Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 519 › Conversation 519-005

Nixon, Bull & Spain on Civil Service Commission and sex discrimination

Monday, June 14, 1971 · 12:17 PM–12:26 PM ET · Oval Office ·10 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Bull, Stephen B.;  Spain, Jayne B.;  Spain, John;  Spain, Jeffry;  Spain, Kim;  Mayer, Howard;  Mayer, Howard (Mrs.);  Sharek, Carl;  Sharek, Carl (Mrs.);  Taft, Robert A., Jr.;  Hampton, Robert E.;  Stewart, PotterConversation519-005 onTape 519 (tape position 01:18:00–01:28:26)StartMonday, June 14, 1971 at 12:17 PMEndMonday, June 14, 1971 at 12:26 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 519-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held an Oval Office meeting with Jayne B. Spain, Robert E. Hampton, and several guests to preside over the swearing-in ceremony for Spain as a Civil Service Commissioner. Following the ceremony, the President emphasized the importance of eliminating sex discrimination in federal hiring. He directed the commission to ensure fairness and actively identify talented women for advancement into senior government positions.

  • Jayne B. Spain
  • Civil Service Commission
  • sex discrimination
  • federal hiring
  • women in government
  • swearing-in ceremony

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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All right.
Careful.
$10,000.
$10,000.
Okay, keep her ready.
I'll sit up here.
He wears these robes all the time.
Oh.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yes sir.
Thank you.
I mean, I want to say, yes, I want to answer, but yes, I'm going to do anything to do so.
Well, I'm going to tell them.
There we go.
Yeah.
Isn't that you?
All right.
Today is the day I see you.
When I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation, or purpose of eviction, then I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office.
I wish I have not been there.
So help me God,
I received a letter after that from a lady who said that she was a GS5.
She said that she had been discriminated against and that the letters were false.
I want you to know that I respect you in your role as a civil service commissioner and as the chair of the commission, who, for all the complaints not only that come into the commission, but from the White House from that perspective, see that there's absolute fairness in terms of your motion.
There are no prejudices that are worked against those who
And beyond that, I want you to look over various departments of government and try to find talented, able women who can be picked up and moved up the ladder.
It is just a question of providing a piece of the sweet wheels.
I mean, if you want to do that, it's a question also of searching for
real talent, that talent that may be useful in better possessions for people, very talented, but it's useless to provide.
In other words, do the best you can.
We need able people, and we don't want one, for example, who has the ability, not to have the ability, to use to the full.
We can't reach the, all in that respect, but the pure executive experience you want to have.
I'll give my hand.
Thank you very much.
Yes.
Yes.
If I could get somebody to scream for me.
I'll do it in a minute.
I'll open it.
Oh yes, we'll give you all a presidential complex for those that are here as our guests.
I think the Justice has a set of ideas as to what I'll do.
Do you have a paper with them?
No, thank you.
Thank you.
The paper is too big for that.
You've got too much paper.
That's a nice one.
Thank you.
That's all we've got.
There you go.
You can buy this present when I come over here.
Well, all right.
All right.
Oh, here's another.
Thank you.
All right, I'll set it for us.

NARA Description

On June 14, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Jayne B. Spain, John Spain, Jeffry Spain, Kim Spain, Howard Mayer, Mrs. Howard Mayer, Carl Sharek, Mrs. Carl Sharek, Robert A. Taft, Jr., Robert E. Hampton, and Potter Stewart met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:17 pm to 12:26 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 519-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 519-5

Date: June 14, 1971
Time: 12:17 pm - 12:26 pm

Location: Oval Office

Stephen B. Bull, Jayne B. Spain, John Spain, Jeffry Spain, Kim Spain, Mr. and Mrs. Howard
Mayer, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Sharek, Robert A. Taft, Jr., Robert E. Hampton, and Potter Stewart
entered

      General conversation
          -Cost of office items

The President entered at 12:19 pm

      Arrangement for swearing-in

      Swearing-in

      Hiring of women
           -Civil Service Commission
           -Complaints against sex discrimination

      Gift presentation
            -Rogers C. B. Morton

      President’s schedule
           -William P. Rogers

J. B. Spain, et al. left at 12:26 pm

Also recorded on June 14, 1971

  • 061-002 11:54 AM · 55 min — President Richard M. Nixon and railway union leaders, including Frank T. Gladney, John J. McNamara, C. J. Coughlin, William W. Winpisinger, Charles J. Chamberlain, Anthony L. Krause, C. L. Dennis, J. R. Tipton, A. T. Otto, Jr., Charles R. Pfenning, J. W. O'Brien, Richard W. Smith, James E. Yost, Charles E. Goodlin, Harold C. Crotty, Charles Luna, John A. Volpe, Charles W. Colson, George T. Bell, Willie J. Usery, Jr., and James D. Hodgson, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:54 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 519-004 11:56 AM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Peter G. Peterson, Harry S. Dent, Peter M. Flanigan, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:56 am to 12:17 pm.
  • 005-061 12:16 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 12:16 pm to 12:19 pm.
  • 005-062 12:16 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:16 pm and 2:41 pm.
  • 519-006 12:26 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:26 pm.
  • 519-007 12:26 PM · 42 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 1:09 pm.
  • 519-008 1:10 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:10 pm to 1:30 pm.
  • 519-009 1:30 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:30 pm to 1:44 pm.

All 57 conversations from June 14, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 519-005, June 14, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/519-005 (accessed September 18, 2026).