75–1

Conversation No. 75-1

Date: September 14, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:07 am and 9:50 pm
Location: Cabinet Room

The President met with William J. Kuhfuss, John W. Scott, Robert C. McInturf, Tony C.
DeChant, Oren Lee Staley, Clifford M. Hardin, and Clarence D. Palmby
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

Wage-price freeze
-Agricultural segment of economy
-Organizations
-Scott
-National Grange
-Age and history of the group
-The President’s economic action
-Wages and price increases
-Productivity
-Economic policy
-Price freeze
-Tax proposals
-Cessation of gold convertibility
-Surcharge
-Freeze continuance
-Agricultural products
-Farm price contribution to inflation
-Business
-Processed agricultural products
-Raw agricultural product prices
-National Grange
-President’s new programs
-Effect on raw product prices
-Productivity increase
-Restaurant prices
-Management
-Cost of labor
-Stabilized economy
-Economic growth
-Agricultural production
-Last ten years
-Consumer prices
 2

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Minimum government involvement in agriculture
-Need for controls
-Restraint on wages and prices
-Economic effect on farmers
-Increase in efficiency and productivity
-Expandable income
-Continuance of necessary economic controls
-President’s program
-Inflationary problems
-Stabilization
-Agricultural wages
-Stability
-Raw materials
-Contracts
-Voluntary restraint
-Organized agricultural labor
-Seasonal labor
-Polls
-Wage earner and wife
-Price consciousness
-Retired people
-Person on dividends
-Bills and outlay
-Education
-Doctor’s bill

Kuhfuss
-American Farm Bureau

DeChant
-National Farmers’ Union
-Statements and summary vis-a-vis presentation
-Wage-price freeze
-Support for the new economic policy
-Effects
-Adjustments following freeze
-Scott
-Goals
-Reduction of inflation and unemployment
-Adjustments in farm prices
-1970 Farm Act
-Two years ceiling on farm income
 3

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Present farm parity, 70%
-Last sixty years
-Prices for agricultural commodity
-Market place
-President’s 1970 economic report
-Farmers’ return on investment capitol
-Lag in income of rural Americans
-Recession in agriculture
-Current trend of cost
-Continuity and rise of costs
-Productivity guide for income adjustment
-The President’s speech
-Department of Agriculture
-Hardin’s comments
-Unemployment
-Inflation
-Rural areas
-Agricultural well-being and nutrition
-Support of movement of dollar and gold standard
-Surcharge on imports
-Impact on monetary fund
-Effects on agriculture
-Working group on General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
[GATT]
-Possible counteraction
-Exports
-Agricultural dependence
-Other segments reliance on imports
-US down payment
-War and defense
-US dollar
-Present limitations
-Overseas investments
-Economic policy
-Interest rates ceiling
-John B. Connally
-Business on foreign money
-Profits acceptability
-Excess profit
-President’s support in farm sector
-American Farm Bureau
-The President and Secretary of Agriculture
 4

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Integrity of US dollar
-Investments
-US role in world
-Imbalance in US economy
-Labor, agriculture, and business
-Connections
-Imbalances and freeze
-Importance of security of US economy
-Confidence in US business
-Plan for investment in US economy
-Inflation
-Forces responsible
-Effects of end of the Vietnam war
-Employment levels
-Labor negotiations
-Import-export balances
-US and competitive world position
-Directions of US
-Market place
-User of commodities
-Direction for producer
-Supply and production
-Future of agriculture and US economy
-World trade
-Duration of freeze
-Future of US economy
-US dependence on world trade
-US participation in world trade
-Guidelines
-Negotiations between groups
-Duration of 10% import tax
-Effects on [US] trade balance
-Effect on US foreign trade
-US role in world trade
-McInturf of the National Council of Farm Cooperatives
-Appreciation of President’s leadership
-Farmers’ support for President’s group
-Rise in farm prices, costs
-Labor
-Exemptions of raw farm products
-Freeze
-Price contribution to inflation
 5

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Farmers’ image of effective curb on prices and wage rates
-Increase in productivity
-Housewife expenditures
-Amount spent on food
-Lowest in world
-Political acceptability
-Farm prices and income decrease
-Productivity and agriculture
-President’s talk with unknown person, September 3, 1971
-Increased productivity
-Fresh consumption
-Fruits and vegetables
-Exemption from freeze
-Processed food prices
-Exemptions relation to productivity of workers and farmers
involved
-Transportation cost
-Market control
-Distributing and processing market
-Productivity of industrial firms
-Farmers’ views
-Foreign and domestic economic coordination policy
-Import tax surcharge
-Duration
-Effect
-World trade economy
-Negotiations
-Exchange rates
-Worldwide responsibility for peace
-Long run trade expansion
-Self-help program
-Cooperatives
-Encouragement of farm marketing and farm
supplies
-Farmers’ group action
-Anti-inflationary action
-Need for President’s support
-Agriculture as US backbone
-Need for more committee work
-Agricultural improvement
-Staley
-Kuhfuss’s comments
 6

