The Fountainhead p. 640-654

In this section Ellsworth defies Ellsworth by taking a stand against Roark and the Cortlandt bombing in the Banner when Wayward is out on a business trip and Alvah was out sick. In it he condemns Howard and takes the opinion of everyone else in the press industry. For this he is fired from the Banner, but the repercussions of this were far beyond what Wayward anticipated. The Banner Union, that Ellsworth helped set up, walked out on strike, and while “the membership was small – and crucial; it included all his key men, not the big executives, but the rank below, expertly chosen, the active ones…most of them had been hired in the last eight years; recommended by Mr. Toohey” (Rand, 644). This explosion of a strike and the firing of the Banner further shot down the sales of the Banner, along with the difficulty of editing and running the newspaper when no respectable press members would work for them.

As the Banner is falling apart and not helping Roark, Ellsworth has a brief talk with Wayward before he is removed from the building. The idea he conveys to him tells him how he is not capable of obtaining power because he doesn’t have the stomach for it, and that, “Money is power, is it Mr. Wayward? Power over men? You poor amateur! You never discovered the nature of your own ambition or you’d have known that you weren’t fit for it. You couldn’t use the methods required and you wouldn’t want the results” (Rand644). This contrast of power through force and wealth against mind and conscience shows the contrast of how the individual tries to control the masses whereas a man of the masses tries to lead them. The result of the strike should show which of the two has a more effective means of control, and will add to the conflict of one going against the many.