In 1956, Crane’s attitude toward the Society shifted. In November 1956, directly following the reelection of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crane wrote to Hayek to press him on organizing an American meeting of the MPS, saying he thought it a “very important move.” Through such a meeting, “the American public, and particularly the thinking people, would learn . . . of the widespread advocacy of the liberal philosophy and its strong intellectual foundations.” Hayek responded in language that seemed designed to urge Crane to step up as an organizer, saying that while he, too, thought an American meeting was of the greatest importance—“any further development of the Society, indeed its fruitful further existence, depends largely on the possibility of holding an American meeting”—he himself was unable personally to devote the time to raising money for such a meeting. “Unless some friends will take over the effort of fund-raising for an American meeting, I see no prospect of success.”

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 1456