901–1

Conversation No. 901-1

Date: April 18, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:23 pm to 5:20 pm
Location: Oval Office

[Continued from Conversation No. 900-28]

An unknown portion of this conversation was not recorded while the audiotape reels were
changed.

The President met with George P. Shultz, Arthur F. Burns, John D. Ehrlichman, Roy L. Ash, and
Herbert Stein.

John T. Dunlop

-Income reporting

-Doctors


National economy
-Free market

-Cost of Living Council [COLC]

-Freedom

-Political impact

-Burns

-Congress’s expectations of administration’s programs

-Freeze

-Economic indicators

-Release

-Congress’s reaction

-Public confidence

-War

-Economic boom

-Determinism [?]

-Pre-notification

-Reassurance of the public

-Inflation

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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-1 (cont’d)

-Battle of the budget

-Meat prices

-Optimism

-Inflation

-Shultz’s advisory committee on labor management

-President’s leadership

-Wage guidelines

-Comparison with bankers

-President’s role

-Congress

-George Meany

-Pre-notification

-Phase III criteria

-Possible effect on prices

-Effect of removal

-Timing with election

-Announcement

-Companies

-Price increases

-Timing

-Advanced approval


Profit rate
-Estimate
-Oil
-Public reation
-Published figures

-Companies’ adherence to price guidelines

-Pre-notification

-Justification

-Price adjustments

-Bureaucracy

-Lumber

-Prices

-Pre-notification

-Prices

-Labor settlements

 -3-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-1 (cont’d)

-Cost of Living Council [COLC]

-Delays and reductions

-Automobile prices
-Effect of Phase II and Phase III
-Application for price increases
-Chrysler Corporation
-Application of price increases by big companies

-Effect of price freeze

-Pre-notification

-Phase II

-Paperwork

-Product diversity

-Modification

-Average price increase

-Phase III

-Paperwork

-Dow Chemical Corporation

-United States Steel

-General Electric

-Selective application option

-Nuisance

-President’s energy message

-Candor

-Natural gas prices

-Oil controls

-Pre-notification

-Oil companies’ actions

-Delivery Shifts
-High profit margins
-Mass transit
-School districts
-Effect on prices

-Wage settlements

-Pre-notification

-Price threshold

-Bargaining

 -4-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-1 (cont’d)

The President talked with an unknown woman at an unknown time between 4:06 pm and 4:50
pm.

[Conversation No. 900-28/901-1A]

[Begin telephone conversation]

[See Conversation No. 38-104]

Profit rates

-Labor negotiations

-Pre-notification

-Impact

-President’s interest


[End telephone conversation]

Profit rates

-Phase III

-Strengthening

-Economic Stabilization Act

-Pre-notification


Ehrlichman left at 4:50 pm.

Profit rate

-Phase III

-Psychological effect

-Meat price ceilings

-Pre-notification

-Popular impression of controls

-Popular expectations

-Polictical impact

-Public reaction

-Inflation

-Effect of administration’s efforts

-Psychology

 -5-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-1 (cont’d)


An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 4:50 pm.

Draft [?]

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 5:20 pm.

Phase III Economic Stabilization Program

-President’s statement

-Free market
-Psychological effect
-Pressures
-Energy
-Prices
-Phase III
-Labor negotiations
-Union’s reactions
-Forward solution
-Labor Unions

-Congress’s actions

-Dunlop

-President’s statement

-Praise for Congress

-Restraint

-Price controls
-Fiscal Policy
-Support for the free market

National Economy
-Fiscal policy
-President’s leadership
-Inflation
-Improvement
-Consumer Price Index [CPI]
-Real income
-Economic analysis
-Consumer prices
 -6-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-1 (cont’d)

-Wages

-Popular perceptions

-Wage increases

-Incremental rise

-Cost of living

-Deterioration

-Psychological effect

-Congress

-Government response

-Praise for Congress

-President’s statement


President’s schedule
-Future meetings

-President’s statement

-Economic Stabilization Act

-Labor-management advisory committee

-Meany

-Visit by Willy Brandt

-Industrial peace


National economy
-President’s statement
-Economic Stabilization Act
-Congressional action
-Public perceptions

-Economic boom

-Employment

-Wage price bulge

-Economic indicators

-Prices

-Inflation

-Curbs, price freeze

-Effect on economic boom

-Shortages

-Federal Budget

-President’s statement

 -7-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-1 (cont’d)

-Revenue
-Deficit
-Financial community
-Economic indicators
-Surplus
-Full employment
-Receipts
-Deficit
-Deficit for 1973, 1974
-Shultz
-Burns
-Congressional spending
-Full employment budget
-Surplus revenue

Federal Reserve Board

-New members


National economy

-Encouragement by President

-Previous recession and inflation


Kissinger entered at 5:20 pm.

Kissinger’s presence

-International Monetary Fund [IMF]


National economy

-Future meetings

-Shultz


Shultz et al. left at 5:20 pm.

[The President’s meeting with Kissinger appears as Conversation No. 901-2.]
 -8-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. January-2011)

Conversation No. 901-2 (cont’d)