September 6, 1973

Nixon, in Sept 5 news conf, says US will enter nuclear arms negotiations in a '2d-class position' unless Cong moves quickly to implement White House initiatives; contends that those in Cong who would balance budget by shifting funds from defense to domestic programs make 'fatal mistake' of risking strong US bargaining position in forthcoming SALT talks and in talks on mutual forces reduction in Central Eur

Nixon holds news conf on Sept 5

NYC Consumer Affairs Comr Furness announces that Consumer Affairs Dept wkly survey of over-all food prices found decline last wk for 3d successive wk; chart indicating city market basket prices

Pres Nixon on Sept 5 says he is placing Middle East settlement on highest priority to eliminate Arab threat of curtailing oil supplies, news conf; blames both sides for failure to achieve settlement; warns Arabs risk alienating US and Eur mkts by continually raising prices, expropriating foreign holdings and failing to make adequate compensation; recalls past failures by Arab states to successfully expropriate holdings but offers no solution to recent Libyan expropriation other than legal action to block sale of expropriated oil

Pres Nixon indicates on Sept 5 that he paid no capital gains tax on a $1.24-million sale of some of his property at San Clemente, Calif, news conf; says IRS did not order him to make any changes in his income tax returns; concedes there is some difference of opinion on whether he realized any capital gain on sale of 23 acres of San Clemente property to R H Abplanalp and C G Rebozo; says if IRS had ordered change after auditing his returns for '71 and '72, he would have paid tax; says he does not resent 'implications' that his property at either Key Biscayne, Fla, or San Clemente was 'enriched because of what the Govt did'; says what Govt did at San Clemente 'reduced the value of the property'; says audit of his real estate transactions by public acctg co, released last wk by White House, 'gave the lie' to repts that he paid for his San Clemente property 'a million dollars worth of campaign funds'; complains that these repts were printed in '8-column heads in most of the papers' of US but that 'retractions ended back up with the corset ads for the most part'; says he bought all his property with no money except his own, which he borrowed and still owes; mentions he also owns house in which his mother once lived on Whittier Blvd; says he owns no stocks or bonds