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Causes of imbalance
-Freeze effects
-International trade problems
-Deficit of payment
-Countries assisted through Marshall Plan
-Dollar status
-President’s program
-New points
-President’s statement of issues
-Franklin D. Roosevelt and 1937
-Equity and peacetime economy
-Inflation and economic recession
-Jack R. Miller
-Speech at Iowa State Convention
-Level of farm income
-President’s program with agriculture
-Alternatives
-Inflation and recession
-Effects of freeze
-Long term repercussions
-Changing of US economy
-Conglomerate corporate structure
-Ability to administer prices
-Lowering volume output
-Profits
-Gross National Product [GNP]
decrease, inflation increase
-Raising interest rates
-Money supply
-Taxation
-Higher income groups
-Incentive of capitalistic structure
-Labor’s responsibility
-Welfare
-Leadership
-Wage contracts
-Unions
-President’s recognition of importance of agriculture
-Agriculture’s role in economy
-30% of US population directly tied to farmers’ income
-Poverty in rural areas
-Increase of farm income
 7

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Credit and interest rates
-Small businessmen
-Unemployment
-Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
-Large corporation structures
-Roman Empire
-Factors in collapse
-Companies and interlocking directorship
-Administration of prices
-Antitrust enforcement
-Wages
-Inequities
-US foreign country development
-Surcharges
-Strategy
-Reality of situation
-President’s awareness
-Dollar and economy protection
-Agricultural plan
-Farmers’ number increase
-Average age of electronic engineers
-Average age of farmers
-Need for farmers’ profits
-Organized economy
-Countries with dollars
-Need for products
-US as supplier
-Japan’s future food supply
-World population
-International agreements
-Floors on foreign products
-Common Market
-Agricultural commodities
-Alleviation of issue
-Hardin
-Farm income
-Price raising
-Farmers in profit position
-Rural development in profit situation
-Rural development
-Grants
-Raw material productivity
 8

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Increase in farm income
-Investment in productivity
-Rural economy
-Reforms
-Use of steel, oil
-Economic income
-Success of economic policy
-Recession
-Cost of Living Council [COLC]
-Discussion of action following 90-day freeze
-Options
-Political forces
-Rapid inflation
-Follow-up program
-Wage-price freeze
-Duration
-Wartime measures applied in peacetime
-Public support
-Labor and business views
-Agricultural commodities
-Effectiveness
-Long term solution
-Controls
-Free market
-Inflation
-Government spending
-Government influence
-Productivity of guidelines
-Proposals
-Labor negotiations
-President’s presentation
-Freeze follow-up
-Firm program
-Enforcement of policy
-Majority of public support
-Establishment of board
-Enforcement authority
-Dealing with issues
-Two segments of economy
-Inflation-affected segment
-Economically depressed part
-Views of majority of US
 9

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-New tax program
-Wages
-Profits
-Low interest rates
-Economically depressed areas
-Factors
-Organized labor
-Wage raise
-Effects for the unorganized
-Type of action required
-Inflation
-Wages
-Contracts
-Unemployment
-Freeze follow-up
-Voluntary program
-Prices and wages
-Labor contract negotiations
-Rank and file of labor
-National leaders
-People at local level
-Federal Reserve
-Excess profits
-Protection of prices
-Control
-Bureaucracy
-President’s leadership
-Food prices
-Investment
-Statistical data
-Investment and capital
-Business issues
-Low steel profits
-World market
-Hardin’s liaison role
-President’s need of input for decision-making
-Import surcharge
-Effects in agriculture
-Japan and European countries
-Long term purpose
-Exchange rates
-Floating dollar, surcharge
 10

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Readjustment of exchange rates
-Tariff barriers
-US industry
-Greater dividend out of foreign trade
-US agriculture
-Japanese
-Opening of market to noncompetitive products
-Soybeans
-Connally’s trip abroad
-Selling of agricultural products
-Agriculture as main producer of foreign exchange
-Aerospace industries
-Long range effect of US policies
-Short term retaliation
-Building of new system
-Highly competitive commodity
-Tax reductions
-Automobile excise tax
-Job investment credit
-Job development credit
-Agricultural segment of population
-Congress
-The President’s September 9, 1971 speech
-Corresponding cut in spending
-Wage-price freeze
-Deferral of wage increase for government employees
-Six month deferral
-Wage cut’s effect
-Farmers’ views
-Support of President’s policy
-Parity
-Agriculture’s position
-Freeze
-Imbalances
-Farmers
-Increased costs
-Income
-Businessman
-Outlay, income
-Fertilizers’ importance
-Amount of wage earners in US
-US world role in agriculture
 11

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Congressmen
-Senators
-Need for strong agricultural economy
-Public awareness
-Chicago speech
-Cost of US food program
-Food program subsidies
-Small percentage of income for food
-Comparison with past
-US productivity and competitiveness
-Fresno, California
-Labor, boycotts
-US balance of trade
-Foreign produce
-Employees, hiring
-Consumers’ choice
-Prohibition of technology
-Three years
-Mechanical apparatus use
-Boycotting of products
-United Farm Workers
-Technological advances in agriculture
-Politics
-Grape boycott

The President left at 12:37 pm

[General conversation/Unintelligible]

Kuhfuss, et al. left at an unknown time before 9:50 pm