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V I . T H E V I L E D E C A D E IN 1 9 5 0 , T H E Nation’s publisher and editor, Freda Kirchwey, found herself in a dif‹cult spot. The magazine had always struggled ‹nancially, but its money problems were especially acute during the early years of the cold war, when its unpopular editorial stands attracted harsh criticism and scared off longtime supporters. For Kirchwey, the ‹nancial struggles also had personal, political, and moral dimensions. Having spent more than three decades with the magazine, she considered the Nation a cause as well as a publication. The daughter of a Columbia Law School dean and a graduate of Barnard College, she had begun clipping articles for the magazine ’s international relations section in 1918 and risen through the editorial ranks before buying the paper, using the trust fund of her husband, Evans Clark, in 1937. Six years later, she divested herself of ownership and created a nonpro‹t organization responsible for the magazine’s publication . Even so, she was spending most of her time raising money, and the strains of her editorial and fund-raising responsibilities were becoming less manageable. Furthermore, she was having dif‹culty working with Lillie Shultz, who ran the magazine’s fund-raising apparatus. A product of working -class Philadelphia, Shultz spoke plainly to Kirchwey, who was unused to such bluntness.1 Kirchwey decided that she needed help with her duties, and the chief prospect was her forty-‹ve-year-old West Coast contributing editor. She probably did not know that his ‹nances were as dire as the magazine’s. In January 1950, he wrote in his diary, “I’m as ‘low’ as I’ve been in the last eight years. What the hell does one do . . . go on starving as a writer or return to the law and starve for ‹ve years, trying to rebuild a law practice? I wish I knew” (Jan. 3, 1950). Later entries documented his sleeplessness, panic, and despondency over his ‹nances, but his anxiety was unaccompa177 nied by a thoughtful ‹nancial plan. Although meticulous in his bookkeeping , McWilliams typically responded to money problems by cutting expenses instead of reviewing his investments and opportunities.2 He later admitted, somewhat ruefully, that he had never owned a single share of stock.3 In November 1950, Kirchwey wrote to McWilliams, asking him if he had any plans to come east: “Haven’t you got any lectures in this vicinity?” (Nov. 14, 1950). Later, she asked him to move to New York and expand his responsibilities with the magazine. He countered by recommending that the Nation open a regional of‹ce in California. The West, he wrote, “and California in particular, are among the most progressive regions in the country—I should say potentially the most progressive; hence the logical place to expand the in›uence and circulation of The Nation” (Jan. 10, 1951). Unconvinced, Kirchwey persisted in her efforts to bring him east. In a letter to Kirchwey in February 1951, McWilliams laid out two options— heading a West Coast of‹ce or moving to New York—while expressing a strong preference for the ‹rst and repeating his argument for a stronger presence in California. The whole point about the West Coast is that it is now in process of becoming something; that that mould is not ‹xed—as yet; that now— not later—is the time to establish The Nation as the indispensable weekly for every west coast liberal and progressive. (Feb. 25, 1951) To this argument, he added an explanation for his personal preference. There are—‹nally—some personal factors which carry great weight. You will forgive me for repeating this, but I don’t like the idea of living in New York nor does Iris; both of us are spoiled and prejudiced Californians . Jerry, our 8½-year-old, is one of these horizontal kids; I can only hope that he might be able to adjust, somehow, to a vertical New York existence. The concern about Jerry was real. “Jerry has shown marks of swift change,” McWilliams noted in his diary at this time. “Less of a baby; more of a boy. Raising hell. Not doing as well in school; shouts; stamps through house; is de‹ant, etc.” (Nov. 9, 1950). McWilliams realized, too, that Jerry’s behavior had aggravated his own anxieties, which he attributed largely to his ‹nancial problems. Although the offer from the Nation was not lucrative— 178 A M E...

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