them and then a visit a brief visit with you oh i should have a visit sometime friday it would be fine fine the other thing is that uh
Yeah, anytime you say, because I'll be here all day Friday.
I'm not going away.
Great.
This weekend.
So we could do it, and that'd be good, get it Friday afternoon so it hits next week's magazine.
Right.
And the Sunday papers.
Right.
Friday afternoon.
I do something.
Oh, yeah, I do the Republican Women Friday morning.
But I do not want that to be the big news anyway.
I would much prefer to have this blanket that.
We could do it at 11 o'clock, 11.30.
That's when we were hoping, and the only thing is pinning down this one last fellow.
Fine.
Who'd you make chairman of the price board, finally?
Did you decide?
Grayson is his name.
I don't know him personally.
But you've got a pretty good board.
The pay one is the open.
Oh, it's the open.
The chairman.
And George has got to call into a fellow right now and
You're trying to go for what?
What kind of a fellow there?
Well, he's got to be a public type, and we're hopeful he's a...
He's got to be a professor, in other words.
Well, or a mediation type who could get people to work together.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we always come up with that same fellow from Harvard all the time, but I guess we can't use him on this one.
It's going to be a tough job.
Oh, this is the most important assignment of all.
Not Scranton, huh?
No, sir.
He's on the price one.
Yes, indeed.
Let me think about on this.
Let's think.
You really need a strong man here, a strong, strong, vigorous man.
The fellow who George is calling is a dean up at Michigan.
and well that's a kind of well he ought to be able if he can run a goddamn campus he could do this maybe so maybe i don't know okay well but i think it's coming along george's judgment would be very good on this sort of thing because really when you come down to it uh
The ideal man to head this is George.
I mean, he would be excellent.
He's the kind of man we're looking for.
So just tell George to get somebody like himself.
Yes, indeed.
That'll make you feel good, too.
Okay.
But don't you agree?
George is strong.
He really would.
He's liked by both sides and respected.
Sure.
I mean, I don't know.
It's...
The names are sure a problem, though, they're sure.
It is, and it's also going to take some guy with some backbone and guts.
He can't be... Oh, yeah, because you see, the pay one is the one that scares all the businessmen together.
Of course, the businessmen are wrong.
They're too spineless, but you've got to have somebody that can not let George Meany and these fellows muck them down every time.
Yes, sir.
Well, good luck.
If you need any help, let me know.
Great.
And I'll get back to you on this.
I'm just working over in the OB today on some private things.
Good.
Well, I'll get back to you on the other thing.

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:10 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 012-003

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: 3:06 pm- 3:10 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Donald H. Rumsfeld.

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[See Conversation No. 282-12]

     Final figures
           -Princeton person
                 -Information to the press

     Names for committees
         -Price Board
         -Pay Board
               -Hoyt Ammidon
                     -President, New York Trust
                     -John B. Connally
                     -Peter G. Peterson
                     -Offer of Ambassadorship
               -Timing for announcement
                     -The President's schedule
                           -Republican women
         -Price Board
               -C. Jackson Grayson
         -Pay Board
               -Personnel
                     -George P. Shultz
                     -Obligations of chairman
                           -Qualifications
                     -William W. Scranton II
                     -Shultz
                           -Harvard University
                           -Dean, Michigan
                     -Importance
               -George Meany

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 282-009 2:47 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:47 pm to 2:51 pm.
  • 012-001 2:51 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 2:51 pm to 3:00 pm.
  • 282-010 2:51 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:51 pm to 3:00 pm.
  • 012-002 3:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:06 pm.
  • 282-011 3:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:00 pm and 3:06 pm.
  • 282-012 3:06 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:06 pm to 3:10 pm.
  • 282-013 3:10 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:10 pm and 3:15 pm.
  • 282-014 3:15 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:15 pm to 3:42 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-003, October 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-003 (accessed October 12, 2026).