Haldeman:
The next day we met at ten o'clock, and I took the notes
down. It didn't quite fill two pages, double- spaced, and that
was the agreement we struck for a $240 million business. We
sold 51 percent of the company, and I was managing it for them.
Swent: When exactly was this, Bob?
Haldeman: It was between January and February of 1964. That memo was
given to the president, and they immediately made a press
release of the results of the agreements with the three
companies. He said, "I have drafted legislation that I needed
enacted to make these things become effective."
Swent: These three companies were all announced simultaneously?
Haldeman: Yes. The word leaked out a little bit, but then the president
went over national radio.
Swent: And you had heard what the results of the other two meetings
were?
Haldeman: The next day, when the president went over the radio, the phones
started to jingle. Anaconda called up: "You s.o.b.'s. You
dirty so-and-so's."
Bob Koenig called up and said, "Congratulations. I think
it was brilliant. I should have thought of it myself; I could
have gotten some cash out of this investment." [laughter]
Anaconda was furious.
Swent: Had you been aware of what Anaconda and Koenig had done?
Haldeman: Yes. Chile is a large country, relatively speaking, but it's a
small one--Peyton Place; you know what that means.
Swent: How had you heard?
Haldeman: There are leaks of information all over the place. It's very
hard to keep a secret in Chile. I knew in general what they
were talking about.
Swent: Was there a club where you met people and this sort of gossip
was circulated?
Haldeman: No. A fellow like Mr. Illanes and some of the Chilean
supervisors that I raised up into key positions have an awful
lot more information sources than a foreigner. They pick it up
at cocktail parties. It leaks around. Then they can report to
me. I needed those; I didn't have the ears. My intelligence
service. Everybody had it.
Swent: I was just wondering if there was a country club or a downtown
club.
Haldeman: No, nothing like that. Oh, there are, but usually they don't
leak it to you there. They wouldn't have said anything to us.
Of course, it took them by surprise; it took everybody by
complete surprise. It was very bold and very good.
At that time Michaelson and I were talking, and we came to
the conclusion that this would probably last two
administrations- -Frei and the following. Twelve years.
Swent: They never gave you credit for having thought of this?
Haldeman: Let's wait until a little later to talk about that. 
Abandoned barracks at the ghost town of Sewell, Chile
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