g., Italy) where the taboo is weak because the
problem has never been pressing.
3. But to prevent intermarriage is only a small part of the solution,
since most mulattoes come from extramarital miscegenation. The only
solution of this, which is compatible with the requirements of eugenics,
is not that of _laissez faire_, suggested by the National Association,
but an extension of the taboo, and an extension of the laws, to prohibit
all sexual intercourse between the two races.
Four states (Louisiana, Nevada, South Dakota and Alabama) have already
attempted to gain this end by law. We believe it to be highly desirable
that such laws should be enacted and enforced by all states. A necessary
preliminary would be to standardize the laws all over the Union,
particularly with a view to agreement on what a "Negro" legally is; for
in some states the legislation applies to one who is one-sixteenth, or
even less, Negro in descent, while in other states it appears to refer
only to full-blood or, at the most, half-blood individuals.
Such legislation, and what is more important, such public opinion,
leading to a cessation of Negro-white amalgamation, we believe to be in
the interests of national eugenics, and to further the welfare of both
of the races involved.
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