Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 97 › Conversation 097-001

Connally, Shultz & Rumsfeld on Economic stabilization and Price Commission

Thursday, March 23, 1972 · 3:56 PM–11:59 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 19 min

ParticipantsConnally, John B.; Shultz, George P.; Rumsfeld, Donald H.; Cheney, Richard B.; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation097-001 on Tape 97StartThursday, March 23, 1972 at 3:56 PMEndThursday, March 23, 1972 at 11:59 PMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 097-001 ↗

AI Summary

John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Richard B. Cheney met to discuss economic stabilization policies and the operational status of key administrative bodies. The participants reviewed the activities of the Price Commission and the Cost of Living Council, including ongoing hearings and the impact of price controls on specific commodities like steer hides. The discussion also addressed the economic distribution of price increases between farmers and other industry stakeholders, as well as the administrative coordination between the Pay Board and various government agencies.

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part A, 1:27

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NARA Description

On March 23, 1972, John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Richard B. Cheney, and unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 3:56 pm and 11:59 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 097-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 97-1

Date: March 23, 1972
Time: Unknown between 3:56 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Cabinet Room

John B. Connally met with George P. Shultz, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Richard B. Cheney, and
unknown men
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

       International economy
             -Council on International Economic Policy [CIEP]

       Price Commission
             -Cost of Living Council

       Advisory Committee on Export Policy

       Steer hides
             -Price per pound

       Farmer

       Pay Board

       Price Commission
             -Hearings schedule
                  -American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations [AFL-
CIO]
            -Operations

Recording was cut off at an unknown time before 11:59 pm

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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There is a statutory aspect to this.
I get it for you somewhere here.
The only thing I'd add, trust me, Mr. Chairman, is that when this is said, should we notify the price commission and the government, we are likely to defend it.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
Recommendation 2 makes two parts.
One will change the name of the group who will undertake the study.
Number 2 is the attitude, the attempt to perform the price-admission reaction that's caused by the Council of State.
Is your objection to it?
If not, I assume the recommendation has been absolutely...
Yes, sir.
Make sure to hide the weight on it.
So you're talking about hiding what's inside of it.
So here is what the devil did right now.
What is that cost on this?
It's about that.
That's about $25,000.
So here's what's happened to the sensor.
The price was pretty good.
$500 on some of the other sensors.
I call that price $500.
There's another...
There's another interesting fact.
One of our guys told us that, oddly enough, the farmer doesn't get nearly as much of this increase as one would have expected.
That is the...
The...
The work of the pay board has been rather well publicized this week, and I know that all the ways to it beyond that, which everyone now knows.
The pricing mission is in Chicago today, holding hearings.
Various people are testifying to senior unions.
The, uh, figures of the IRS system are here below the sound cover.
Number of inquiries, how are you?

— 10 min 53 s with no transcribed speech —

I'm trying to get it.
I need to talk to the mayor.
I'm trying to get the name of it.
Good.
It's scary to put a hold on it.
I need someone to put a hold on it.
You want to be there to vote for us?
You're either going to do that or you're just going to retire from that role.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
Demanding that let's see if this beer raises in this beer.
The Washington Post said this morning they were funding this.
Well, they asked for it, but it wasn't written on it.
It was written down on the table.
Oh, yeah.
I read that.
In other words, I said to the attorney, I've got a few bucks over the bed on me, and she just won't be able to get it out of her hands.
I haven't thought about it, and so have I.
So he didn't really have a mind to memorize them anyway.
He could never get to the truth of this thing.
Anderson hasn't really had a quick account of it.
He put it to one side and said, oh, it's like, it's the ones we're pre-existing on.
They...
They had, instead of Chinese and the SS and the ITT, if anybody over there ever brought up the point that, you know, if they did make a deal, or if they made the last deal ever known to man, I mean, they'd have been better off if they'd given Hartford up the chicken.
The stock market, as I recall, went down 7 points the day after, and within a week it went down 12 points.
I know this is not the right...
I understand that I can't see, and I don't understand, I don't know, what Auburn means to $100,000 that we were bidding for the Democratic Convention.
We can't get the goddamn state chairman to turn the letter over to us.
But I think I see a copy of it.
State to state.

Also recorded on March 23, 1972

  • 022-004 2:36 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 2:36 pm to 2:40 pm.
  • 022-005 2:40 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:40 pm and 5:33 pm.
  • 096-004 3:02 PM · 1 hr 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the Cost of Living Council, including John B. Connally, Herbert Stein, Donald H. Rumsfeld, J. Philip Campbell, Peter G. Peterson, James D. Hodgson, George W. Romney, George P. Shultz, Gen. George A. Lincoln, Virginia H. Knauer, Arthur F. Burns, James W. McLane, Albert E. Abrahams, Joseph Mullaney, Marvin H. Kosters, Richard B. Cheney, James Connor, Richard J. Alfultis, Donald Smith, Clark MacGregor, William L. Gifford, Charles R. Perry, and the White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 3:02 pm and 3:56 pm.
  • 692-001 3:56 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:56 pm and 4:03 pm.
  • 692-002 4:03 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:03 pm to 5:04 pm.
  • 692-003 4:08 PM · 54 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Marshall Green, John H. Holdridge, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., White House photographer, unknown person(s), White House photographer, Stephen B. Bull, and members of the press met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:08 pm to 5:02 pm.
  • 692-004 5:03 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:03 pm to 5:17 pm.
  • 692-005 5:17 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:17 pm to 5:22 pm.

All 37 conversations from March 23, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 097-001, March 23, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/097-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).