Conversation 465-006

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I talked to him last night.

Yes, sir.

You talked to him and he... My view is he's sort of a straight-up crack.

It's all right.

But it has to do with another thing.

I'm just not going to have any congressman.

I'm going to write a tough letter on my own.

It's going to be very tough.

It's going to have to do with me.

I agree with you.

I think what we ought to say is, or I think about it is rather than, I know you're worried and trying to get in safety.

First, let me say, forget all the free trade crap.

Forget the fact that the trade bill may come in.

They may send a bad bill.

There's a lot of stuff on it.

I'll handle that when it comes.

Who knows?

I might sign it.

I understand.

Particularly if they let you wave wherever you want.

That's right.

That's right, because basically we may face a situation where a lot of people in this country report, no, what I'd like to say is basically that this is unsatisfactory.

It does not meet these criteria, and therefore I am sending this legislation to the Congress.

And until we have, until we get a satisfactory arrangement, or, I mean, I don't know how you put it in a way that says, well, maybe this deal with Mills is made, might or not be satisfactory.

That worries me.

Let me clear that.

That's quite a worry.

You got another idea?

No, I was following your idea that, frankly, Mills told Peters and yesterday they're not going to be in textile quota legislation this year.

Period.

Therefore, it seems to me you can properly convey your message that the flow of legislation is controlled by or is affected by him, and you're going to enter this monitoring thing.

Only if alternatives say you're going to monitor it, and if it doesn't work, then you'll send up legislation.

But frankly, that makes it look as if you believe it's going to work.

No, never.

No, the legislation will score me.

Right.

And I think that you're just, I'd like to bring in a draft view.

Well, I mean, you work on the thing, and then take it over.

Let John Mitchell get him in to take a look at it and see whether he thinks it's hard enough.

I will.

I had to go the hard way.

I talked to John Cowley, and boy, does he agree with you.

He says, don't use that stiletto, use a meat axe.

He says, say it so the fellow in the street can tell.

We'll understand what you're trying to do.

Know what he said?

Yeah.

He said, I see nothing wrong with this approach, and I see nothing wrong with the statement, but I think you ought to be good and strong.

He says, I think you've been jobbed by those people over there.

That's right.

And we've got to say so, and I go ahead and bring it up.

Well, that's my line.

I just wanted to... All right, Mr. President, I've got to tell you that there is the usual consternation...

to some extent, with regard to sending legislation now, is concerned, well, I'm going to let the ORG be.

They're afraid you're going to get bad legislation.

The legislation will be, whether we send it down or not, will not determine whether it's going to be legislation.

That will be determined by other factors.

The Georgia people this year, they're concerned about the fact that, you understand, if they want to have legislation, it's not going to be whether we send down a bill or not.

It's already there.

The other factor is that it will be determined by whether or not they

the filibuster and all the rest.

I would worry about that.

I know what I'm doing.

They're concerned about the other side of the coin.

They don't want anything to do with the Japanese.

I do.

I'm not planning for the Japanese to do this to us.

It isn't just keeping the commitment.

The Japanese have broken their national commitment.

We cannot have this.

We're going to have other platforms.

Other very big names.

And I think the fact, and if we try and be above it and sort of just do it again.

The problem that I, another problem that I think is attacked by this is when the ambassador came in and talked to me about this on Sunday night, I said, Mr.

Ambassador, this does not meet the administration's requirements.

He said, well, are you sure?

Mr. Mills has indicated that the president would not find this unacceptable.

And I said, Mr.

Ambassador, I know the president's position on this, and he would not find this acceptable.

And he said, well, didn't Mr. Mills have breakfast with the president?

Sure.

But the indication is that Mills went out of that, and by what he said, he indicated to the Japanese that you wouldn't mind this thing.

Well, that's it.

i never even saw it i said that i wouldn't i said that i was the baker which i've always said always said was sure to make their voluntary action but that they haven't gotten any yet right that's what i like and mills was very well but mills mills just made the election mills probably knows how weak this is

You see, Mills made it work fairly well with steel, and he's not really gotten into the guts of this problem, and he thinks it'll work in textiles.

It's a different problem.

Oh, yes.

They have promised.

They've kind of Mickey-moused, frankly, on attacking Mills yesterday.

And I said, don't ask them back in here unless they're ready to attack Mills.

We don't want anything to do with them.

So they have now promised that if we take some action such as this, they will immediately come out with a strong statement in support of you and attacking Wilberville.

That's what they have to do.

Why, sure.

They've got to carry some of the heat on this thing.

What's the matter with him?

Nothing.

Okay.

Well, the other thing I was going to ask you is if you're going to tell a secret about him.

I saw this statement on CBS.

It was called, I don't know, Fletcher's Postal Department.

I had her message on the bench.

If he's against ABN, he doesn't get the job.

He's not against ABN.

This has got to be cleared up.

What is it we're doing about this?

I see this as bad business.

And also saying that I didn't tell us about it.

Nobody's even discussing it.

Who put out such a goddamn story?

Sure.

Sure, at lunch three months ago before anyone talked to Fletcher, with Fletcher and three or four other presidents of universities.

I have never in my life indicated a doubt on ABM.

I've always been for it.

That's what is wrong.

We can indicate what his views are, but not mine.

What I got?

Fletcher was here for breakfast this morning.

Got Ron to talk to Fletcher.

He's talking to him, getting exactly what Fletcher said, and then putting the lie to shore on you're talking to Fletcher, you're having doubts, and on Fletcher having doubts.

This means that I don't have doubts.

Fletcher is.

I realize all these times.

Well, anyway, Fletcher denies it.

Yes, sir.

I know it there.

He's a good, at least on my face, he's a good man.

Incidentally, Casey 193.

I saw the committee.

I think it's a good report.

Yes, I agree.

I hope he does as well.

I wish it was that.

I hope he does as well and gets the full Senate, because the thought is he wants so.

So the full committee will do all right when he gets it.

One sidelight on the proxmire got a federal judge down here to testify against Casey on a case that he's been in, and apparently we had prime power in those fellows on the thing, and they just tore the federal judge apart.

He didn't read it and reviewed the case for me.

See if Mr. Price and Theo Cook