President Johnson followed up on Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's request for federal troops to help control the riots in Chicago in the wake of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination.
Operator: Hello?
President Johnson: Yes?
Operator: Can you hear on here [unclear]?
President Johnson: Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
Operator: [Chicago] Mayor [Richard J.] Daley.
Richard Daley: Hello?
President Johnson: Mayor?
Daley: Yes, sir?
President Johnson: Did you get [Illinois Governor Samuel H.] Shapiro?
Daley: Yes.
President Johnson: Is he calling you?
Daley: Yeah. He's calling [Attorney General] Ramsey [Clark] now.
President Johnson: All right. We--I told Ramsey to go ahead, even before he got the call. We won't make a record of it.
Daley: All right.
President Johnson: But just to tell him--tell them to put the planes in the air just as soon as he can.
Daley: Right.
President Johnson: Now, it looks like that you won't get much help until a pretty late hour, midnight until daylight--
Daley: Right.
President Johnson: --and it's hard to get them deployed, but they'll be moved. I told him this morning, just keep them [unclear] with the motors running until we got the request. I wanted to move them in to Kansas City, but Attorney General--or some joint place--
Daley: Yeah.
President Johnson: But they'll be ready now, [unclear comment by Daley] and they'll be in the air very shortly, and then as soon as we--Shapiro ought to make his call and get his wire down here just as quick as he can to--
Daley: He'll get it. Don't worry about that.
President Johnson: --to the Attorney General, and you--
Daley: They'll be under way then, Mr. President?
President Johnson: Yes, sir. They're on the way now.
Daley: All right. Thank you.
President Johnson: They've already been called and told to go.
Daley: All right. Thank you.
President Johnson: OK.