578 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



persons of pure African extraction in positions of high consideration, authority 

 or responsibility (p. 34). 



Kespecting the status and worth of the mulatto in Jamaica, Gov- 

 ernor Olivier expresses the opinion that he is 



an acquisition to the community, and, under favorable conditions, an advance 

 on the pure-bred African ... an indispensable part of any West Indian com- 

 munity, and that a colony of black, colored and whites has far more organic 

 efficiency and far more promise in it than a colony of black and white alone. 

 . . . The graded mixed class in Jamaica helps to make an organic whole of 

 the community and save it from the distinct cleavage (p. 38). 



The mulatto has appeared through the white man's acts. He will 

 greatly increase in the coming generations, by breeding with both his 

 kind and with pure negroes. A high fertility is increased relative to 

 the negro by a lessening death-rate. It is fortunate that he represents 

 an advance on the negro, and a real national advantage in our efforts 

 to adjust the negro " problem/' 



Three further questions must be considered before a summary can 

 be given of the mulatto's social and civic value. (1) Are there 

 fairly well-fixed upper limits of mental capacity for negroes and mulat- 

 toes? (2) What are the known and established principles of inherit- 

 ance of racial traits of negroes and whites; in other words, will it be 

 possible by some control of hybrid and inter-racial crosses to produce 

 a colored stock in which a majority may combine the desirable traits of 

 both white and negro? (3) Will it be possible under the constitution 

 and its present amendments to deal with the problem in accordance 

 with the dictates of science and common sense ? 



With respect to the first point then: We have here only opinion; 

 but it is absolutely unanimous: the negro can not undergo mental 

 development beyond a certain definite maximum. 2 The curious thing 



3 Since this was written I have seen practically the contrary conclusion stated 

 by Professor Herbert Adolphus Miller, of Olivet College, Michigan, in a work 

 which he has kindly permitted me to read in manuscript and from which he 

 allows me to quote. This is a splendid investigation, unique from the stand- 

 point of its materials, and marked especially by originality and caution. In 

 essence it is exactly the sort of research I am pleading for in my paper. 

 "Psychophysical tests" were "given to 2,488 Negroes, 520 Indians and 1,493 

 Whites, including 596 Mountain Whites in the Tennessee and Kentucky Moun- 

 tains." Six tests were employed for (1) Memory (a) discontinuous; (b) log- 

 ical; (2) Rational Instinct; (3) Imagination; (4) Color Choice; and (5) Reac- 

 tion Time. He summarizes his conclusions as follows: (1) There is no sharp 

 line of demarcation between the races within the range of the given tests; 

 (2) the differences are of degree, not of kind; (3) this degree is not a race- 

 limitation, for many whites are inferior to many negroes, even in logical mem- 

 ory; (4) from the standpoint of original endowment there is nothing in kind to 

 differentiate the negro from the Caucasian; (5) no faculty is lacking in the 

 negro, and there are some that are especially strong; (6) limits of capacity do 

 not follow race lines (italics my own.) The question arises as to how far these 



