Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 18 › Conversation 018-108

Nixon phone call with Morton on Environmental policy and National parks

Monday, January 3, 1972 · 2:58 PM–3:00 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Morton, Rogers C. B.Conversation018-108 on Tape 18 (tape position 01:17:49–01:20:21)StartMonday, January 3, 1972 at 2:58 PMEndMonday, January 3, 1972 at 3:00 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 018-108 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton discussed planning a post-China trip environmental tour to showcase national parks and conservation efforts. Nixon also addressed a proposal from Theodore Roosevelt III regarding the donation of a historical letter from the Empress of China to President Theodore Roosevelt. The two agreed to have Rose Mary Woods facilitate the acquisition of the document for potential inclusion in the Presidential Library.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I thought you should know that my daughter, Julie, was talking to me on the phone today, and she said, you know, I want you to tell Secretary Martin how impressed I was by him.
He said he's articulate, he's friendly, he's very good with the press, and people like him.
Well, didn't she not?
Took her on a terrible trip, Mr. Press.
Waded her right into the swamp.
She thought it was great, and I think it's a very good way for her to show the interest in that.
Oh, it came in at a later point, of course.
After I get through with my China trip, I've got to do something, you know what I mean, in this field.
That's right.
I told Ehrlichman and Haldeman to get busy today that I was thinking maybe I'd take a two-day trip of some sort where we do not just like maybe not only a park like Yellowstone, but something in the way of the other environmental stuff.
Oh, yeah, I think we ought to do something other than parks.
Well, I've got a Yellowstone, I suppose, for the 100th anniversary, but I've done parks.
But I think if you get maybe you and Russ Train, and if you might, you, Russ Train, and...
and uh his group uh maybe you just sort of sort of follow up with miss will you with the russ and which honor like men and the rest and all get there i can't do anything raj now between on the time i know you came to china because i've got i'm now writing state of the union and then i've got to get budget and all that crap out but then uh that in april and may will be nice times to we want to rile it in with good acting stuff oh yeah we can do that for and make it even
Mr. President, the Roosevelt family called me, Theodore Roosevelt III.
I've sent it over to Rosemary, and you might want to take a look.
It's an original letter from the Empress of China to President Roosevelt expressing her great feeling about the relationship between the people of China and the people of the United States.
And the family called me and said they would like to make it available to you and give it to you if you wanted to take it with you and give it to them.
Well, that's really something.
It's probably worth about $50,000, I guess.
Give it to them.
Maybe we should put it in the Presidential Library.
Yeah, I think so.
Well, I guess it's part of their library.
It's part of their library.
Yeah, but maybe it would be a good idea.
That's a very good idea.
Rosemary has the dope on it, so if you want me to follow through, I'll get it all arranged.
Good deal.
Fine, fine.
Right on.
Okay, you're doing all right otherwise.
Yes, sir.
We're just great.
You're behaving.
I have no choice.
Okay, no choice.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On January 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rogers C. B. Morton talked on the telephone from 2:58 pm to 3:00 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 018-108 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 18-108

Date: January 10, 1972
Time: 2:58 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Rogers C. B. Morton.

[See Conversation No. 313-14]

     The President's talk with Julie Nixon Eisenhower
          -Julie Nixon Eisenhower's assessment of Morton
                -Trip to Big Cypress Swamp

     The President's trip to a wilderness area
          -The President’s forthcoming trip to the People’s Republic of China [PRC]
          -John C. Whitaker
          -The President’s talks with John D. Ehrlichman and H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
          -Parks
                -Yellowstone
          -Russell E. Train
          -Ehrlichman
          -The President's schedule
                -State of the Union address
                -Budget
                -Time

     Morton's conversation with Theodore Roosevelt, III
          -Letter from Empress of China to Roosevelt
                -Rose Mary Woods
                -Disposition

                -Value
                     -Presidential library
                -Woods

Also recorded on January 3, 1972

  • 643-004 2:10 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 643-005 2:10 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 643-006 2:10 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 643-008 2:17 PM · 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, unknown person(s), Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:17 pm to 3:07 pm.
  • 643-010 3:07 PM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry Ford, II, Edwin D. Etherington, Charles W. Colson, Rayburn D. Hanzlik, White House photographer, Stephen B. Bull, Manolo Sanchez, and Peter G. Peterson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:07 pm to 3:40 pm.
  • 087-001 3:40 PM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, Paul A. Volcker, George P. Shultz, Peter M. Flanigan, Clark MacGregor, Peter G. Peterson, Richard V. ("Dick") Allen, Deane R. Hinton, William D. Eberle, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 3:40 pm to 4:44 pm.
  • 643-011 3:40 PM · 21 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 4:44 pm.
  • 643-012 3:40 PM · 36 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 4:44 pm.

All 105 conversations from January 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 018-108, January 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/018-108 (accessed October 12, 2026).