He [Parnell Thomas, chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee] tried to placate her [Ayn Rand] with promises of a “whole [new] special hearing devoted to nothing but ideology,” where she could bring out “all the facts.” She told him that, if she came back to testify at all, it would be on her terms. “What terms?” he asked, visibly nervous. Why, philosophical terms, of course, she answered. Relieved, he said, “Oh, I thought you meant money.” “That gave me an insight into [his] psychology,” she later told a friend, adding, “You know, in Washington, if you talk about terms, it’s not philosophy.”

This is from Ayn Rand and the World She Made, by Anne C. Heller. I’m loving the book and will post on it a few times in the next week or so. I got a special kick out of the extremes various Hollywood beauties went to to get parts as Dominique in the movie, The Fountainhead.