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PARTISAN REVIEW
curiosity about these matters than with the larger problems associated with
covert financing. Most of the editors and leaders of the Congress publicly
denied knowing about the CIA, although Sidney Hook in his autobiography,
Out of Step,
says the relation was suspected. One incident that was quite
typical of the contradictions and ambiguities occurred at a gathering at my
house. Ignazio Silone, who had just arrived on a visit to New York, at one
point asked me indignantly "who that man with the beard was." "Why do
you want to know?" I asked him. "Because," Silone said, "he insulted me. He
said, 'Do you know that you work for the CIA?' " "That's Dwight Macdon–
ald," I told him. Perhaps the word
know
is misleading, for by definition sup–
port by the CIA is unknowable, since it has to be denied by those in the
know. Hence it can be only suspected; and those who denied any definite
knowledge of the link to the CIA were telling the literal truth.
So much for what has been known and not known . But the fact that
there are some significant errors does raise questions about Coleman's
methods of research. I have no way of knowing what other errors there are,
but I can cite a few in his references to me and to
Partisan Review.
He says
that we received funds from the Congress. This is not only false but
probably libelous, since it implies our having received CIA money. Unfortu–
nately, neither the Congress nor the American Committee were concerned
with our financial problems. Coleman could have checked this matter with
me, but he never asked to interview me, though the list of people he did in–
terview is a long one. Coleman also creates a false impression by not giving
a full account of my attempt to challenge some claims made at the conference
I attended, in Berlin, about the virtues of mass culture. What happened was
that the chairman cut me off when I spoke from the floor in criticism of some
remarks several speakers had made. When I asked whether he would let
me continue, he said no. Hence I walked out, announcing that I would call a
press conference to protest my not being allowed
to
talk. Eight people, in–
cluding Mary McCarthy, Stephen Spender, and Robert Oppenheimer, walked
out in support of me. However, we all cooled off, and I returned when I was
told I would be given a chance
to
speak my mind , which I was no longer
eager to do.
Another error is Coleman's statement that Macdonald resigned from
Partisan Review
because Philip Rahv and I supported the war against Hitler.
Actually, Macdonald resigned because he wanted either to take over the
magazine or, failing that, to start his own. He proposed that whoever had the
money to put out the next issue would have
Partisan Review,
a nd since he
and his wife had private incomes, the odds were against Rahv and myself.
But we did come up with the money, and Macdonald founded
Politics.
Cole–
man also invents a debate in the American Committee, which he describes as
