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A NEW CREDO OF FREEDOM 71
project, provided it remained uncompromising in ideology and did not
evade or pussyfoot “on major issues, such as the issue of defending capitalism,”
Rand reported to Pollock. Next on her list was Gloria Swanson,
a famous actress from the silent movie era who had been a Willkie supporter.
Swanson was originally reluctant to participate, but after reading
Rand’s “Manifesto” she agreed to join the committee and make further
introductions. “I can’t repeat what she said about the ‘Manifesto,’
it would sound too much like boasting on my part,” Rand bragged to
Emery. 8 During this time Rand also met John Gall, an attorney for the
National Association of Manufacturers, who pledged to drum up interest
and possibly funding among his colleagues.
With enough interest aroused, in the late summer and fall Rand and
Pollock scheduled a series of meetings to discuss their plans and talk
with professional fund-raisers. At least one of these meetings was held at
Rand’s apartment. Frank was present as Rand’s escort during all meetings
held at their home, but he did not participate actively in any of the
planning. He had rung bells and passed out literature for the Willkie
campaign but was uninterested in the intellectual and strategic questions
that animated Rand.
During these meetings Rand had her fi rst misgivings about the project.
She was fl attered but surprised by the reaction of her fellows to
her “Manifesto,” which she considered a “bromide” full of self-evident
truths. Many of her contacts instead greeted it as a revelation, which
aroused her suspicions. Now, meeting her group in person, she realized
they were not intellectuals. She had pictured the organization as
primarily educational in nature, but now she saw that “education would
have to begin not with the provinces and the clubs, but with the headquarters,
that we would have nobody to run it.” 9
Rand’s disillusionment was particularly acute when she met Albert
Jay Nock, one of their most prominent recruits. Unlike the others, Nock
was a true intellectual. In the 1920s he had edited an idiosyncratic literary
magazine, The Freeman, and had lately emerged as a vigorous critic
of Roosevelt. In 1935 he published an individualist tract, Our Enemy, the
State. He had been a member of the Liberty League and edited a Review
of Books for the conservative National Economic Council. Along with
H. L. Mencken, Nock was one of the few established men of letters who
publicly identifi ed himself as an individualist and opponent of the New
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