"I have the latest report from our public health authorities. It is estimated that eighty percent of the population of the United States and Canada has had, or will have, the S-Flu. Some twenty-five million people, both male and female, who are known to have escaped the disease, are at present protected either by weekly injections or by isolation, and we are searching vigorously for others. We hope in a few months time to have a vaccine which will give lasting protection. The combined police forces of both countries are searching night and day for the agents who, we suspect, are hiding in our cities, fanning the flu to fresh vigor whenever it shows signs of abating. If twenty percent do escape, since most of the females apparently do not become sterile, the future of our countries therefore will depend on the twenty million uninfected males. However, probably half of these are either too old or too young to be of use for procreation at this time. That leaves us with only ten million potential fathers north of the Rio Grande."
He paused to let this sink in and the buzz of conversation broke into excited comment. Tempers were getting short and here and there fists pounded the desks to emphasize a point. The chairman rapped for order and the President resumed as the noise died.
"The situation in Central and South America is worse. They do not have adequate facilities to protect their populations. Evidence is now coming in that S-Flu has also been let loose along with measlepox in the Orient so that those who escape the one and live may well have been sterilized by the other. The European countries have closed their borders in an attempt to keep the measlepox out. They are already overwhelmingly affected by the S-Flu.
"To sum up, except for the immunized master race of the USSR, the peoples of the world are either dead, dying or sterile. If ten percent escape one or the other fate we will be lucky. It might be considered that the war is already won, and so it is in the dying Orient, but we, although we are sterile, are still eager to fight ... and fight we must if we are to save America and democracy for our children."
A roar of cheering drowned his attempt to continue. Senators, soldiers and members of parliament were up on their feet, yelling, cursing, banging desks or releasing their anger in any way they could find.
"Give them the Hell bomb," yelled one.
"Send over our planes," a portly congressman screamed.
"Kill them all, the monsters."
"It was terrific," Hallam broke off his recitation to comment. "I was sure several of those old cobbers would have a heart attack, they were so mad. Then somebody cut off the microphones and the noise became bearable. Finally the President managed to get their attention and we all sat down again and listened."