Ellsworth Toohey writes in his column in The Banner that we must destroy Roark; he mentions the contract that has fallen into the hands of the district attorney. Gail reads this column and goes to the Banner building. He asks Scarrett who was responsible and tells him to fire all four of them, including Toohey. Wynand sets to work, writing an editorial to counteract everything and ask forgiveness from anyone who has ever read The Banner. Toohey comes in, and tells Wynand that he will be back to run the paper. Wynand tells him to get out.
Most of Wynand's workers, except for the old men and the young copy boys, go on strike, demanding that the men who were fired be rehired and the newspaper change its position on Cortlandt. Acts of violence are committed on people who advertise in The Banner, loyal employees, even delivery truck drivers.
Dominique comes one night to the Banner office and tells Gail she would like her old job back. He puts her to work, in complete understanding, filling in wherever she is needed. She never becomes exhausted, and even cleans the building when necessary.
Gail goes to see Roark; he has not seen him since the protests began. He admits that his paper is killing Roark's reputation, but Roark says he wants him to stand his ground. The circulation of The Banner keeps decreasing, and the number of returns grows.
