Memorable Quotes from John McMartin
3 quotesConcerns Over Euphoria-Inducing Virus
Dr. Shapiro
What this particular virus evidently does is cause changes in our behavior patterns. ] infected become euphoric, have a sense of well-being.
[[People]
The Mayor
Well, I'm not going to order the Police Commissioner to call out twenty-eight thousand cops to find some ] that makes people ] ].
[[bird; [feel; [good]
Dr. Shapiro
But we have no way of knowing what it may lead to. ] could feel so good they'd quit their ], fly kites in Times Square, block traffic, uh... stop ]...
[[People; [jobs; [voting]
The Mayor
Stop voting? Get me the Police Commissioner!
[picks up the phone]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Virus and Its Effects on Emotions
The Mayor
Have you found out anymore of the effect of the virus?
Dr. Shapiro
Well, it frees people from hostile feelings.
The Mayor
You mean like tranquilizers?
Dr. Shapiro
No, they merely suppress and diminish hostility. The virus seems to do away with it entirely. People become uh, ], more ], stop brooding.
[[friendly; [hopeful]
Aide
Mister Mayor, eighty-two percent not only stop brooding, they stop smoking. Ninety-three percent stop drinking.
The Mayor
What's wrong with that?
Aide
In terms of dollars and cents, it's disastrous. Our city is facing a drastic loss in income from sales tax.
The Mayor
That's ridiculous. Forty-seven people? A drop in the bucket.
Aide
But if this goes unchecked for a month, by mathematical progression, half of New York will have the virus. You know what that means? It means a loss in cigarette and liquor taxes more than one hundred and eighty million dollars.
The Mayor
A hundred and eighty million... Brady, what are you sitting there for? Get that bird!
[hoarsely]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Debate Over Covering a Controversial Story
Foreign editor
I don't think either Metropolitan or National should cover the story. I don't think we should cover the story, period. It's a dangerous story for this paper.
Bradlee
How dangerous?
Foreign editor
It's not that we're using unnamed sources that bothers me, or that everything we print the White House denies, or that almost no other papers are reprinting our stuff.
Simons
What then?
Foreign editor
Look, there are two thousand reporters in this town, are there five on Watergate? When did the Washington Post suddenly get the monopoly on wisdom? Why would the Republicans do it? ]'s self-destructed just like ], ], the bunch of them. I don't believe this story. It doesn't make sense.
[[George McGovern|McGovern; [Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey; [w:Edmund Muskie|Muskie]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.